I may be missing something, or else this is instructive. I've followed Knowledge Unlatched for a decade, always interested, but never quite persuaded. (Full disclosure: my institution does not subscribe.) I realize on reading
this and following the links that I have two questions about discovery.
First, is there in any convenient place a conspectus of KU books, conveniently arranged for browsing by subject areas, that could entice me to look into books I've not heard of or not gotten around to admiring up close? I
can't find that on the KU website. If we think of KU as a kind of redistributive publisher, I'd like to be able to browse *their* catalog.
Second, what is the underlying strategy of discovery? The access to MARC records on the website suggests that readers are *expected* to encounter these items in library online catalogs where institutions have taken the time
and trouble to import MARC records -- and then they will be found only by those using classic discovery tools with a particular personal focus. For example, if there is the definitive work on the lesser works of Fulke Greville in the series, I will find it
if I am pursuing Greville but not otherwise.
I say again, I may be missing something, even something obvious, and I apologize for that if that's the case, and would appreciate being set right. But I have a growing concern about how users discover new scholarship in the
real world. How do these very good books get found?
Jim O'Donnell
ASU