Library Technology Guides

Royal Veterinary College chooses Koha open source library management system, hosted and supported by PTFS Europe.. Royal Veterinary College has chosen Koha as its new library management system, to replace the previous SirsiDynix Symphony system. The college has also implemented Aspen Discovery as the library portal to their resources. PTFS Europe has implemented the new systems and will provide ongoing hosting and support services to the college to ensure its success in supporting these collections into the future. [Full Announcement].

Five ways magazine archives enhance academic research. EBSCO and Library Journal recently conducted a focus group with academic librarians in the U.S. to discuss the value of magazine archives in college libraries. The focus group findings provide evidence that magazine archives play a valuable role in enhancing academic research. Here are some of the ways magazine archives can be beneficial. [Full Announcement].

Unlocking academic excellence: top six ways library databases empower high school students. As educational trends evolve and expectations rise, high school students are under growing pressure to excel academically, whether they are in general education courses or enrolled in more rigorous programs such as Honors, Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB). Library databases play a crucial role in supporting every student's academic journey by providing access to high-quality resources, developing essential research skills, advancing information literacy and more. [Full Announcement].

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].

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].

Evergreen ILS Community holds Fall Hack-a-Way. Evergreen developers and community members gathered for the annual hack-a-way retreat in mid-November. Organized by the Evergreen Outreach Committee, hack-a-way provides an opportunity for Evergreen stakeholders to collaborate on software improvements and hold discussions about future project directions. This year's hack-a-way was held at Endicott College in Beverly, MA and was hosted by North of Boston Library Exchange and CW MARS. Twenty-five community members representing 12 organizations attended in person, with several others from across North America and Europe attending remotely. [Full Announcement].

Virginia Military Institute Selects FOLIO With Support from EBSCO. Virginia Military Institute selected FOLIO as its new library system using EBSCO Information Services' support. The EBSCO FOLIO Services team will ensure VMI's seamless transition to the open-source Library Services Platform, which is expected to go live in Summer 2025. [Full Announcement].

Hyku for Consortia transitions from pilot phase to full production. The Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation and the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana announced the successful transition of Hyku for Consortia from pilot phase to full production, now serving 40 libraries across four prominent partners in the Hyku Commons: PALCI, PALNI, the Boston Library Consortium, and the Virtual Library of Virginia. This milestone marks a significant achievement for the project, as Hyku for Consortia moves beyond initial testing to provide stable, production-level service supported by a robust, community-driven infrastructure. Additionally, collaborators recently received another round of funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to enhance and sustain the Hyku open-source community. [Full Announcement].

Clarivate reveals Highly Cited Researchers 2024 List. Clarivate, a leading global provider of transformative intelligence, today revealed its 2024 list of Highly Cited Researchers, influential researchers at universities, research institutes and commercial organizations around the world who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research. Analysts at the Institute for Scientific Information have recognized 6,636 Highly Cited Researchers in 2024 from more than 1,200 institutions in 59 nations and regions. The rigorous evaluation and selection process draws on data from the Web of Science Core Collection citation index, together with qualitative analysis performed by experts at the ISI at Clarivate. [Full Announcement].

American Library Association launches national search for executive director. The American Library Association has reopened its search for an executive director in partnership with executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. The search will be led by a steering committee comprising ALA member leaders. The selected candidate will succeed Interim Executive Director Leslie Burger, who was appointed in November 2023. ALA's Executive Board chose to relaunch its search for the position. [Full Announcement].

The Center for Research Libraries selects TIND ILS to power PAPR, the Print Archives and Preservation Registry. Center for Research Libraries has selected TIND ILS as the new platform for its Print Archives and Preservation Registry, advancing CRL's ability to support the global library community in the sustainable management of collective print collections. This marks CRL's third implementation of TIND products, a partnership that began in 2023 to reinforce CRL's commitment to preserving essential resources and facilitating long-term access.Originally developed in 2012 together with the California Digital Library and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, PAPR was designed to address the challenges of print serials management by creating a comprehensive collective repository of serials holdings from participating North American libraries. PAPR functions as a ‘data lake,' collecting and consolidating holdings across participating members to support the preservation and management of print serials. [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].

