May/June 2011 – New Product News
New Service from EBSCO Allows Libraries to Use EBSCOhost as the Front End of Their Online Catalog
EBSCO Publishing is now enabling public libraries to use EBSCOhost as the front end of their online catalogs. Loading catalog records on EBSCOhost allows public libraries to provide their patrons with the features and functionality of EBSCOhost.
Searching catalog records using EBSCOhost is designed to provide easy access to catalog content including:
- the choice of straightforward, basic search options or robust advanced searching options with facets to narrow searches;
- up-to-date search experience through real-time availability checking, daily updates, and the ability to limit results by location;
- catalog content––such as book jackets and subject headings––displayed in the result list;
- relevancy ranking;
- one-stop searching with direct links to related information;
- the ability to brand the interface with library colors and logos to further market valuable resources and create awareness of services; and
- an option to create a profile that includes the library catalog along with EBSCOhost databases in a single search, at no extra cost.
Adding links to other library resources is another way to use EBSCOhost as the online catalog’s front end, and this can help public libraries leverage their subscription content. Libraries subscribing to an EBSCOhost database such as Literary Reference Center would be able to provide links from the catalog records to the pertinent literary criticisms or author biographies while NoveList Select subscribers would be able to add reading recommendations for millions of titles. Libraries will also be able to add related information such as book reviews, similar books, other books by the same author, and links to resources such as Google Book Search and social media sites. The ability to brand the interface with library colors and logos allows libraries to further market their valuable resources and push their services to patrons.
Capstone Debuts Free “Make Stuff” Section on Children’s Website
Capstone, a leading publisher of children’s books and digital products and services, debuts “Make Stuff” on its website CapstoneKids.com. “Make Stuff” is a free resource featuring safe and appropriate content for children. The new area of the commercial-free site provides step-by-step instructions for children on projects from many of Capstone’s popular how-to book series such as Paper Airplanes, Build It Yourself, and Halloween Extreme.
The “Make Stuff” section consists of six categories of activities: (1) Recipes, (2) Crafts, (3) Projects, (4) Fold It, (5) Magic Tricks, and (6) Drawing. Using common and easy-to-find items, each one of the activity types features at least two hands-on projects that entertain children and teach them how to follow written instructions to reach a final goal.
NoveList Select Partners with Evanced Solutions to Add Event Information to Library Catalogs
A new partnership between NoveList Select and Evanced Solutions will bring more information into the library catalog. Libraries using NoveList resources to add readers’ advisory content into catalog records can now add content such as book jackets alongside NoveList reading recommendations. In addition, libraries using Evanced Solutions Events will be able to tie library events to book searches.
Evanced Solutions offers software and service for libraries of all types. Online tools include event calendaring with online registration, meeting room booking, summer reading management, and library materials vending––all designed to attract and engage the communities that libraries serve.
NoveList Select includes a Related Events at Your Library section that shows related events provided by Evanced Solutions. The Evanced Solutions Event Maintenance page allows events to be loaded with related subject terms. When users search the library catalog and select a particular book, the subject terms associated with the book are compared to the subject terms entered in the list of events and the event is displayed along with the catalog item selected.
3M Announces Details of Technology Subscription Program
3M Library Systems announced details on its Technology Subscription Program, a new way to implement RFID (radio-frequency identification) and self-service in libraries. This program helps libraries take advantage of the latest library technology without major capital expenditures. Instead, libraries can budget monthly, quarterly, or annually for their technology needs.
The 3M Technology Subscription Program, designed for libraries interested in implementing technology now, will help meet challenges faced each and every day. Systems that are part of this program include 3M RFID solutions, electromagnetic solutions, barcode-only SelfCheck Systems from 3M, and the 3M Intelligent Return and Sorter System.
Over the years, 3M has learned that one solution does not fit every library, so the 3M Technology Subscription Program has built-in flexibility. A library can choose the length of the subscription from one year to five years, as well as the payment schedule––monthly, quarterly, or annually.
