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    August 9th, 2011LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    ~ Customized API to Create Enhanced Access to EBSCO Discovery Service™ via Encore™ for Mutual Customers ~

    IPSWICH, Mass. — August 9, 2011 — In an effort to improve accessibility and usability for customers requesting various ports of entry into EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS), EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO) and Innovate Interfaces, Inc. (Innovative) are working to develop improved access into these resources via Innovative’s Encore™ discovery platform. The result of the partnership is a smarter experience for mutual customers and library users who begin their search from Encore. EDS will be available via a dedicated API with enhanced functionality.

    Executive Vice President of Technology and Chief Information Officer for EBSCO Publishing, Michael Gorrell, says a dedicated API allows users accessing EDS through the Encore platform access to the valuable resources available in EBSCO Discovery Service. “EDS has quickly become the discovery service for hundreds of universities around the world. EDS provides a full-featured experience for end users. In other words, we have brought together a comprehensive index and a single search approach, but we also offer a true academic and powerful environment in order to facilitate a comprehensive discovery experience. As much as we’ve invested into our native user interface, we also must accommodate the users who may start their research on a partner platform such as Encore. This agreement lets users who are in the Encore platform access the power of EDS from within the Encore user environment.”

    For Innovative, partnering with EBSCO to satisfy the needs of mutual customers is a key strategy for the company. This most recent announcement builds on a long-standing relationship with EBSCO in which the two companies continue to explore areas where collaboration would benefit libraries. According to Innovative Interfaces’ Vice President, Encore Division, John McCullough, Encore users will benefit from this arrangement. “Our goal with Encore is to offer users the most successful library discovery experience possible and providing access to services like EDS from within Encore is a fundamental part of that strategy.”

    Encore Synergy’s Services Oriented Architecture seamlessly integrates powerful discovery services like EDS into the user experience without the limitations and trade-offs of ‘one size fits all’ systems. McCullough expanded on the partnership saying, “with libraries facing an increasingly complex world of content and technology, it’s a Web imperative that discovery systems interoperate and scale collaboratively to ensure that libraries have the freedom to choose best-of-breed functionality for their users.”
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    About Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
    Innovative (www.iii.com) creates cutting-edge products that allow libraries to succeed in a modern technology environment and the freedom to implement solutions that best meet their specific needs. The company’s versatile and market-leading solutions include: the Sierra Services Platform, the Millennium ILS, the Encore Synergy discovery application, Electronic Resource Management, and INN-Reach resource sharing. An established company with a vision for the future, Innovative connects with thousands of libraries of all types in over 50 countries as customers and partners. Innovative’s commitment to service is reflected by its 24/7/365 Help Desk, Innovative University, and the CSDirect Web support center. The company is located in Emeryville, California, with offices around the world.

    About EBSCO Publishing
    EBSCO Publishing is the producer of EBSCOhost®, the world’s premier for-fee online research service, including full-text databases, subject indexes, point-of-care medical reference, historical digital archives, and eBooks. The company provides more than 350 databases and nearly 300,000 eBooks. Through a library of tens of thousands of full-text journals and magazines from renowned publishers, EBSCO serves the content needs of all researchers (Academic, Medical, K-12, Public Library, Corporate, Government, etc.). EBSCO is also the provider of EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS), which provides each institution with a fast, single search box for its entire collection, offering deeper indexing and more full-text searching of 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 Director
    (800) 653-2726 ext. 2594
    kmcevoy@ebscohost.com

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    August 9th, 2011LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    August 9th 2011
    CONTACT:
    Nathan Curulla
    (888) 900-8944
    sales@bywatersolutions.com

    The Central Kansas Library System Chooses ByWater Solutions For Koha Support and Implementation

    ByWater Solutions, an open source community supporter and official Koha support company, announced today that the Central Kansas Library System, of Great Bend, KS. has partnered with them for Koha support and hosting services.

    ByWater Solutions brought the CKLS Pathfinder Central Online database onto their servers in late June with very positive results. ByWater Solutions will also be partnering with Catalyst IT of Wellington NZ for the ongoing development needs of CKLS.

    Koha administrator Maribeth Turner and former administrator Kathy Rippel commented on their recent switch to Koha with ByWater Solutions:

    "On June 27, 2011, Central Kansas Library System's catalog, "Pathfinder Central," went live with Community Koha. The consortium of thirty-eight member libraries contracted for support and hosting through ByWater Solutions. While the transition period has had some wrinkles, we are very pleased with ByWater Solutions' level of service, knowledgeable staff, and quick response time as we iron them out. We look forward to using Community Koha and supporting developments for the future."

    Brendan Gallagher, CEO of ByWater stated: "While the initial data provided by their legacy system came with some issues, the staff of CKLS remained focused throughout the entire migration process. In the end we were able to meet our targeted go-live date regardless, thanks to the hard work of our migration team and the staff of CKLS. We love working with CKLS and look forward to future collaboration with Catalyst regarding their ongoing development needs."

    The Central Kansas Library System's Pathfinder Central catalog is made up of roughly 38 member libraries and houses over 500,000 records. To view their customized online catalog, please visit: http://catalog.ckls.bywatersolutions.com/

    About the Central Kansas Library System:
    The Central Kansas Library System supports library services in 17 counties, covering 13,988 sq. miles with a total population of 187,750. Counties served include: Barton, Cloud, Ellis, Ellsworth, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Osborne, Ottawa Pawnee, Phillips, Republic, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, and Smith counties.

    The mission of the Central Kansas Library System is to help member libraries give their patrons what they want by extending library service to the unserved and improving library service where it already exists.

    The goal of the Central Kansas Library System is to respond to needs articulated by member librarians and trustees through specific programs that offer a level of sevice not affordable in local communities. CKLS pools resources and used modern technology to help local librarians serve their patrons better. CKLS also offers direct services to rural residents and those who need special services because of disability. Anyone living within the System boundaries can get the library materials they want by using the collections of local libraries or by contacting CKLS directly. For more information please visit: http://www.ckls.org

    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