~ eBooks on EBSCOhost® Chosen for Ability to Enhance Discoveryand Easy Integration with Course Assignments ~

IPSWICH, Mass. — December 13, 2012 — eBooks on EBSCOhost® from EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO) was recently chosen by Heald College, as its e-book service. Heald College, established in California in 1863 and known proudly as the first business college in the western United States, was looking to increase its e-book collection and librarians knew exactly what they wanted from an e-book service—enhanced discovery, permalinks at various levels in the text, ability to search content via multiple fields, easy integration into course assignments as well as features that add to the usability of the content.

Discoverability and usability were key factors in Heald College’s search for an e-book service. Division Director of Library Services at Heald College, Howard Fuller, says the landing page in eBooks on EBSCOhost creates an environment that enhances discovery and is easy to use. “Enhanced discovery is a critical feature for us and eBooks on EBSCOhost allows browsing by category or subject on the main eBook landing page and enables patrons to search for content via multiple fields. We were pleased with these eBooks on EBSCOhost features and what differentiates some of these features from other services is how usable they are within the collection.”

Heald College is a long-time EBSCO Publishing customer and subscribes to numerous EBSCOhost® databases. Searching e-books alongside EBSCO databases has resulted in many benefits for Heald College users as well as the library. Howard explains, “Adding e-book content and searching it alongside EBSCOhost databases has provided access to significantly more content—a growing database of sorts—and has sparked the need for users to learn how to filter content during discovery or searching more thoughtfully. It has also raised the collective awareness of e-books as a significant growing strategic aspect of our library and learning resources.”

As Heald College went through the e-book selection process librarians determined that integrating e-book content into course assignments and being able to direct students to chapter or section content were features that were very important to users. Howard says by utilizing these features in eBooks on EBSCOhost, users have learned to rely on them and the faculty has used eBooks on EBSCOhost to fill knowledge gaps on a test prep book. “Since implementation, time has shown that integrating e-book content into course assignments and directing students to chapter or section content are the two most used features. Most recently we’ve worked with several faculty members to use several e-books to supplement knowledge gaps in a test-prep study guide students use for a national certification exam. These e-books are available to students and faculty on the library web site when they need them, from wherever they choose to use them—home, café, or from within the library.”

EBSCO’s policy of no markup or maintenance fees was definitely a positive feature of eBooks on EBSCOhost for Howard. “It’s great to select an item and know exactly what the cost will be as you are selecting it. I’ve worked with other e-book providers who charge fees above the price of the e-book shown in the ordering platform. Lack of markup or fees also makes working with faculty much easier.”

eBooks on EBSCOhost® offers more than 350,000 e-books and audiobooks that are available for purchase on an individual basis as well as in Subject Sets, Featured Collections and Custom Collections with a growing number of purchase, lease and subscription options as well as patron driven options. eBooks on EBSCOhost represents a deep collection of e-book content that is accessible via a variety of devices. EBSCO proactively acquires new content in critical areas, based on the dynamic needs of libraries.

Accessing the EBSCOhost platform for e-books and audiobooks saves librarians training time and adds a well-known search platform to the end user’s experience. Allowing end users to search for e-books and audiobooks along with their EBSCOhost database content improves the discoverability of library collections. Lowering the cost for libraries makes the decision to focus on or add to e-book and audiobook collections easier and more cost-effective.

eBooks on EBSCOhost are provided with no markups and no fees and can be ordered through the EBSCOhost® Collection Manager or YBP’s GOBI3 allowing libraries more freedom to make purchasing decisions. More information is available at http://www.ebscohost.com/ebooks.

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 e-books. The company provides more than 350 databases and more than 350,000 e-books. 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