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November 30th, 2010LISWire
~EBSCO Discovery Service™ Selected New “One Search” Service Bringing Together Resources with Easy Linking Capabilities~
IPSWICH, Mass. —November 30, 2010 — The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) has selected EBSCO Discovery Service™ from EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO) as the basis for One Search, the library’s single search experience. By looking closely at the available discovery options it came down to the interface, the ability to easily link to full text from within the results, customizability and the university’s experience with EBSCO.
The university was looking to upgrade its catalog at a time when discovery solutions were being introduced and quickly saw that discovery was the future of searching. UNCG librarians believe discovery services are a huge improvement over existing services—correcting the problems inherent in federated searching and bringing together multiple resources in a the way federation should have been designed to do from the start.
The Electronic Resources and Information Technology staff of UNCG created the first OpenURL Link Resolver so easy linking was especially important. University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Assistant Dean of University Libraries, Tim Bucknall, says the school looked at other discovery options and EBSCO’s ability to easily link to full text via SmartLinks was a deciding factor. “Summon, for example, provides more of a ‘portal’ in which every link needs to go through a link menu meaning more clicks and an increased possibility of failure. Because EBSCO has SmartLinks and a full user experience with EBSCOhost®, using EDS means fewer clicks and better results for the end user than other discovery systems.” EDS provides users with a robust search experience providing detailed records and instant access to PDF full text or e-journal content.
Bucknall says the school’s working relationship with EBSCO, through both the Carolina Consortium and NC Live, made the decision to go with EDS easier. “EDS serves the needs of librarians whether they are reference experts looking to link together the rich resources in a library collection or systems experts looking for a solution that can grow with the expanding needs of the library. Working with EBSCO, we know the technology will continue to grow to enable libraries to include their OPACs and present the library catalog as a piece of a large and varied collection rather than the first stop for the user.”
In addition to its large database collection, UNCG will also add its Institutional Repository of faculty publications and dissertations plus a digital collection. UNCG will customize the One Search service to match school branding and colors. The university will also use the optional widgets in EDS to incorporate chat and Lib Guides functionality to add to the user experience and to direct users to subject clusters for the various majors offered.
EBSCO Discovery Service creates a unified, customized index of an institution’s information resources, and an easy, yet powerful means of accessing all of that content from a single search box—searching made even more powerful because of the quality of metadata and depth and breadth of coverage.
The Base Index for EBSCO Discovery Service forms the foundation upon which each EDS subscribing library builds out its custom collection. Beginning with the Base Index, each institution extends the reach of EDS by adding appropriate resources including its catalog, institutional repositories, EBSCOhost and other databases, and additional content sources to which it subscribes. It is this combination that allows a single, comprehensive, custom solution for discovering the value of any library’s collection.
The EDS Base Index is comprised of metadata from the world’s foremost information providers. At present, the EDS Base Index represents content from approximately 20,000 providers in addition to metadata from another 70,000 book publishers. Although constantly growing, today the EDS Base Index provides metadata for nearly 50,000 magazines & journals, approximately 825,000 CDs & DVDs, nearly six million books, more than 100 million newspaper articles, more than 20,000 conference proceedings and hundreds of thousands of additional information sources from various source-types.
About EBSCO Publishing
EBSCO Publishing is the world’s premier database aggregator, offering a suite of more than 300 full-text and secondary research databases. Through a library of tens of thousands of full-text journals, magazines, books, 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, NISC™, The Philosopher’s Index™, PsycARTICLES® and PsycINFO®. Databases are powered by EBSCOhost®, the most-used for-fee electronic resource in libraries around the world. EBSCO is the provider of EBSCO Discovery Service™ a core collection of locally-indexed metadata creating a unified index of an institution’s resources within a single, customizable search point providing everything the researcher needs in one place—fast, simple access to the library’s full text content, deeper indexing and more full-text searching of more journals and magazines than any other discovery service (www.ebscohost.com/discovery). 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 -
November 24th, 2010LISWire
For Immediate Release
Contact: Rob Colding
(609) 654-6500, ext. 330
rcolding@plexuspublishing.comNelson Johnson, Whose New York Times Bestseller Inspired HBO’s Critically Acclaimed Series, Tells the True Story of the Seminal Black Community That Built Atlantic City
November 29, 2010, Medford, NJ—Author Nelson Johnson frequently stopped working on Boardwalk Empire to wrestle with how best to handle the thorny subject of race. But he persisted, and the result was a chapter—“A Plantation by the Sea”—that inspired him to delve more deeply into the history of Atlantic City’s black community. Johnson’s new book, The Northside: African Americans and the Creation of Atlantic City, was published today by Plexus Publishing, Inc., the small independent publisher behind Boardwalk Empire.
“The new ‘city’ that had evolved out of (Jonathan) Pitney’s beach village stands alone in American history,” Johnson said. “The city’s very existence was dependent on money spent by out-of-towners [and] Atlantic City’s solution was unique for its time. The hotel industry reached out to the Upper South and recruited people … former slaves and their dependents, coaxed to the North during the three generations following the Civil War.” According to Johnson, “African Americans built Atlantic City. Remove them from its history and the town we know today never comes to be.”
