Case Study: Case Western Reserve University improves reference efficiency with ProQuest Summon

Web-scale Discovery Leads to New Efficiencies

Case Western Reserve University’s Kelvin Smith Library wanted to compete with the open Web search experience, help support staff and student assistants handle front-line reference questions, and integrate library services more seamlessly. The library turned to ProQuest, using the Summon service along with 360 Link and other Serials Solutions services, to give students a Google-like way to search scholarly resources.

With ProQuest’s Summon service in place, the library could search across multiple resources more quickly, support interdisciplinary research, and let staff answer first-level reference questions at the main desk. Librarians gained time to focus on specialized research help and work more closely with academic departments, while student workers found it easier to assist patrons using Summon’s full-text linking and fewer database-by-database searches.

Case Western Reserve University

Earnestine Adeyemon

Acquisitions & Metadata Services Librarian