EBSCO Information Services and Children’s Book Council Announce 2020 SEE-IT™ Award Winner
~ Graphic Novel from First Second Publishing Selected for Its Lasting Impact and Distinguished Contribution to Youth Literature ~

IPSWICH, Mass. — June 16, 2020 — EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) and the Graphic Novel Committee of the Children’s Book Council announced Stargazing, written and illustrated by Jen Wang, as the 2020 recipient of the SEE-IT™ Award. Stargazing epitomizes what the SEE-IT Award stands for through its ability to embrace and discuss difficult topics — such as mental health, income inequality, racial and cultural difference — while inspiring empathy and compassion.

Jen Wang is a cartoonist, author and illustrator living in Los Angeles. She is the author of The Prince and the Dressmaker, Koko Be Good, and co-author of The New York Times bestselling graphic novel In Real Life, with Cory Doctorow. Her work has appeared in Los Angeles Magazine, The Believer, Hazlitt, Slate, and McSweeney’s, and she has written for the Adventure Time and Lumberjanes comic series. Wang is the co-founder and organizer of the annual festival Comics Arts Los Angeles.

SEE-IT Award juror Genevieve Grove says, “Graphic novels can carry just as much literary weight as their traditional cousins. The protagonists of Stargazing both illicit strong compassion in the reader and are complex characters whose journeys, both emotionally and physically, compel us to keep reading. We talk about books being both mirrors and windows for representation, self-identification and learning. This is exactly the type of literature that best exemplifies the concept, including highlighting diversity amongst racial groups that many in America might just consider monoliths. As a librarian, I can't wait to continue to share this book with kids for many years to come.”

Developed by EBSCO and the Children’s Book Council, the SEE-IT Award recognizes the cultural and literary impacts of youth graphic novels and is designed to celebrate the year’s most distinguished graphic novels for young readers. The four additional finalists, announced in May 2020, included:

• I Was Their American Dream, written and illustrated by Malaka Gharib (Clarkson Potter)
• Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell (First Second)
• New Kid, written and illustrated by Jerry Craft (HarperCollins)
• They Called Us Enemy, written by George Takei, Steven Scott and Justin Eisinger and illustrated by Harmony Becker (Top Shelf Productions)

EBSCO Information Services Vice President of Product Management for Books John Brennan says this year’s SEE-IT Award feels particularly valuable as libraries and educators continue to integrate diverse content into their collections. “We are proud to support an award that recognizes an artform which engages young readers while educating them on important social issues.”

A total of 100 submissions from more than 30 publishers were evaluated by a panel of nine librarian jurors, with each submission weighted against the following criteria:

• Literary quality
• Interweaving of art and story
• Lasting impact and distinguished contributions to youth literature
• An audience range of K-12, or young readers through young adults

For more information on the SEE-IT Award, visit the SEE-IT website at: https://www.ebsco.com/see-it.

About the Children’s Book Council
The Children’s Book Council (CBC) is the nonprofit trade association of children’s book publishers in North America, dedicated to supporting the industry and promoting children’s books and reading. For more information on the Children’s Book Council, visit their website at: https://www.cbcbooks.org/

About EBSCO Information Services
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is the leading discovery service provider for libraries worldwide with more than 11,000 discovery customers in over 100 countries. EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) provides each institution with a comprehensive, single search box for its entire collection, offering unparalleled relevance ranking quality and extensive customization. EBSCO is also the preeminent provider of online research content for libraries, including hundreds of research databases, historical archives, point-of-care medical reference, and corporate learning tools serving millions of end users at tens of thousands of institutions. EBSCO is the leading provider of electronic journals & books for libraries, with subscription management for more than 360,000 serials, including more than 57,000 e-journals, as well as online access to more than 1,000,000 e-books. For more information, visit the EBSCO website at: www.ebsco.com. EBSCO Information Services is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., a family owned company since 1944.

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For more information, please contact:
Erica Gilson
Senior Communications Specialist
(800) 653-2726 x2182
egilson@ebsco.com

Missouri State University Libraries Go Live with FOLIO Using EBSCO FOLIO Services
~ Missouri State University Libraries First Academic Institution in the United States to Fully Implement the FOLIO Open Source Library Services Platform ~

IPSWICH, Mass. — June 16, 2020 — Missouri State University (MSU) Libraries are now live with the FOLIO Library Services Platform, making MSU the first academic institution in the United States to fully implement FOLIO. Missouri State University Libraries implemented FOLIO by working with the EBSCO FOLIO migration team and are using EBSCO FOLIO Services for hosting and service.

Dean of Library Services at Missouri State University Libraries Tom Peters says the library staff set strict deadlines for implementation. “We went live with FOLIO’s ERM in January and then migrated to the full FOLIO LSP on June 8th beating our goal of being off our existing ILS by three weeks. We were able to exceed our implementation and migration goals thanks to our dedicated and thoughtful library employees, the amazing FOLIO Community and the talented EBSCO implementation team.”

