Documenting the Conversation: A Systematic Review of Library Discovery Layers

This article describes the results of a systematic review of peer-reviewed, published research articles about discovery layers, i.e. user-friendly interfaces or systems that provide single-search box access to library content. Focusing on articles in LISTA published 2009–2013, a set of 80 articles was coded for community of users, journal type, research method, and results. This study demonstrates that the scholarly communications surrounding discovery systems or layers are evolving, moving from technologists to a converging of general responsibilities and concerns, but with a pronounced focus on academic institutions. Nevertheless, there is little research published uniquely about public library users, more specifically about how discovery layers affect public libraries or children.