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    March 19th, 2013LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    The release below announces that HAN University has chosen EBSCO Discovery Service and details the reasons for choosing it. The release can also be found here:
    at http://www.prweb.com/releases/EDS/HANUniv/prweb10532316.htm

    Thank you,

    Lisa

    HAN University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands Selects
    EBSCO Discovery Service™
    ~ EBSCO Discovery Service™ Chosen as Library Discovery Solution
    Based on Functionality and Coverage~

    IPSWICH, Mass. — March 19, 2013 — HAN University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands has chosen EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) from EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO) to provide easier access and increased usage of the institution’s resources. HAN University is one of the top universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands and believes implementing EDS is an essential element for a top university.

    With a selection of almost every type of professional course, HAN University was seeking a discovery solution providing excellent coverage in many areas. Librarians at HAN University looked at a number of discovery solutions and appreciated that EBSCO is constantly looking to expand coverage, including the addition of Dutch content. HAN University’s Coordinator of the Digital Study Center, Maarten Hekman, says the decision to go with EBSCO Discovery Service was strongly influenced by the fact that EDS delivers the content and breadth of coverage they need. “Our old service was slow and yielded less and less results than the students and staff were expecting. We looked at a number of discovery solutions and EDS provided the best content and coverage for our needs—there was no reason not to choose EDS”.

    HAN University is one of many institutions worldwide that were influenced by the content coverage in EDS. EDS provides content from approximately 20,000 providers and includes partners from the world’s largest scholarly journal and book publishers. EDS draws upon EBSCO's extensive publisher relationships to feature a far more robust collection of rich metadata for most indexed content, ensuring that users can obtain the most relevant search results for their queries.

    Due to the extensive coverage, Hekman hopes that EDS will lead to increased usage of the library’s resources and databases. “We are excited to see what impact EDS will have on our users’ experience. We feel a lot more students will find what they need in just a few clicks”.
    Heckman says librarians were also impressed with the technical support that EBSCO offered throughout the set up process—particularly the ease of setting up guest access for non-authorized users. Guest access allows unauthenticated users to access the data through EDS. Hekman says, “EBSCO’s support team quickly arranged proxy setup for guest access. We were very pleased with how efficient they were and we are very happy with this feature.”

    Another important part of the university’s decision was that EBSCO Discovery Service is the only discovery service to provide platform blending. Through platform blending, EDS allows information from important subject indexes that don’t otherwise participate in discovery services to be infused into the EDS result list. Because these full records can’t be made freely available on the Web (much like full text), EDS provides limited detail from these resources which is displayed in a guest access record, authentication is required to see the complete detail of the records. No other discovery services is able to incorporate full records from these important subject index resources.

    While many discovery services offer guest access, there are a select few components that are not available in other discovery services and require authentication to view in EDS. These components are a unique benefit to EDS customers. EDS is the only discovery service that displays PDF full text (when available) directly in the result list. When clicking on the full-text PDF icon, guest access users would be prompted to log in, and would remain authenticated for the remainder of their session making it an easier experience for the user. EDS offers a cleaner, simpler process for requesting authentication to access full text, with far fewer clicks than other discovery services.

    HAN University took advantage of customizations to make EDS its own. The discovery service has been branded as HANQuest and 19 different profiles were created to accommodate the needs of users. Hekman was particularly pleased that librarians could set up widgets for the website of the HAN Study Centres in three different languages (Dutch, English and German) each linking directly to EDS in the corresponding language. Hekman noted that with EDS they are able to offer their students a service that is, “faster and more precise.”

    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.

    EBSCO Discovery Service provides a foundation upon which each EDS subscribing library builds out its custom collection. 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.

    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 375 databases and more than 370,000 e-book titles to choose from. 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.

    ###
    For more information, please contact:
    Kathleen McEvoy
    Public Relations Director
    (800) 653-2726 ext. 2594
    kmcevoy@ebscohost.com

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    March 19th, 2013LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Duluth, GA —March 19, 2013

    Equinox Software is proud to announce that Implementation Manager Galen Charlton has been named one of 2013’s “Movers & Shakers” by Library Journal magazine. This prestigious award recognizes 50 outstanding library professionals and their commitment to excellence and innovation in the field of librarianship. More information about all of the new inductees can be viewed at http://lj.libraryjournal.com/movers2013.

    Selected by the editors of LJ, the 2013 “Movers & Shakers” will be prominently featured in the March 15th issue of Library Journal magazine. They will also be celebrated during a special luncheon during the annual American Library Association conference in Chicago this June. The luncheon and awards ceremony is made possible by the support of sponsors, including Baker & Taylor, Collection HQ, DEMCO, Info Group/Reference USA, Library Aware from Novelist, ProQuest, and Rosen.

    "Each member of this year’s Movers & Shakers class embodies service to their community and a passion for advancing libraries and their profession," said Mike Kelley, Library Journal Editor-in-Chief.

