~ An Intuitive New Interface Will Better Help Librarians and Avid Readers
Find the Books They Are Looking For ~

IPSWICH, Mass. — August 5, 2010 — EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO) along with the creators of readers’ advisory database NoveList® have released a new interface for all NoveList® and NoveList Plus® products. The new interface will include all the characteristics librarians enjoy along with changes that make recommendations easier to obtain, searching more intuitive, and allows quick access to more content than ever. The updated interface will help librarians and their patrons find their next great read.

The redesign incorporated a variety of suggestions from readers’ advisory experts and librarians. Suzanne Guinn, cataloger at the Rogers Public Library in Arkansas says the new interface and the input from librarians was invaluable. “It's much cleaner, much more attractive to look at. I like the enhanced information on the books (plot, tone...) too.”

One of the major new features is the use of Appeal words such as “fast-paced” or “character-driven” which will better allow the user to find different types of books. The new interface also has a strong focus on recommendations. Reading recommendations are available directly from the homepage—which allows for easier access and fewer clicks and they also include a hover-able pop-up window that can be used to narrow down genre choices.

Browseable lists of recommendations for similar books and authors will be shown on the search result pages allowing users to find numerous titles of interest. Finally, each recommendation will feature transparent reasoning from NoveList experts as to why the title is being recommended. With the new interface, enhancements to the popular print functionality make it even easier for librarians to print out reading suggestions for patrons whether they are looking for series, title or author suggestions.

The new interface also features improved searching capabilities. The search box now takes a more prominent spot on the homepage. Search results are also storable and have three display options—list, text and grid. The list display offers a jacket image, summary and additional book information. The text form omits the book jacket and the summary allowing the user to view more results at once. The grid format offers ten search results at a time and presents as a grid with images of each book jacket plus a hover-able pop-up window can be used to find out more information about each book.

A “Teaching with Books” section has been added along with the new interface. This section will be especially helpful to school librarians and public librarians working with homeschoolers and students as it includes content based on grade and common curriculum topics.

About EBSCO Publishing
EBSCO Publishing is the world’s premier database aggregator, offering a suite of nearly 300 full-text and secondary research databases. Through a library of tens of thousands of full-text journals, magazines, books, eBooks, monographs, reports and various other publication types from renowned publishers, EBSCO serves the content needs of all researchers (Academic, Medical, K-12, Public Library, Corporate, Government, etc.). The company’s product lines include proprietary databases such as Academic Search™, Business Source®, CINAHL®, DynaMed™, Literary Reference Center™, MasterFILE™, NoveList®, SocINDEX™ and SPORTDiscus™ as well as dozens of leading licensed databases such as ATLA Religion Database™, EconLit, INSPEC®, MEDLINE®, MLA International Bibliography, The Philosopher’s Index™, PsycARTICLES® and PsycINFO®. Databases are powered by EBSCOhost®, the most-used for-fee electronic resource in libraries around the world. For more information, visit the EBSCO Publishing Web site at: www.ebscohost.com, or contact: information@ebscohost.com.

EBSCO Publishing is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., one of the largest privately held companies in the United States.
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For more information, please contact:
Kathleen McEvoy
Public Relations Manager
(800) 653-2726 ext. 2594
kmcevoy@ebscohost.com

District of Columbia Public Library to Implement Systems in Six Branches

Norcross, Ga. – August 4, 2010. The Integrated Technology Group (ITG), the preferred North American partner of Dutch electronics manufacturer Dialoc ID, has performed the first U.S. installations of Dialoc’s EM/RFID Hybrid DiaMond loss prevention security system. ITG technicians installed Diamond security gates at the Benning Neighborhood Library and Northwest One Neighborhood Library branches, two of the 28-branch District of Columbia Public Library system. Additional DiaMond gate installations are scheduled for four more DCPL branches in the fall.

“No one else had the right product,” says Barbara Norland, Senior Librarian, Building Projects, for DCPL. “The ITG/Dialoc gates offered aesthetics, performance, and a great price,” she adds. “And our architects liked their transparent look a lot.”

Hybrid EM/RFID gates allow libraries to transition to RFID gradually, especially advantageous for those with large collections or with robust inter-library loan programs. DiaMond systems perform simultaneous electromagnetic (EM) and radio frequency identification (RFID) security detection and support nearly all EM security strips and all major 13.56 MHz RFID tags. Fabricated of scratch-proof acrylic, DiaMond pedestals are refined in design and add sophistication to any library environment.

Dialoc ID has been a world leader in the electronic article surveillance (EAS) field since 1977. Renown for reliability and superior technology, they have thousands of security systems installed in more than 35 countries worldwide.

“Dialoc offers superior technology coupled with very competitive prices,” says ITG President Shai Robkin. “We love being able to offer our customers that kind of real value. ITG always has sought solutions that allow libraries to have flexible choices, and DiaMond Hybrid EM/RFID systems are the ideal solution for so many libraries who know RFID is in their future. To perform the first installations of the DiaMond gates in the United States is very significant, and we’re proud to be leading the way, with Dialoc, in EM/RFID hybrid solutions for libraries,” he adds.

Barbara Norland concurs: “We feel that every library system will move to RFID, just like they moved to bar codes. In this cycle we could not get a full RFID implementation in our budget, but eventually we will. These things are cyclical—they go up and down. But they always come back.”

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About the Integrated Technology Group (ITG):
ITG (www.integratedtek.com) develops, markets, and supports library automation technologies that empower librarians to make operations more efficient and better serve their patrons. ITG's products include patron self-checkout, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Automated Materials Handling (AMH) systems, library materials security, and public computer reservation and print management solutions. With nearly 40 years’ experience in the library industry, ITG combines smart technology and progressive design to create standard solutions that can be easily customized to meet site-specific requirements. ITG, a division of Vernon Library Supplies, Inc., is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia.