2025 EBSCO User Group

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) play a vital role in educating and empowering Black and ethnic students and fostering a diverse and inclusive learning environment. To ensure their continued success, HBCU libraries must select collections that reflect the diverse experiences and knowledge of the HBCU communities. However, ensuring library collections reflect this commitment to DEI requires ongoing assessment and strategic development. This proposal outlines a plan to leverage EBSCO subscriptions and resources to enhance the library’s collection in support of DEI initiatives at Tennessee State University. While TSU library possesses a robust collection, there may be gaps in representing diverse voices and perspectives. By strategically leveraging EBSCO resources, the TSU library can significantly enhance its collection to better reflect the institution’s commitment to DEI. This will empower students and faculty with the informational resources they need to excel academically and become well-informed global citizens.

This session will provide a deep dive into the challenges of migrating to the new EDS user interface. I'll share the library’s experiences in customizing the interface to align with the users' specific needs and expectations.

Key topics will include:
- Customizing the User Experience: Learn how we developed and implemented custom filters, placards, and search extensions to enhance the search experience and improve discovery.
- Effective Training and Communication: Discover the strategies we employed to train staff and communicate effectively with the entire university community, minimizing disruption and maximizing user satisfaction.
- Monitoring and Responding to User Feedback: Explore how we tracked user feedback and implemented changes to address concerns and improve the overall user experience.
- Looking Forward: Review the key upcoming features coming to the interface in 2025.

Implementing new software as a service platforms take time and effort. This session will review best practices, tips, and general advice on how to work with our implementation team for the best outcome for your institution. We will share thoughts on how best to prepare for the project, general tools and workflows used, pitfalls to avoid, and other general ways in which to optimally stand up the product purchased. Products to be reviewed will include EBSCO Discovery Service, Full Text Finder, Custom Catalogs, Stacks, OpenAthens, and more.

The foundation of e-resource management tools is a quality knowledgebase, and access to electronic content fails when those management tools rest on a poor foundation. Since switching to the EBSCO knowledgebase and HLM tools in 2020, Cornell University Library has regularly expressed concerns to EBSCO about this knowledgebase, our frustrations with it, and the resulting negative impact on our users. In a partnership proposed by EBSCO, Cornell has worked closely with EBSCO over the past year to continue improving the knowledgebase, to ensure better access to all resources. These improvements benefit all users who rely on HLM tools to access their e-resources. In this session, Peter McCracken (CUL e-resources librarian, and – long ago – a co-founder of Serials Solutions) will describe the need for improved work, the work that Cornell and EBSCO have done together, and where Cornell hopes it will lead. This work is necessary if libraries want to successfully connect researchers and readers with electronic content.

This presentation explores how one academic library serving an entirely online university executed a deep overhaul of its online infrastructure while navigating an unexpected medical crisis.

The institution made three major changes on the same day by implementing the new EBSCO Discovery Service, transitioning to the OpenAthens authentication system, and launching a redesigned website. The discussion reviews the thought processes and decisions behind combining these migrations, including resource allocation, risk assessment, and timeline management explained, as well as communicating with key stakeholders, managing expectations, and testing so, so very many links.

The presentation also addresses crisis management when the project lead, the presenter, was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy two days before launch. Learn what happened, what to prepare for with your own migrations and projects, and how to make sure you can expect the unexpected. The impact of the changes after one year will also be discussed.

This presentation offers valuable insights for library professionals planning EBSCO Discovery Service and OpenAthens migrations, or similar system migrations and changes.

In November 2024, New York Public Library (NYPL) successfully implemented EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) as Article Plus for their patrons. This change, along with a single-search box on a newly-launched Online Resources and Databases page, facilitates a transformative experience for NYPL patrons. The implementation of EDS marks a significant milestone by providing patrons with enhanced access to hundreds of online resources and databases.
In this session, NYPL’s Elliot Clement, Research Electronic Resources Coordinator, and Laura Leone, Collections Access and Discovery Project Manager, will share their experiences and insights on the implementation process of EDS. They will discuss the strategic changes made to the NYPL website to integrate EDS, support received from the EBSCO implementation team, and the work it took to create and promote the launch of Article Plus.
Key highlights of the session will include:
• An overview of the implementation process, including details about the redesign of the
previous Articles and Databases user interface.
• The collaborative efforts among NYPL and EBSCO stakeholders to ensure a seamless integration.
• The impact of EDS on improving access to resources and information.
• A live demonstration of the new features and functionalities added to the NYPL website.

Go behind the scenes with EBSCO Product Managers as they delve into the integration of Linked Data into EBSCO Discovery Service and EBSCOhost to transform research experiences. This session will cover the infrastructure enabling Linked Data, including the new EBSCO Scholarly Graph platform, and the new product features that are enabled through this new infrastructure. Attendees will also learn how EBSCO incorporates user research to discover, validate, and refine new features to improve the user journey on EBSCO platforms.

At the end of the pandemic, Thompson Rivers University Library discovered that some of the temporary processes we developed during the interim were not just beneficial, but also invaluable. For instance, we found that the EDS system modifications, initially used for touchless delivery, continued to add significant value for holds and after-hours pick-ups. The pandemic encouraged us to concentrate on and evaluate core library functions. Similarly, we used critical evaluation of our processes to inform our migration to Folio.
We will discuss:
How we are simplifying its circulation system by reducing the number of item types, loan rules, and patron types.
Why we will be selective in our use of new patron empowerment features in the EDS.
Why a system migration is an excellent opportunity to streamline library processes and to examine what a library can do.
Why examining fines and loan periods before the migration is essential during the migration. Addressing complex or difficult questions before the upgrade allows you to spend more time training staff and fine-tuning the configuration during the migration.