Library Technology Guides

10 libraries in Alberta to join OCLC's WorldShare Management Services community. libraries from the NEOS Library Consortium in Alberta, Canada, are moving to OCLC's WorldShare Management Services, the fully integrated library services platform designed to meet the needs of modern libraries. NEOS is a consortium of government, health, college, and university libraries that cooperate to share library resources, technology, collections, and workflows. Consortium libraries work together on learning initiatives, document delivery, and a range of core library activities. [Full Announcement].

The Student Voice: Enhancing the Higher Education App Experience. In today's digital-first world, crafting a higher education app that students truly love goes beyond good design or offering a range of services. It's about creating an experience tailored to meet the unique and evolving needs of your students. These needs can vary dramatically across institutions, cohorts, and even over time. [Full Announcement].

Natural Language Understanding in Library Research Platforms - Findings from EBSCO's Natural Language Search Beta. EBSCO's Natural Language Search Beta, an upcoming search mode for EBSCO Discovery Service and EBSCOhost that uses AI to parse queries, finds that Natural Language Search is complimentary to more traditional search. [Full Announcement].

Clarivate and the Chinese Academy of Sciences release Annual Collaborative Report to identify 125 research fronts. Clarivate, a leading global provider of transformative intelligence, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences released 2024 Research Fronts, identifying the most dynamic and rapidly growing specialties in sciences and social sciences. This marks the eleventh annual collaboration between the two organizations, with the report launched at a ceremony held in Beijing. The report identifies 125 Research Fronts, comprising 110 ‘hot' Fronts and 15 ‘emerging' Fronts. A hot Research Front represents an active area of study, while an emerging Research Front indicates a rapidly developing field in scientific research. The ability to identify these specialty areas of research provides a distinct advantage for those who seek to monitor, support and advance research, often in the face of finite resources. This includes governments, policymakers, publishers, research administrators and companies. [Full Announcement].

Emerald Publishing acquires Information Age Publishing. Emerald Publishing Limited has today acquired Information Age Publishing. Publishing academic book series, monographs and journals with particular strengths in the areas of Education, Management and Psychology, IAP expands Emerald's portfolio of high-quality academic resources, and significantly enhances Emerald's author footprint in North America. The sale comprises over 2,600 books and six peer-reviewed journals. [Full Announcement].

Congratulations to these Innovative libraries named 2024 ULC Top Innovators. The Urban Libraries Council recently named their 2024 Top Innovators, a group of public libraries filled with success stories rooted in strategic programs that address community needs. Innovative shared that it work directly with four libraries honored by the ULC this year, including San Francisco Public Library, Miami-Dade Public Library System, Denver Public Library, and Gwinnett County Public Library. [Full Announcement].

Applied Science Commons Wins Big at the 2024 Charleston Premiers. Coherent Digital took home two prestigious awards at the recent Charleston Conference. Public Health and Social Care won the Charleston Premiers for the most impactful product and overall Coherent Digital won for innovation. [Full Announcement].

KohaCon24: The power of collaboration in the GLAMR sector. Ideas flourish when shared. When communities collaborate toward a common goal, bringing with them their resources, experience, and passion, the GLAMR sector can thrive. The global Koha community aims for the Koha library management system to solve problems and present opportunities for many kinds of organisations and their collections. The project's open source nature enables unique innovation and collaboration, is amplified at the regular gatherings, including KohaCon. KohaCon is an annual conference for users and contributors of Koha from all around the world. [Full Announcement].

Sage acquires GOOD DOCS, distributor of documentaries that do good in the world. Sage Publishing, a leading academic publisher, has acquired GOOD DOCS LLC, a film distribution company promoting social justice through powerful documentaries. This partnership adds over 370 films to Sage's library of video content, providing educational resources and promoting critical thinking on important societal issues. [Full Announcement].

AI Metadata Assistant preview initiated for all Alma Customers. Ex Libris, part of Clarivate, announced that all Alma customers can now access and test the AI Metadata Assistant to aid library catalogers in their work and save them time. Available through the Alma November feature release, a preview of the AI tool is integrated into the Alma Metadata Editor and generates metadata suggestions helping catalogers in creating and enhancing bibliographic records. [Full Announcement].

A Closer Look at the Innovative Users Group. Former chairman Wes Osborn (Executive Director of the Central Library Consortium) and his successor, Jeff Campbell (Head of Infrastructure Management Services and the University of North Carolina Libraries) summarized the value of the Innovative Users Group. [Full Announcement].