    Galen is active in the Koha and Evergreen open source ILS projects, contributing code and knowledge, and was release manager for version 3.2 of Koha. Galen joined Equinox Software in 2009, where he is primarily focused on migrating libraries to open source ILSs.

    Galen said, "I am happy to be recognized by Library Journal for my efforts in open source software for libraries, but I would also like to tip my hat to the hundreds of library folk across the world who have come together to build and improve our tools for the benefit of all."

    Equinox Software, Inc.

    Founded by the original Evergreen designers and developers, Equinox Software is a leader in open source solutions for libraries. Their goal is to engage and support a rapidly growing open source community while assisting libraries in moving away from expensive proprietary vendors and products.
    For more information on Equinox Software, please visit http://www.esilibrary.com.

    About Library Journal

    In its 137th year of publication, Library Journal is the oldest and most respected publication covering the library field. Considered to be the "bible" of the library world, LJ is read by more than 100,000 library directors, administrators, and staff in public, academic, and special libraries. Library Journal is a publication of Media Source Inc., which also owns School Library Journal, The Horn Book Magazine and Junior Library Guild.

    Press contact: Corinne Hall, corinne@esilibrary.com, 770-709-5571

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    March 19th, 2013LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    The University of Nebraska Omaha is now live with OCLC WorldShare Management Services, making it the 100th institution worldwide to fully implement the new Web-based, cooperative library management and discovery services.

    “We wanted a library management system that was cutting-edge,” said Steve Shorb, Dean of the Criss Library at the University of Nebraska Omaha. “Moving to WorldShare Management Services is going to allow us to keep pace with current and emerging trends in technology and take full advantage of new developments and applications created specifically for libraries as they become available.”

    WorldShare Management Services provide a Web-based environment that streamlines cataloging, acquisitions, license management and circulation workflows, and offers the WorldCat Local discovery service for library users. WorldShare Management Services (WMS) were released for general availability in the United States in July 2011. Today, just 20 months later, 100 libraries on three continents—Australia, Europe and North America—are already using the services and some 65 more are in the implementation process to begin using the services in the future.

    “As we commemorate the 100th implementation of WMS at the University of Nebraska Omaha, we are also celebrating our shared commitment to library cooperation,” said Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO, on campus Wednesday to help introduce the services to students and faculty. “Throughout its history, OCLC has been fortunate to work with leading libraries to help create innovative new services. The OCLC cooperative worldwide is grateful to the Criss Library staff for its part in helping to improve library workflows and provide exciting and powerful discovery tools for library users.”

    Working together with WorldShare Management Services, libraries can share data, applications and workflow improvements with peer institutions, end users and partners. Since WorldShare Management Services are built on an open, collaborative platform, libraries can add the features and functions needed to support their unique communities. Libraries without development resources can take advantage of applications developed by others in the library community.

    “We wanted a platform that was more flexible and open to APIs,” said Rene Erlandson, Director, Virtual Services, Criss Library. “We wanted a more full-featured ILS, and WMS gives us the flexibility and features that will help us continue to grow and add new services as they are developed within the community.”

    That spirit of cooperation in the WMS community was a key to the decision to move to WorldShare. “It’s wonderful to work in a dot-org environment, rather than a dot-com environment,” said Mr. Shorb.

    Moving to WorldShare Management Services meant that Criss Library staff would change the way they approached their work. “Our staff has been open to the process; Steve has created an atmosphere that is receptive to change at the library,” said Ms. Erlandson. “Staff has been looking forward to using a system that is more flexible and allows them to streamline their processes. We have been able to cut down steps in our workflows—in some cases from seven steps to two.”

    “The Criss Library laid the groundwork for a successful change effort,” said Rob Ross, Director, Implementation Programs, OCLC. “It was clear that staff members had already considered how their roles might change, what professional growth opportunities this transition presented them, and what new value they could create for patrons. This adventurous spirit, along with tremendous energy, creativity and passion from the library’s leadership, contributed significantly to the overall success of their transition to WMS.”

    The move to WorldShare Management Services has already generated cost and time savings for the Criss Library. According to Mr. Shorb, the move has helped the library to acquire 300,000 e-book titles for the campus, and in the future they plan to reallocate library staff to create an institutional repository for the university.

    “In the future we hope to have the ability to stream video and become more involved with distance learning, online education and MOOCs,” said Mr. Shorb. “By streamlining other processes and eliminating server maintenance, some of our IT staff might have more bandwidth to focus on streaming video and help us grow our digital collections.”

    Moving to WorldShare Management Services helped Mr. Shorb save time in his plan to replace his library’s ILS. “Once we made the commitment to WMS, my two-year plan was cut down to six months,” he said.

    More about OCLC WorldShare Management Services can be found on the OCLC website at www.oclc.org.

