Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation
Conference Strand
Critical Literacy
Target Audience
Higher Education
Second Target Audience
K-12
Location
Ballroom B
Relevance
The content and results of this presentation stem from a colloboration between the librarian and faculty to help students grasp the breadth and depth of resources available to them in the online library and better understand the authority of the materials provided.
Proposal
Traditional libraries excel at serendipitous discovery—patrons browse shelves, stumble upon unexpected titles, and make chance connections between materials. But how do we recreate this magic in purely digital environments? This presentation showcases a successful transformation of a 100% online library that achieved over 90% increased asset usage in just 12 months through strategic implementation of serendipitous discovery features.
Using Springshare's LibGuides CMS as the foundation, we redesigned the digital library experience around three core discovery spaces: Visual Course Reserve Guides that mirror physical browsing through thumbnail displays and thematic clustering, a comprehensive Reference Section that encourages exploration beyond immediate research needs, and an innovative Periodicals Room that recreates the magazine browsing experience with visual layouts and cross-topical recommendations.
The key breakthrough came from understanding that serendipity isn't random—it's the intersection of preparation, proximity, and presentation. Our visual course reserve guides moved beyond simple reading lists to become discovery ecosystems, featuring related materials, interdisciplinary connections, and "students who used this also explored" recommendations. The Reference Section transformed from a static resource list into an interactive discovery space with rotating highlights, trending topics, and unexpected connections between diverse information sources.
The Periodicals Room proved particularly successful in driving engagement, using magazine-style layouts that invite browsing while incorporating smart tagging systems that surface related articles across disciplines. These spaces work together to create multiple pathways for discovery while maintaining the focused access users expect from digital libraries.
This presentation will demonstrate specific implementation strategies within LibGuides and the Canvas Course Management System, share the design principles that drove our 90% usage increase, and provide actionable frameworks for creating serendipitous discovery experiences in any online library environment. Attendees will explore live examples of these discovery spaces and learn to balance algorithmic recommendations with human curation to foster meaningful encounters with library materials.
Rather than fighting against digital constraints, we'll show how to leverage technology's unique capabilities—linking, tagging, visual presentation, and data analysis—to create discovery experiences that can surpass traditional browsing in both reach and relevance.
Short Description
Discover how one 100% online library achieved 90% increased usage through strategic serendipitous discovery design. Using LibGuides and Canvas, we transformed digital spaces into engaging discovery environments with visual course reserve guides, an interactive Reference Section, and browsable Periodicals Room. This session demonstrates specific implementation strategies that recreate the magic of physical library browsing in digital environments, providing actionable frameworks attendees can immediately apply to increase patron engagement and resource utilization.
Keywords
serendipitous discovery, online libraries, digital library design, information literacy, user engagement, visual interfaces
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Garrett, Stephanie, "Recreating the Magic: Designing Serendipitous Discovery Experiences in 100% Online Libraries" (2026). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 15.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2026/2026/15
Recreating the Magic: Designing Serendipitous Discovery Experiences in 100% Online Libraries
Ballroom B
Traditional libraries excel at serendipitous discovery—patrons browse shelves, stumble upon unexpected titles, and make chance connections between materials. But how do we recreate this magic in purely digital environments? This presentation showcases a successful transformation of a 100% online library that achieved over 90% increased asset usage in just 12 months through strategic implementation of serendipitous discovery features.
Using Springshare's LibGuides CMS as the foundation, we redesigned the digital library experience around three core discovery spaces: Visual Course Reserve Guides that mirror physical browsing through thumbnail displays and thematic clustering, a comprehensive Reference Section that encourages exploration beyond immediate research needs, and an innovative Periodicals Room that recreates the magazine browsing experience with visual layouts and cross-topical recommendations.
The key breakthrough came from understanding that serendipity isn't random—it's the intersection of preparation, proximity, and presentation. Our visual course reserve guides moved beyond simple reading lists to become discovery ecosystems, featuring related materials, interdisciplinary connections, and "students who used this also explored" recommendations. The Reference Section transformed from a static resource list into an interactive discovery space with rotating highlights, trending topics, and unexpected connections between diverse information sources.
The Periodicals Room proved particularly successful in driving engagement, using magazine-style layouts that invite browsing while incorporating smart tagging systems that surface related articles across disciplines. These spaces work together to create multiple pathways for discovery while maintaining the focused access users expect from digital libraries.
This presentation will demonstrate specific implementation strategies within LibGuides and the Canvas Course Management System, share the design principles that drove our 90% usage increase, and provide actionable frameworks for creating serendipitous discovery experiences in any online library environment. Attendees will explore live examples of these discovery spaces and learn to balance algorithmic recommendations with human curation to foster meaningful encounters with library materials.
Rather than fighting against digital constraints, we'll show how to leverage technology's unique capabilities—linking, tagging, visual presentation, and data analysis—to create discovery experiences that can surpass traditional browsing in both reach and relevance.