DUBLIN, Ohio, January 20, 2011—Americans are using libraries a lot more as the economic downturn has impacted lives, careers and incomes. Americans see increased value in libraries and the value that libraries provide to their communities, and report even stronger appreciation of the value librarians bring to the information search experience, according to a new membership report by OCLC, a nonprofit library services and research organization.

Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community is a follow-up to the 2005 Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources. The new report provides updated information and new insights into information consumers and their online information habits, preferences and perceptions. Particular attention was paid to how the current economic downturn has affected information-seeking behaviors and how those changes are reflected in the use and perception of libraries.

The OCLC membership report explores:

• Technological and economic shifts since 2005
• Lifestyle changes Americans have made during the recession, including increased use of the library and other online resources
• How a negative change to employment status impacts use and perceptions of the library
• How Americans use online resources and libraries in 2010
• Perceptions of libraries and information resources based on life stage, from teens to college students, to senior Americans.

The membership report is based on U.S. data from an online survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of OCLC. OCLC analyzed and summarized the results to produce Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community, which is available for download on the OCLC Web site free of charge. Print copies of the report are available for a nominal fee to cover the cost of printing and shipping.

Cathy De Rosa, OCLC Global Vice President of Marketing, principal contributor to the membership report, said changes in the information landscape and the impact of the economic downturn made it important to update the 2005 survey findings.

“Five years is at least one information generation in the digital information age,” said Ms. De Rosa. “To put the pace of change in perspective consider that in 2005 there was no Twitter (launched July 2006), Facebook hadn’t opened up to the general public (September 2006), and the first iPhone was still two years away (January 2007).”

“Also, in the five years since we published Perceptions 2005, the United States and much of the rest of the world has experienced a massive economic downturn,” Ms. De Rosa continued. “We know instinctively that the global recession must be affecting how people use and perceive information resources and library services, but we wanted to find out more about how economic factors are impacting both the use and the perception of the library. Having a ‘snapshot’ from 2005 gave us a great opportunity to compare usage and attitudes before and during the recession, and to identify new opportunities for libraries.”

OCLC encourages feedback and discussion about the new membership study at https://www3.oclc.org/app/members_report/.

To see other OCLC membership reports, visit the Web site at www.oclc.org/reports/default.htm.

About OCLC
Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing library costs. More than 72,000 libraries in 170 countries have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend, preserve and manage library materials. Researchers, students, faculty, scholars, professional librarians and other information seekers use OCLC services to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the world’s largest online database for discovery of library resources. Search WorldCat on the Web at www.worldcat.org. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.

~ Metadata from Mergent, Inc.’s Annual Reports Database Will Be Added to Base Index of EBSCO Discovery Service™ ~

IPSWICH, Mass. — January 20, 2011— EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO) and Mergent, Inc. (Mergent) have come to an agreement allowing metadata from Mergent’s largest collection, the Annual Reports Database, to be added to the Base Index of EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS). The addition of Mergent resources to the EDS Base Index enhances the quality of metadata available and brings added value to EDS customers.

Mergent’s Annual Reports Database includes more than 300,000 annual reports from global publicly traded companies and is continually updated throughout the year. Metadata from Mergent’s collection will also include archived annual reports dating back ten years. Additional collections from Mergent may be added to the Base Index of EDS in the future.

Founded in 1900, Mergent has become a leading provider of business and financial data on global publicly listed companies. The company is based in the U.S. but maintains a strong global presence, with offices in New York, Charlotte, San Diego, London, Tokyo and Melbourne.

Mergent joins a long list of publishers and other content partners who are taking part in EDS to bring more visibility to their content, such as: the British Library, Baker & Taylor, NewsBank, Readex, LexisNexis, JSTOR, Alexander Street Press, Oxford University Press, American Psychological Association, ABC-CLIO, ingentaconnect, Government Printing Office, ECONIS and for mutual customers Web of Science & H.W. Wilson—a growing list of information sources available to EBSCO Discovery Service users.

