EBSCO has rolled out Research Starters, a new feature for EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) that presents student researchers with short, citable summaries on frequently searched topics. Drawn from sources such as Salem Press, Encyclopedia Britannica, and American National Biography, more than 62,000 of these 500- to 1,500-word summaries are accessible, offering students an authoritative overview of their chosen subject, as well as links to other research starter summaries, or peer reviewed research where they can delve deeper into a topic.
Two New Services Offer Ready-to-Launch Websites for Libraries
Library web hosting provider LISHost this month launched Library CMS, a modular, Drupal-based content management system template tailored to the needs of library websites. The move follows the March debut of Prefab, a Wordpress-based CMS template designed for libraries by user experience (UX) consultancy Influx. Both are offered in conjunction with web hosting and are positioned as affordable, comprehensive website redesign services for individual libraries and small systems.
OverDrive’s Upcoming APIs to Allow Ebook Checkouts from OPAC
OverDrive’s most recent agreement touts plans for “deep API integration” with Innovative Interfaces Inc. (III) products, including Sierra and the Encore Discovery Services Platform, including new API updates that “will include the ability to check out and place a hold on ebooks from a library’s online catalog,” according to a company announcement. The integration will also enable a “seamless experience,” within OverDrive’s Content Reserve collection portal, offering the option of viewing a library’s physical and digital holdings side-by-side
Midwest Tape Launches Hoopla Pilot for Pay-Per-Circ Streaming Media
InfoCommons Offers Vision of Brooklyn’s Future
The Brooklyn Public Library on Tuesday unveiled its Central Library’s Shelby White and Leon Levy Information Commons area—a new public space designed to complement the building’s history while pointing toward the library’s future. The 5,500 square foot area “is really what I consider the nucleus around which our future service delivery strategies will revolve,” Richard Reyes-Gavilan, BPL’s Chief Librarian, told a group of librarians gathered from throughout the region to preview the space last week.
OverDrive, 3M kick off 2013 with Promising Ebook Developments
The Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL), Pioneer Library System (PLS), Hennepin County Library (HCL), and Mid-Continent Public Library (MCPL) were among several library systems that broke single-day ebook and audiobook-lending records this past Christmas, according to an announcement by OverDrive.In separate news, 3M last month achieved a milestone in its goal to make ebook searching a completely seamless experience.
Pew: More Patrons Using Mobile Devices to Access Library Websites
Thirteen percent of people aged 16 and older in the United States have used a mobile device to visit a library website or otherwise access library services, according to a national survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. This percentage has more than doubled since 2009 the report notes, citing an earlier survey conducted by researchers at the University of Washington.
Patrons Frustrated With Publisher Policies, Even as Ebook Use Grows Rapidly | Patron Profiles Fall 2012
Readers are continuing to experiment with ebooks, and the pace at which they are adopting the format is increasing, according to the forthcoming edition of LJ’s Fall 2012 Patron Profiles survey. The Patron Profiles Fall 2012 report contains detailed data on ebook user demographics, device preference, preferred reading formats, library visitation trends and shifts in onsite use, patron book and ebook acquisition trends, opinions on the possibility of libraries selling ebooks, a section on self-publishing trends, and more.