May 19, 2013

Stakeholders Strive to Define Standards for Web-Scale Discovery Systems

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There is great hope that these rapidly maturing discovery products will not only promote information literacy strategies but also deliver what metasearch (or federated search) has failed to achieve—a Google-like interface that provides a fast, single point of entry to an institution’s relevant and vetted scholarly content. However, at the moment, even as libraries are struggling to reestablish themselves as a compelling place to start research, the three constituencies—libraries, content providers, and discovery service vendors—cannot even agree on a common vocabulary to describe what they do.

Serials Solutions’ Intota Library Management System in Development

During the recent American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, ProQuest unit Serials Solutions released the name of its in-development library management system: Intota. The system, set to be completed next year, aims to provide a unified, web-based tool for libraries to manage selection, acquisition, cataloging, discovery, and fulfillment for both print and electronic content.

ProQuest Reorganizes Business Structure

ProQuest announced this week that it was moving to a new structure consisting of six “strategic business units,” including one comprised of its Serials Solutions and Bowker businesses. The new arrangement, according to the announcement, was created by CEO Kurt Sanford, who joined the company in July.