One of Aspen's primary goals is to be the single place to discover all of a library's resources and services. Grove furthered this goal in the 24.11 release by providing a way for libraries to offer access to more than one OverDrive collection for a single library, access to search CloudSource OA directly from Aspen, and support for the ILL platform SHAREit from Auto-Graphics.

Alex Vancina, the Technology & Metadata Services Manager at the Helen Plum Library, that sponsored the SHAREit integration, had this to say about working with Grove:

"Integrating search results from our SHAREit system, Find More Illinois, has been one of Helen Plum Library's top wish list features since we launched Aspen Discovery two years ago. We're excited that we were able to work with Grove to make this happen. We're looking forward to the improved access to ILL resources that this integration will make possible for both our own patrons as well as other SHAREit users in the Aspen community."

The SHAREit integration returns search results from other libraries in the same Interlibrary Loan system in Aspen Search results. Patrons can also search SHAREit directly from the main Aspen search bar.

Similarly, libraries and consortia with access to CloudSource OA, an open-access journals database from SirsiDynix, can also search those resources from the main Aspen search bar. This development was sponsored by CLEVNET.

A single library having access to multiple OverDrive collections is also common with state-wide or regional OverDrive accounts supplemented by consortia or individual library accounts. This was the case for the Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System, which sponsored a development to integrate both of its OverDrive collections into the same Aspen catalog.

Like Aspen chooses the best edition for a hold when the library has multiple bibliographic records for the same title, Aspen has built-in logic to determine the best collection for Aspen to place a hold in for the patron when both OverDrive collections have the same title.

This new feature also allows libraries that have separate collections for their OverDrive books and magazines to allow both collections to appear in the catalog. Grove also added this functionality to the LiDA library app.

These updates are in addition to more than 50 additional updates in Aspen 24.11. Thank you to our sponsoring libraries as well as the other libraries, individuals, and organizations that contributed to the success of this release.

About Grove

Grove for Libraries offers custom development for Aspen Discovery, Aspen LiDA, and other projects related to Aspen. Grove employees also contribute time and expertise to all Aspen Community meetings as well as dedicated Office Hours to help grow and support all libraries and organizations using Aspen. Learn more at https://www.groveforlibraries.com/

About Aspen

Aspen is a suite of library software that started with the flagship Discovery and now includes additional modules such as the LiDA mobile app and Web Builder. Aspen is in use by more than 1,600 libraries worldwide and is supported by a community of hundreds of librarians. Learn more at https://community.aspendiscovery.org/