Library Technology Guides

Strong foundations for The Palace Project: A collaboration between OAPEN and Lyrasis. OAPEN and Lyrasis announced the implementation and integration of the OAPEN Library collection with The Palace Project. Through this joint effort, more than 22,000 open access books have been made available through OAPEN's Metadata Export Module for Open Access Books. This open source metadata management and integration tool by OAPEN invests in the principle of open and interoperable community owned infrastructure and is built on open standards and licensing of content. [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].

Wolf River Consortium (TN) expands Unique Services. Unique Library announced the addition of MessageBee phone notifications for the Wolf River Consortium in the Memphis, Tennessee area this week. The consortium was already using SMS notifications to keep patrons updated on their library transactions. [Full Announcement].

Monarch Library webinar recap: One library consortium calendar to rule them all. Innovative, part of Clarivate, recently hosted a webinar with the Monarch Library System in Wisconsin to discuss how they chose Vega Program for event management across their 32 member libraries and found options that worked for the individual members and the consortium as a whole. The webinar presenters Riti Grover, Director of Monarch Library System along with Clarivate Senior Product Manager, Angela Nolet, discussed why Monarch chose Vega Program, their approach to implementation, and the unique features available for consortia. [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].

Lake County Public Library (IN) adds MessageBee Phone and Email to existing services. Unique Library announced the addition of MessageBee email and phone notifications for the Lake County Public Library in northern Indiana this week. The public library is adding two new channels to their existing MessageBee SMS and NCOA Address Verification Service. The 9-location library system serves the second-largest county in the state of Indiana. [Full Announcement].

Wheaton Public Library (IL) launches MessageBee from Unique. Unique Library announced the addition of MessageBee for Wheaton Public Library this week. Patrons will receive notifications from the library via email and SMS notifications, creating a new channel for their patrons. Unique and Wheaton Public Library have collaborated for over four years already, with Wheaton investing in Material Recovery and Data Services since 2020 and March of this year, respectively. [Full Announcement].

Unique to join library leaders at Library Journal Directors' Summit. Unique Management Services is pleased to confirm its attendance as an exhibitor and sponsor at the Library Journal Directors' Summit this November. The event brings together directors of public libraries for two days of programming and breakout sessions to identify themes that libraries are prioritizing in 2024. This high-level event with some of the brightest minds in the public library space has become a forum for exchanging ideas and best practices. [Full Announcement].

Equinox partners with Unique Management Services to launch MessageBee SMS for the Traverse des Sioux Library System. Equinox Open Library Initiative, a trusted leader in open source technology development and support for libraries, announced that Traverse des Sioux Library System is live on MessageBee SMS services through a partnership with Unique Management Services. Traverse des Sioux Library System is a regional library system of libraries of all types in the south central region of Minnesota. [Full Announcement].

Meet Knowledge Assistant, your guide to the Ex Libris Knowledge Center. Ex Libris, part of Clarivate, is excited to introduce Knowledge Assistant, the innovative AI-powered chatbot designed to enhance your experience with the Ex Libris Customer Knowledge Center. Currently in beta, this tool is set to revolutionize how you find answers to your questions about the Ex Libris suite of products and services. [Full Announcement].

North Country Library System (NY) launches MessageBee SMS notifications from Unique. Unique Library announced the start of MessageBee SMS for North Country Library System. The library system is a new client of Unique, and joins a growing number of libraries that are using MessageBee to maximize their SMS notification delivery. The North Country Library System is a support organization that delivers services to the 65 public libraries located in Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, and St. Lawrence counties in upstate New York. [Full Announcement].

Arcadia Public Library (CA) launches MessageBee from Unique. Unique Library announced the addition of MessageBee for Arcadia Public Library this week. Patrons will receive notifications from the library via email and SMS notifications, creating a new channel for their patrons. Unique has served Arcadia Public Library for nearly 20 years already, thanks to a longstanding material recovery partnership between the two organizations. Arcadia Public Library has a rich history, having been founded in 1913 as a branch of the LA County Library, with its current location opening in 1961. [Full Announcement].

New guidance to empower patient authors. As part of its commitment to inclusive and patient-centered research, Taylor & Francis has launched a new resource aimed at empowering patients to actively contribute to medical research publications. Guidance for Patient Authors offers clear, step-by-step instructions and resources to help patients navigate the publication journey. [Full Announcement].

Systematic wins important contract for new library system in Sweden. The Danish software company takes another big step into the European library market after winning a tender worth SEK 100 million for Stockholm Public Library. With the contract, Systematic takes another big bite of the Scandinavian market. The customer list already includes all Danish public and school libraries, Oslo's main library Deichman Bjørvika and its 22 branches, as well as close to 100 other Norwegian municipalities. [Full Announcement].

CLEVNET launches MessageBee from Unique. Unique Library announced that CLEVNET, a northern Ohio consortium of 47 library systems, has implemented MessageBee for email notifications. Patrons across CLEVNET will now receive circulation notices and marketing emails powered by the advanced MessageBee platform. CLEVNET is the latest consortium to join Unique, serving 47 systems and nearly 1 million users across northern Ohio. [Full Announcement].

St. Clair County Public Library (MI) launches MessageBee from Unique. Unique Library announced the addition of MessageBee for St. Clair County Library this week. Patrons will receive notifications from the library via email and phone notifications, creating a new channel for their patrons. Founded in 1917, SCCL was the first county library in Michigan and one of the earliest county libraries in the United States. The library has 11 branches in a county that borders Lake Huron and Canada.MessageBee is a powerful and customizable messaging tool that offers numerous features, making it an essential asset for libraries looking to enhance their communication strategies. [Full Announcement].

OWWL Library System (NY) launches MessageBee SMS notifications from Unique. Unique Library announced the start of MessageBee SMS for OWWL Library System in New York this week. The library system is a new client of Unique, and OWWL joins a growing number of libraries that are using MessageBee to maximize their SMS notification delivery. [Full Announcement].

PLA seeks responses to 2024 Public Library Staff Survey. The Public Library Association has opened its annual survey and invited all U.S. public libraries to participate. The 2024 Public Library Staff Survey aims to better understand library staff roles and representation, hiring and retention practices, and goals and activities aimed at creating a welcoming environment for staff and community members of all backgrounds and abilities in public libraries nationwide. The survey is open now through Dec. 14, 2024. [Full Announcement].

OverDrive content catalog joins OpenAthens Federation. OpenAthens announced that OverDrive, the world's largest digital content provider, has joined the OpenAthens access management federation. OverDrive took the business decision so it can more easily scale access to libraries in the education and healthcare sectors, creating a more seamless experience for users worldwide. [Full Announcement].

Taylor & Francis and DataSeer to collaborate in data-sharing compliance checks and open science metrics pilots. Taylor & Francis, one of the world's largest research publishers, and DataSeer, an AI solution provider for open science, announced two parallel pilot projects to address the practical challenges of open research implementation, including a joint proof-of-concept pilot project aimed at improving the accuracy and speed of editorial data-sharing checks across a broad range of journals with varying policies and an initial analysis of Open Science Metrics across a sample of 5,000 Taylor & Francis published articles. Together, the two pilots have the potential to increase data-sharing policy compliance, reduce the editorial workload, and provide business intelligence to help drive openness forward. [Full Announcement].