EBSCO Discovery Service is quickly becoming the discovery selection for many libraries (www.ebscohost.com/discovery/eds-news), and an obvious partner for content providers. Because the service builds on the foundation provided by the EBSCOhost platform, libraries gain a full user experience for discovering their collections/OPAC—which is not typical in the discovery space. Further still, in the many universities and other libraries where EBSCOhost is the most-used platform for premium research, users are not asked to change their pathways or habits for searching. There’s simply more to discover on the familiar EBSCOhost platform, and the same can be said for library administrators who can leverage their previous work with EBSCOadmin.

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 EDS Base Index 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 400,000 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 nearly 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, The Philosopher’s Index™, PsycARTICLES®, PsycINFO® and RILM™. 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

Los Angeles, CA - January 19, 2011. Deb Schwarz, CEO of Los Angeles-based LAC Group, announced today that Jim Dieterle has joined the firm’s executive team as Director of Business Development. He will be based in the metro DC area and will lead efforts to expand Federal agency work programs for the nationally recognized, results-driven firm.

"Jim will be a key resource in building new strategic alliances and expanding the LAC Group footprint across all Federal agencies," says Schwarz. She feels strongly that the Group’s information management work with such agencies as NASA, GPO and USAID has created a unique model for federal agency servicing which no other firm can offer. “LAC Group is now well-positioned to provide these organizations with the breadth and depth of experience as well as the level of attention that puts us ahead of the competition, and Jim has the expertise and track record to help us grow and succeed,” she says.

Dieterle was previously Director of Business Development for Virginia-based Vangent, a global provider of information management and strategic business process outsourcing services. There he led sales and marketing initiatives for DOD and DHS clients and developed strong relationships with both Federal government leadership and the Contractor community. He brings in-depth account knowledge of many Government agencies, including DLA, National Guard Bureau, Army, DISA, Homeland Security and the Navy.

Prior to his work at Vangent, Dieterle successfully led new business efforts for Virginia-based Noblis (formerly Mitretek Systems), a nonprofit science, technology and strategic services provider. His efforts resulted in new work programs at the US Treasury, Department of State, Homeland Security, the Navy and the USMC.

Previously, Dieterle served as Business Development Manager for the Chicago-based Braun Consulting, leveraging expertise in transactional CRM, business intelligence/data warehousing, and ERP integration across a wide variety of public sector verticals and nonprofits, including the State of California, The American Red Cross, TRW, Nextel, and NASDAQ.

Says Dieterle, "I am looking forward to forging new strategic Federal relationships for LAC Group. Being part of an organization universally respected for its integrity is paramount to me; I know I am an integral member of a team that truly values its clients and strives to provide real, long-lasting value for the services it offers." Dieterle received both his MBA and BBA in Management from Virginia’s James Madison University. Those interested in contacting Jim Dieterle may reach him at jdieterle@lac-group.com or at (240) 292-0497.

LAC Group is a leading global provider of library, legal, information and research staffing, consulting, project management and asset management services. For more information, contact Erin Beekhuis at 323.302.9438 or erin@lac-group.com.

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Second Installment Puts Important British Literary Manuscripts into the Hands of Students and Educators

Farmington Hills, Mich., Jan. 19, 2011 — Gale, part of Cengage Learning, today announced the release of British Literary Manuscripts Online, Medieval and Renaissance, the second installment of the British Literary Manuscripts Online series. Following the release of the first installment in May 2009, this new digital archive brings approximately 565,000 pages of unique author manuscripts into the hands of students, educators and researchers.

“This fascinating series, selected from a multitude of leading world libraries, delivers insights into the culture and context surrounding centuries of British literary achievement,” said Jim Draper, vice president and publisher, Gale. “Gale is proud to be the first publisher to conceptualize and publish a collection of this vast range and depth.”

Cross-searchable with British Literary Manuscripts, c. 1660-1900, the first installment in the series, Medieval and Renaissance presents an extraordinary view into the culture and history of renowned and lesser-known writers of the period. The collection features works from more than 1,000 authors and more than 500 years of manuscripts dating from roughly 1100 to 1660 – preceding and broadening the scope of the first series. It offers hundreds of thousands of pages of letters, poems, stories, plays, chronicles, religious writings and other materials.

