They Searched What? Usage Data as a Measure of Library Services and Outreach.

Electronic resources librarians are able to collect a large amount of data across resources, but often the biggest challenge is distilling the data into something meaningful to contribute to the strategic mission of an organization. The Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University acquired ProQuest’s Summon web-scale discovery service in 2015. This article discusses how the library’s e-resources librarian used the new discovery workflow to begin to harvest user search queries as a means to inform resource placement and design on the library’s website and suite of e-resources tools; inform and refine Springshare LibGuides tags for better discovery; craft “best bets” to assist users in getting to their just in time information needs be they a quick search on an unknown topic or a targeted search for a specific research finding as quickly and effectively as possible; and empower instruction librarians to fine tune their information literacy curriculum based on search skills of our users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]