In The Northside, Johnson presents the untold story of Atlantic City’s black community, from the arrival of the first African Americans to Absecon Island in the early 19th century through the glory days of the “World’s Playground.” Drawing on dozens of interviews and painstaking archival research, he reveals long-forgotten details about the people on whose backs the gambling mecca was built and offers a wide-ranging survey of the accomplishments of more recent generations.
In addition to the rich detail he provides about individual Northside leaders, Johnson explores many of the significant social and political forces, events, and experiences that have impacted Atlantic City and its black citizens. Among them, the building of the railroads, which allowed the creation of America’s first local economy based purely on tourism—the annual cycle of short summer season residents; the “Summer of Freedom,” when civil rights activists grabbed the media spotlight during the Democratic National Convention; the town’s vibrant entertainment scene—epitomized by hot jazz and lavish musical productions performed in trend-setting (and largely integrated) Kentucky Avenue nightclubs; and the birth and growth of the casino gaming industry with its failed promise to uplift all of Atlantic City’s people.
Exploited for their labor and banished to the most undesirable part of town, Johnson’s research shows that resilient Northsiders refused to let racist attitudes limit or define them. Instead, they created their own vibrant city within a city—a place where black culture thrived and young people aspired to become artists, athletes, educators, and leaders of business, politics, and society. Writing in the foreword to The Northside, Dr. Clement Price, Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of History at Rutgers University, said, “Johnson weaves a complicated and persuasive narrative that contributes to our understanding of Atlantic City’s prominence in the aspirations of the black urban experience.”
In addition to Dr. Price’s foreword, The Northside includes a prologue, twelve chapters, more than 85 archival photographs (including dozens from private collections published here for the first time), an appendix devoted to Northside leaders, the author’s source notes, selected bibliography, and an exhaustive index. The original illustrations on the dustjacket were created specially for the book by Atlantic City artist and lifelong Northside resident Tyrone L. Hart.
Nelson Johnson, whose family’s presence in Atlantic County predates the founding of Atlantic City, is a lifelong resident of Hammonton, New Jersey. He practiced law for 30 years and was active in Atlantic City and County politics through much of that period. Johnson is the author of Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, the New York Times bestseller that inspired the hit HBO series from executive producer, writer, and creator Terence Winter.
The Northside: African Americans and the Creation of Atlantic City (384 pp/hardcover/$24.95/ISBN 978-0-937548-73-8) is represented to the book trade by Parson Weems Publisher Services. It is available in bookstores, through online retailers, and by contacting the publisher at 609/654-6500, by email to info@plexuspublishing.com, or on the web at www.plexuspublishing.com. To view sample chapters and photographs and learn more about the book, visit www.thenorthsidebook.com.
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November 24th, 2010LIS Seminars and WorkshopsDates: 24- 28 November 2010.
More: http://www.pcf6.net/pcf6.html -
November 22nd, 2010LISWire
HOARFROST AND CHERRY BLOSSOMS
Set in the isolation of northern Canada, Hoarfrost and Cherry Blossoms is the story of Brian, a young man with a zest for life, and his eclectic group of good friends. Comedy and tragedy rival each other as they highlight the tenuous relationship between life and death.
Brian’s experiences are entertaining, absurd, outrageous and sometimes quite dramatic.
This unique story begins with Brian and his girlfriend finding a trapper frozen to death while they are out staking a claim. Black humour ensues with the insightful and revealing dialogue as the community deals with the death of one of their own. Comedy reigns when the neighbouring community’s prank, in retribution for a similar one the previous year, goes awry and becomes an international incident, expanding from the two communities to involve Japanese businessmen, the Canadian government, and global corporations.
Seemingly small occurrences turn into hilarious major events in Hoarfrost and Cherry Blossoms. Even when events take a darker turn, this inventive tale constantly surprises and entertains the reader. Can Brian find happiness in his life? How will the group evolve? Will Brian learn toaccept, as we all must, the fluid dynamics of life? What role might fate play?
HOARFROST AND CHERRY BLOSSOMS (ISBN: 978-1-60976-590-3) is available for $16.99 and can be ordered through the publisher’s website:
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/HoarfrostAndCherryBlossoms...
Or at www.amazon.com or http://search.barnesandnoble.com
Wholesalers please email BookOrder@AEG-Online-Store.com
About the Author:
Susan Bainbridge was raised in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. Over her lifespan she has lived and worked in the Yukon, Japan, South Korea, and the Middle East. Susan draws on her many life experiences for the inspiration behind Hoarfrost and Cherry Blossoms. -
November 22nd, 2010LISWire
The Little Librarian library play kit has been selected as a finalist in the Disney Family Fun Magazine Toy of the Year Award Contest for 2010. Disney Family Fun Magazine states "Everything kids need to start a library, including book pockets, library cards, and more, can be found in this back-to-basics toy. The set encourages pretend play, reading, and organizational skills, but one tester's favorite part? Giving out late notices!"
Little Librarian was started by a mother daughter team who wanted to share their idea for playing library at home. The kit contains old fashioned library supplies, which are still used in many schools, to provide creative playtime without electronics.
Little Librarian is sold in book stores, gift shops, library friend shops, as well as The Library of Congress Shop, The Library Store of Los Angeles, and Amazon. It can also be found on the Disney Family Fun Toy Hopper App for smart phones. Please visit www.littlelibrarian.net for more information, and links to retailers.