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Deliver fast, intuitive discovery of academic resources for today's learners

Northwestern College shares how WorldCat Discovery helps students find academic resources faster, meeting modern research expectations across campus and online.

Key outcomes

  • Reduced time to relevant results with a single, intuitive search across all library resources
  • Higher engagement with digital collections by improving visibility beyond physical holdings
  • Better support for online and graduate students without adding staff or manual workflows
  • Consistently up-to-date discovery results through automated record management
  • Stronger alignment with users’ expectations for fast, easy research experiences
photo and logo: students working at a table in DeWitt Library, Northwestern College logo orverlay
Photo courtesy Northwestern College

Serving a small-but-growing academic community, the DeWitt Library at Northwestern College supports both on-campus undergraduates and an expanding population of online graduate students. With limited staff and increasing expectations for fast, intuitive research experiences, the library team prioritizes tools that help users find what they need quickly—no matter where they are. “WorldCat Discovery allows us to get beyond just the physical things in our collection. It’s definitely valuable because that’s the way everyone is moving forward,” said Sherri Langton, Cataloger and Library Systems Specialist.

Simplify research for every user

For Northwestern College, WorldCat Discovery plays a critical role in meeting modern research expectations. As a unified discovery layer, it allows students to discover more than just physical holdings, easily uncovering ebooks, articles, open access, and shared resources alongside the library’s local collection.

Sherri values the ability to tailor the interface to users’ needs, from customizing filter labels to prioritizing frequently used options. These enhancements help students narrow results faster and reduce friction—especially for users accustomed to web-based search simplicity. With WorldCat Discovery, the library delivers a more intuitive research experience without adding staff workload.

Photo: Sherri Langton

“OCLC listens to feedback and actually uses it to make the service better—and that makes a real difference for libraries like ours.”

Sherri Langton
Cataloger and Library Systems Specialist, Northwestern College

Support evolving academic expectations

As research behavior continues to shift toward speed and convenience, WorldCat Discovery helps the DeWitt Library stay competitive. Automatic updates and backend efficiencies ensure records remain current, even when staff time is limited.

"I think it's a discovery interface that's moving in a good direction," Sherri said. "OCLC listens to feedback and actually uses it to make the service better—and that makes a real difference for libraries like ours."

January 29 2026