SirsiDynix Launches BookMyne 2.0 iPhone Application
SirsiDynix announced the 2.0 release of the BookMyne iPhone application. BookMyne features mobile access to in-demand library information, holdings, and services. Version 2.0 expands the application’s offering with features including:
- barcode scanning capability, so library users can scan the barcode of a book at a bookstore or friend’s home and retrieve availability information on the book at the patron’s library of choice;
- social recommendation engine powered via Goodreads, enabling iPhone or iPod Touch users to search library holdings for friend-recommended reads;
- New York Times bestseller list cross-referencing, enabling users to immediately cross-check the bestseller list with library holdings and place holds remotely; and
- enhanced account interaction, including the ability for library users to view fines and fees in addition to other account information from their Apple mobile device.
Current customer libraries running the SirsiDynix Symphony ILS with an installation of SirsiDynix Web Services can offer their patrons the full BookMyne application functionality. The BookMyne iPhone app can be downloaded free of charge from the iTunes App Store. More than 1,350 libraries around the world have registered their libraries to be discovered on the iPhone application.
Polaris Library Systems Debuts Community-Focused Tools
Polaris Library Systems, a leading provider of library automation technology, recently announced a suite of new products. The products are all designed to help libraries expand their roles and influence within their communities.
The community-focused products include a new Feature It tool that enables libraries to promote community and library events, services, and materials prominently in the public access catalog (PAC). The promoted events and items are directly associated with a patron’s search criteria, enabling libraries to better connect patrons with the community and library services and materials.
Polaris also unveiled Community Profiles, a new database product. Libraries can strengthen their services as community information centers by enabling organizations, businesses, and associations to enter and maintain their information in Community Profiles through an easy-touse, web-based editor. The labeled editor is also available through the staff client, making it easy for library staff to search for and maintain community data. Patrons will be able to search Community Profiles directly from the Polaris PAC, and enjoy “one-stop shopping” for library and community information. Libraries will also be able to pull data from Community Profiles into Feature It to highlight community services and events in the PAC.
Feature It and Community Profiles expand the community presence on the library’s site. In addition, Polaris will showcase a new tool to disseminate targeted information about library materials and events out into the community. This widget connects community members directly with relevant library materials by enabling organizations and associations to post a “river” of library books, materials, and events on a selected topic directly on that organization’s own website.
BookScan Station Adds Ability to Send Google Docs
The BookScan self-service scan station makes scanning, saving, and collaborating easy with a wide variety of output options. Users can convert scanned pages into PDFs automatically. In addition, scanned files can be saved to a USB drive, sent as e-mail attachments, uploaded to Google Docs, or sent to a printer.
BookScan Station’s book edge design protects book spines. Users can scan pages up to 11” by 17” in black and white or color.
Free Bid/RFP Announcement Service for Libraries
The Library Resources Group, publisher of LibrariansYellowPages.com and other information services for the library marketplace, announces the launch of Library Bid & RFP Alert (LBRA).
Libraries are invited to submit their requests for bids, proposals, quotes, and information for publication––free of charge––in LBRA. To request a free subscription to LBRA and/or to post a solicitation(s) at no cost, please write to publisher@libraryworks.com for instructions.
H.W. Wilson Releases Social Networking
As online social networking becomes more entwined in our personal and professional lives, Social Networking––a new volume in H. W. Wilson’s Reference Shelf book series––takes a broad look at the phenomenon, exploring its history, its potential benefits and drawbacks, and its present impact on the larger social fabric. The timely volume comes on the heels of the success of The Social Network (a movie based on the rise of Facebook), and media rumors of an impending Facebook IPO.
Further exploration of the social networking phenomenon will soon also be available on the WilsonWeb reference database Current Issues: Reference Shelf Plus, which delivers sets of articles on social, scientific, health, political, and global issues, designed to provide a well-rounded overview.