EBSCO Information Services Executive Vice President of FOLIO and Research SaaS, Gar Sydnor, highlighted the implementation teams’ ability to deliver FOLIO ahead of schedule. “Migration plans can be complex, and this was a remarkably smooth effort. FOLIO’s modern design and open APIs enabled EBSCO and MSU staff to work together to ensure a reliable transition and a model instance of this new library services platform.”

In addition to FOLIO and ERM, Missouri State University Libraries have implemented EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) and OpenAthens. EDS will be used as the primary interface for most of the libraries’ print and electronic resources. OpenAthens will allow for single sign-on — a simple, standards-based system that makes it easier for users to access digital resources via the library website.

EBSCO Information Services Manager of FOLIO Consulting Services Anya N. Arnold, MLIS says this was a group effort across multiple teams at MSU, FOLIO and EBSCO. “The MSU staff was well prepared and worked seamlessly with the migration team at EBSCO. The FOLIO product owners and developers did exceptional work to make sure FOLIO was ready for MSU. Since MSU implemented not only FOLIO’s ERM system and the LSP but also EBSCO Discovery Service and OpenAthens, those teams became part of the migration team. I have been a part of many system changes (back end and front end) and by far this was one of the calmest migrations I have ever had the privilege of working on."

MSU will add the Courses app later this year and will be able to take advantage of the apps, features, and functionality in the upcoming Goldenrod Release. The libraries were able to go live with features from Fameflower and previous named releases.

Missouri State University Libraries serve the research needs of nearly 30,000 students, faculty and researchers. The library has 1.6 million bibliographic records now being managed by FOLIO. Since MSU is the first university in the United States (and one of the first in the world) to go live with FOLIO, they call their implementation First FOLIO at Missouri State. Peters also told his staff that in being first in the country to go live with FOLIO they had “made library automation history.” Peters wrote about the implementation in Missouri State Library Notes calling it “a major project to upgrade [the libraries’] fundamental information systems.”

About EBSCO Information Services
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is the leading discovery service provider for libraries worldwide with more than 11,000 discovery customers in over 100 countries. EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) provides each institution with a comprehensive, single search box for its entire collection, offering unparalleled relevance ranking quality and extensive customization. EBSCO is also the preeminent provider of online research content for libraries, including hundreds of research databases, historical archives, and clinical decisions tools serving millions of end users at tens of thousands of institutions. EBSCO is the leading provider of electronic journals & books for libraries, with subscription management for more than 360,000 serials, including more than 57,000 e-journals, as well as online access to more than 1,500,000 e-books. For more information, visit the EBSCO website at: www.ebsco.com. EBSCO Information Services is a division of EBSCO Industries, Inc., a family owned company since 1944.
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For more information, please contact:
Kathleen McEvoy
Vice President of Communications
(800) 653-2726 ext. 2594
kmcevoy@ebsco.com

Duluth, Ga., June 15, 2020: Equinox is pleased to announce the successful migration of the Putnam County Library to Evergreen as part of the Missouri Evergreen Consortium.

Putnam County Library supports 1,895 patrons and includes a circulation of 35,189 bibliographic records. Services provided by Equinox included project management and configuration in addition to data services encompassing bibliographic record deduplication and data conversion. Other offerings included by Equinox were support, hosting, and training both remotely and in person.

“We are very happy to be a part of Missouri Evergreen,” said Leatha Walsh, Director of Putnam County Public Library. “Our patrons are already enjoying the expanded offerings of materials through loans within the Missouri Evergreen community. We have really appreciated the efficiency with which Equinox did our migration. They made the process painless and helped us at every stage of the migration.”

The Missouri Evergreen Consortium began as a resource sharing initiative in 2012 in an effort to create an integrated library system for libraries in Missouri. They are supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provision of the Library Services and Technology Act as Administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.

“The Putnam staff have been working earnestly and diligently to prepare for the implementation of their new Evergreen system,” said Jennifer Weston, Implementation Project Manager at Equinox. “Facing the added challenge of being closed to the public for the month prior to their official Evergreen release date, the Putnam library found creative ways to continue to serve the community while remaining wholly engaged in the migration project. As their library returns to regular hours, patrons are enjoying access to an interactive online catalog. Equinox is delighted and honored to be working with the commendable staff of Putnam County Public Library to provide these new opportunities for their community.”

About Equinox Open Library Initiative
Equinox Open Library Initiative Inc. is a nonprofit company engaging in literary, charitable, and educational endeavors serving cultural and knowledge institutions. As the successor to Equinox Software, Inc., the Initiative carries forward a decade of service and experience with Evergreen and other open source library software. At Equinox OLI we help you empower your library with open source technologies. To learn more, please visit https://www.equinoxinitiative.org/.

About Evergreen
Evergreen is an award-winning ILS developed to provide an open source product able to meet the diverse needs of consortia and high transaction public libraries. However, it has proven to be equally successful in smaller installations including special and academic libraries. Today, over 1500 libraries around the world are using Evergreen including NC Cardinal, SCLENDS, and B.C. Sitka. For more information about Evergreen, including a list of all known Evergreen installations, see http://evergreen-ils.org.

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