Sage expands its portfolio by acquiring Cambridge Business Publishers. Sage continues to build its portfolio in business and management by acquiring Cambridge Business Publishers, a US-based provider of college textbooks and technology focused on accounting and finance courses. [Full Announcement].

Clarivate Healthcare Business Insights unveils 2023 revenue cycle award winners. Clarivate, a leading global provider of transformative intelligence, announced the 2023 winners of the Clarivate Healthcare Business Insights annual Revenue Cycle Awards. Now in its 12th year, the Revenue Cycle Awards recognize U.S.-based healthcare organizations for exceptional performance on revenue cycle KPIs, based on data from their most recent and preceding full fiscal years. The 2023 recipients include Roper St. Francis Healthcare; Bon Secours Mercy Health; Bronson Methodist Hospital; and Roper St. Francis Healthcare. [Full Announcement].

hoopla Digital announces BingePass partnership with Impactful Group to bring mental health literacy program to libraries. hoopla Digital, the only all-in-one digital media app for public libraries and their patrons, announced today that it is partnering with Impactful Group, an organization committed to creating meaningful change through innovative storytelling, education and mental health resources, to launch a new BingePass: the Creative Coping Toolkit. [Full Announcement].

Stockholm Public Library and Systematic pioneer the future of library services. In the heart of Stockholm, an invisible revolution is underway at the iconic city library and its 40 branches. A 20-year-old IT system is about to be replaced with a new, innovative library system combining the Danish-developed Library Management system Cicero from Systematic with the Intelligent Material Management System (IMMS) from Danish Lyngsoe Systems. The new joint solution will redefine the library experience for users and staff alike. [Full Announcement].

We are hiring a team member for our Support Department. ByWater Solutions was created with the express goal of changing the way libraries interact with their software and the vendors who support them. We believe that libraries deserve to have access to a personalized, comprehensive support system at a reasonable cost. Our company is made up of a small and close-knit group of librarians, book lovers, technology and data geeks, Tolkien fans, space nerds, knitters, marathon runners, animal lovers, and most importantly, library lovers and open-source fanatics. [Full Announcement].

Equinox at the Connecticut Library Consortium Vendor Expo 2024. Equinox Open Library Initiative, a trusted leader in open source technology development and support for libraries, will be at the Connecticut Library Consortium Vendor Expo on November 12, 2024 at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut. Equinox will present on open source products Aspen Discovery, CORAL ERM and SubjectsPlus. [Full Announcement].

Taylor & Francis Joins DAISY Consortium's Inclusive Publishing Partner Program. Taylor & Francis has strengthened its ongoing commitment to accessibility by joining the DAISY Consortium's Inclusive Publishing Partner program, an initiative supporting organizations around the world to produce content that is accessible to all. Members of this initiative share the vision of a world in which people have equal access to information and knowledge regardless of their reading requirements. To support this vision, the Inclusive Publishing Partner program provides publishers and technology companies with extensive expertise, tools and advice. This includes insight into the latest developments in standards, reading solutions and practices globally. By participating, these organizations are also supporting the continuation of DAISY's mission: to develop global solutions for accessible publishing and reading. [Full Announcement].

MNLINK Resource Sharing Service, powered by ReShare, now available for Minnesota libraries. Project ReShare announced that the MNLINK resource-sharing service has successfully transitioned to the ReShare platform. This change makes it easy for libraries in Minnesota to discover and share library resources. The new MNLINK, powered by ReShare and VuFind®, and hosted by Index Data, allows users to easily access physical and digital materials across many public and academic libraries in Minnesota. [Full Announcement].

IWA 44 Unique Media Identifier (UMId). From November 1 through 29, all relevant stakeholders and interested individuals are invited to participate in the public consultation and thus, contribute to the finalisation of IWA 44 – Unique Media Identifier (UMId) for distribution channels and brands. The main objective of UMId is to promote the integrity of our shared information space by reducing ambiguity – be it on purpose or not – of media outlet's names, which can compromise the reputation of legitimate news organisations, help to mask and disguise bad actors, confuse or intentionally game algorithmic indexation of search and social media, mislead citizens, regulators, researchers, advertisers – even AI-driven large language models, and eventually erode the integrity of civic discourse overall. [Full Announcement].