EBSCOlearning and Mindstone announce Mindstone AI Skills training from EBSCOlearning. EBSCOlearning, a division of EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO), and Mindstone announce Mindstone AI Skills Training from EBSCOlearning, a program and online platform focused on offering skills development and training to organizations seeking to upskill their non-technical workforce on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their everyday jobs. Mindstone AI Skills Training from EBSCOlearning focuses on real-world, practical applications and ensures individuals at all levels in an organization can use the latest AI tools in their daily work activities. [Full Announcement].

Sage appoints Khal Rudin as Chief Commercial Officer. Khal Rudin will be appointed to the newly created Chief Commercial Officer role at Sage, accelerating the independent academic publisher's customer-centered approach to business operations and further aligning the business amongst global customers and end-users. Rudin was formerly managing director at the Sage subsidiary AM and is currently a senior vice president at Sage. He will begin his new role in January 2025. [Full Announcement].

Springshare acquires CareerShift. Springshare, a leading EdTech vendor with 7,500+ educational institutions and libraries as customers, today announced the acquisition of CareerShift, the software platform that helps students with job search, career, and company research. Springshare acquired CareerShift from Student Playbook LLC who, after this divestiture, will focus on serving the alumni associations market. [Full Announcement].

JSTOR scales access to Interactive Research Tool in Beta, empowering researchers and educators with AI. JSTOR, a nonprofit service of ITHAKA, announced today that it is expanding the beta program for its interactive research tool by offering 500 colleges and universities the opportunity to provide early access for their faculty and students. Higher education institutions that sign up will give their communities a chance to experiment with an AI-powered tool that enhances research practices and skill development without compromising the critical thinking and information literacy skills needed for college-level work. [Full Announcement].

ProQuest Research Assistant helps students use academic AI responsibly. Recent reveals college students are struggling to understand how to use AI responsibly in their studies. When asked if they know when or how to use generative AI to help with coursework, more than 30% of undergraduates don't know or are unsure. The same research shows that alleviating the confusion about when AI is okay – and when it's not – is often falling on the shoulders of faculty, a group whose time is already stretched.ProQuest™, part of Clarivate™, is addressing this challenge by embedding responsible AI tools across its portfolio of research and learning solutions. Developed in partnership with librarians and users, these tools sidestep the risk of misuse by introducing students to AI that upholds scholarly standards and leverages its power to drive better research and learning outcomes. [Full Announcement].

The Ex Libris commitment to DEIA: Advancing Equity in Libraries. October marks Global DEIA Awareness Month, a time to reflect on the importance of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility across all sectors, including libraries, universities, and organizations. At Ex Libris, a part of Clarivate, supports this initiative, underscoring its commitment to creating equitable and inclusive library systems. [Full Announcement].

How Two Libraries Are Maximizing Value and Efficiency with DDA Services via GOBI. Managing an e-book collection in today's academic library can be a challenge. Libraries face ever-growing collections, increasing costs, and complex user demands—all while operating with limited staff and budgets. These constraints make it difficult for libraries to maintain the breadth and depth of collections needed to support their communities. Enter Demand-Driven Acquisition (DDA), a collection development strategy designed to help libraries manage costs and improve efficiency by allowing patrons to drive the acquisition process based on their actual usage. [Full Announcement].

The Center for Research Libraries selects TIND ILS. The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) has selected the TIND Integrated Library System (TIND ILS) to manage its vast collection and enhance services for over 200 member institutions. After two years on the FOLIO platform, CRL is migrating to TIND ILS for its powerful search features, efficient workflows, and support for batch processing. [Full Announcement].