The Medieval documents include notable works of early English literature – Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Vision of Piers the Plowman, and The Canterbury Tales, in addition to religious works such as The Prick of Conscience, the York and Coventry Mystery Plays and the writings of John Wycliffe, Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. Scholars will also find important cultural and historical sources like the letters of Alcuin and Lanfranc and the 1488 manuscripts of Barbour’s Life and Acts of Robert the Bruce. Well-known Renaissance authors include John Donne, Thomas Campion, Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Thomas Wyatt. Also included are transcriptions of works by Shakespeare.

The manuscripts in British Literary Manuscripts Online, Medieval and Renaissance were selected from a number of institutions, including The British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Forster and Dyce Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Library customers can select British Literary Manuscripts Online, Medieval and Renaissance as a stand-alone product or, for a more comprehensive resource, it can be combined and cross-searched with British Literary Manuscripts Online, c. 1660-1900, which includes thousands of pages of poems, plays, essays, novels, diaries, journals, correspondence and other manuscripts from the Restoration through the Victorian era.

For more information or to set up a trial of the British Literary Manuscripts Online series, please contact Kristina Massari at kristina.massari@cengage.com.

About Cengage Learning and Gale
Cengage Learning is a leading provider of innovative teaching, learning and research solutions for the academic, professional and library markets worldwide. Gale, part of Cengage Learning, serves the world's information and education needs through its vast and dynamic content pools, which are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet. It is best known for the accuracy, breadth and convenience of its data, addressing all types of information needs – from homework help to health questions to business profiles – in a variety of formats. For more information, visit www.cengage.com or www.gale.cengage.com.

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January 19th, 2011
CONTACT:
Nathan Curulla
(888) 900-8944
sales@bywatersolutions.com

Erikson Institute of Chicago, IL. Goes Live on Koha with ByWater Solutions

ByWater Solutions, an open source community supporter and official Koha support company, announced today that Erikson Institute of Chicago, IL. is now live on the official Koha integrated library system.

The Edward Neisser Library's Koha installation went live early this week, and Erikson has partnered with ByWater Solutions for ongoing support and hosting services.

Karen Janke, Director of Erikson Institute's Edward Neisser Library, commented on their decision to switch to Koha and ByWater Solutions by saying "The big factors that led us to choose Koha with support from ByWater were the customizability of Koha, the quick implementation timeframe we were working under, and ByWater’s experience working with libraries like ours."

Brendan Gallagher, CEO of ByWater stated: "We are thrilled to have the chance to partner with Karen and the staff of Erikson. Their dedication to the education of child care professionals is an extremely important one and we are glad to be a part of that process. We look forward to a long and productive relationship with them."

About Erikson Institute:
Erikson Institute is an independent institution of higher education that prepares child development professionals for leadership. Through its academic programs, applied research, and community service and engagement, Erikson advances the ability of practitioners, researchers, and decision makers to improve life for children and their families. The Institute is a catalyst for discovery and change, continually bringing the newest scientific knowledge and theories of children’s development and learning into its classrooms and out to the community so that professionals serving children and families are informed, inspired, and responsive.

The Edward Neisser Library provides multifaceted information services that support the education, information, research, and service programs of Erikson. Its specialized collection is a valuable resource. Information about journals, assessment kits, and other materials can be found at http://library.erikson.edu.

About Koha:
Koha is the first open-source Integrated Library System (ILS). In use worldwide, its development is steered by a growing community of libraries collaborating to achieve their technology goals. Koha's impressive feature set continues to evolve and expand to meet the needs of its user base. It includes modules for circulation, cataloging, acquisitions, serials, reserves, patron management, branch relationships, and more.

Koha’s OPAC, circulation, management and self-checkout interfaces are all based on standards-compliant World Wide Web technologies--XHTML, CSS and Javascript--making Koha a truly platform-independent solution. Koha is distributed under the open-source General Public License (GPL). For more information about Koha, please visit: http://www.koha-community.org

About ByWater Solutions:
With over 10 years of experience, ByWater Solutions offers customized hosting, data migration, configuration, installation, training, support options and development of enterprise class open-source library systems. Offering a 24/7 technical helpline, ByWater Solutions’ clients have the support system they need to make their software work for them. ByWater Solutions pledges to share 100% of all developed code to the Koha community for the strengthening and advancement of the Koha ILS. For more information about ByWater Solutions, please visit: http://www.bywatersolutions.com