Bridging Users from Frustrations to Discovery Beyond Primo VE

Zero-result searches are often treated as failures, but they actually reveal exactly how patrons search and expose our system and metadata limitations. As librarians, we are tasked with providing assistance to our users, regardless of whether the library actually holds the requested item. At Lingnan University Library, we dug into Primo VE zero search results and identified various behavioral trends and patterns—such as users pasting raw DOIs or full citations directly into the search, etc. Rather than leaving patrons frustrated, we built lightweight, context-aware prompts into the discovery interface to detect these patterns and guide users back on track. This session highlights how these simple, targeted UI and metadata enhancement improve the search experience, offering practical ways to bridge the gap between our users and our holdings.