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    March 19th, 2013LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    The reading recommendations and other benefits of NoveList Select have been integrated into the Koha open source Integrated Library System. The release below details it use at Los Gatos Library. The release can also be found at http://www.prweb.com/releases/NoveList/ByWater/prweb10544804.htm

    Companies Working Together Benefit Los Gatos Library
    ~ NoveList Select Now Available Through Koha Open Source ILS ~

    IPSWICH, Mass. — March 19, 2013 — Patrons of the Los Gatos Library in Los Gatos, Calif., and other libraries who use the Koha open source Integrated Library System (ILS) supported by ByWater Solutions, will benefit from the recent integration of NoveList Select content into the library’s catalogue.

    ByWater Solutions is an open source community supporter and the United States’ forefront provider of Koha support. NoveList Select, a division of EBSCO Publishing, integrates information including, reading recommendations, series information, events, reviews, and book jackets into a library’s catalogue so users can find the information where they need it, when they need it.

    Henry Bankhead, Interim Town Librarian at Los Gatos Library, reports that the library’s patrons will have an improved experience with the integration of NoveList Select into the Koha system. “The enhanced content adds reviews from Goodreads, up-to-date series information, recommendations of similar titles and authors as well as links to NextReads newsletters and more. Because of this integration, this content is available right in our library catalogue and is available to any NoveList Select customer using the Koha integrated library system.”

    The use of NoveList by the Los Gatos Library is an example of how libraries and their readers benefits when companies work together to support library success. “Libraries that choose Koha as their catalogue solution can now easily integrated the rich content from NoveList Select into their online catalogue and put expert reading recommendations and other expanded content into the place where it is most visible to library patrons,” said Duncan Smith the Vice President of NoveList.

    The strength of open source along with the willingness of EBSCO to contribute NoveList content is a win-win for EBSCO, for the Koha community, for Librarians and most importantly for library patrons according to Nicole C. Engard, Vice President of Education at ByWater Solutions. “When educating librarians about open source, I always stress how choosing Koha and exposes people to all kinds of new freedoms. This partnership between ByWater, Los Gatos Library and NoveList shows how multiple groups can come together to improve an open source product for the benefit of everyone using it.”

    For more information on NoveList, go to http://www.ebscohost.com/novelist and for information on Koha, please visit http://koha-community.org.

    About Los Gatos Library:
    Los Gatos Library, located in Los Gatos, CA., serves a population of over 30,000 residents and houses a collection of more than 100,000 volumes. The library sponsors many community activities aimed at connecting people to the world of information. Programming is offered as a library resource that provides information, education, recreation and enrichment to all. For more information please visit: http://www.losgatosca.gov

    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://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 the enterprise class open source library system, Koha. 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.

    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 375 databases and nearly 390,000 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.

    ###
    For more information, please contact:
    Kathleen McEvoy
    Public Relations Director
    (800) 653-2726 ext. 2594
    kmcevoy@ebscohost.com

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    March 18th, 2013LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Duluth, GA —March 18, 2013

    The Blanchester and Wornstaff Memorial public libraries have gone live on Evergreen making a total of 8 library systems on the new Consortium of Ohio Libraries (COOL). More than10,000 new patrons will now be part of the COOL consortium and over 90,000 bibliographic items have been added to the combined catalog. For more information, the COOL combined catalog can be viewed online at http://www.cool-cat.org/.

    Equinox Software oversaw data migration and will continue to provide advanced technical support. OHIONET will partner with Equinox to provide hosting and primary system administration. The COOL project received initial funding from the local libraries and an LSTA grant from the State Library of Ohio.

    Shae Tetterton, Equinox Project Manager, says, “I'm truly amazed by what this consortium has accomplished in the last year. Last year at this time, the very first library was going live. Today the COOL consortium has eight library systems live. Blanchester and Wornstaff are great additions to this group, and I look forward to the continued growth of the COOL consortium.”

    Equinox Software, Inc.

    Founded by the original Evergreen designers and developers, Equinox Software is a leader in open source solutions for libraries. Their goal is to engage and support a rapidly growing open source community while assisting libraries in moving away from expensive proprietary vendors and products.
    For more information on Equinox Software, please visit http://www.esilibrary.com.

    About Evergreen

    Evergreen is a robust, open-source integrated library system best known for its unique ability to meet the needs of very large, high-transaction, multi-site consortia. However, it has also proven equally successful scaled down for even the smallest libraries. Evergreen now supports almost 1,200 libraries of every type-public, academic, special, and school media centers across 4 countries, 31 U.S. states, and 8 Canadian provinces. King County Public Library System, SCLENDS, and the NC Cardinal consortiums are all currently running Evergreen. For more information about Evergreen, including a list of all known Evergreen installations, see http://evergreen-ils.org.

    Press contact: Corinne Hall, corinne@esilibrary.com, 770-709-5571

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