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.
Lead, Library Systems & Instructional Multimedia, National University
Hi! I'm Meghan, and I am the Systems & Instructional Multimedia Librarian for National University. I work to ensure all the library's systems work properly for our patrons and also create videos, tutorials, infographics, presentations, and more to help our students understand how... Read More →
Wednesday April 30, 2025 10:30am - 11:20am EDT
Ballroom B | Coral1 Sabin St, Providence, RI 02903, USA
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.
The TERMS framework, developed by Jill Emery, Graham Stone, and Peter McCracken, postulates that e-resource resource management follows a recurring lifecycle, from evaluation to licensing to acquisitions to activation and access to discovery to management back to analysis and evaluation. This presentation intends to showcase how EBSCO's suite of products represents and enables the TERMS cycle for libraries. Attendees will leave with a better high level understanding of how EBSCO's products from GOBI to FOLIO integrate together and create a cohesive e-resource ecosystem.
This presentation will introduce EBSCO’s core accessibility team and talk and walk through EBSCO’s New UI. Built in accessibility features will be covered as well as a screen reader demonstration. We’ll talk about EBSCO’s approach to accessibility, testing and creating accessible products.
Join two of our software team to learn about a variety of tools to help increase user engagement with content and drive usage of the library. This session will include a review of several free tools, as well as where to find instructions and help in implementing them. Upon completion the library should have a list of options to consider, at no charge, that will help increase access to content.
Amy has been with EBSCO 19 years. During this time she primarily worked directly with academic libraries throughout New England. By talking with our clients and listening to their needs Amy has been able to identify how our software solutions can help. Amy currently handles several... Read More →
Linked data is at the forefront of EBSCO’s efforts to enhance information discoverability and interoperability, benefiting libraries and their communities. Our research services employ linked data, with ongoing efforts to expand its use.
This session will cover linked data basics, EBSCO’s current applications, and future plans. Topics include improving discoverability, knowledge graph development, and the resulting benefits: increased user engagement, satisfaction, and industry recognition of EBSCO’s search capabilities.
Amy has been with EBSCO 19 years. During this time she primarily worked directly with academic libraries throughout New England. By talking with our clients and listening to their needs Amy has been able to identify how our software solutions can help. Amy currently handles several... Read More →
Thursday May 1, 2025 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Ballroom D | Ocean1 Sabin St, Providence, RI 02903, USA
EDS is incredibly powerful, but can sometimes feel overwhelming to students and other patrons. In this presentation Simon Ringsmuth, a Digital Services Librarian at Oklahoma State University, will demonstrate the process he has used to create a series of short, targeted, effective, and engaging videos to help patrons learn various aspects of EDS including basics such as keyword searching to advanced features like custom folder sharing and boolean operators. This collaborative video-creation process utilizes free tools for ideation and scripting, as well as off-the-shelf software like Final Cut Pro and Camtasia to handle editing and screen-captures. This process is also not limited to EDS: Librarians can use this process to create tutorial videos about all manner of software tools to help patrons learn to use them more effectively. While some technical knowledge is useful, it is not required and anyone can learn to use this process to create engaging, effective tutorial videos. To see the videos that this presentation is based on, visit bit.ly/OSU-EDS-Search-Videos.
Join us for an in-depth presentation on the enhancements and customizations we've implemented in the new Discovery UI, developed in collaboration with the expert support of our EBSCO Library Services engineer. Highlights include features like a 24/7 chat image, streamlined catalog integration, and custom labels tailored to user needs. We'll also share insights into our decision-making process, incorporating user feedback forms, in-house support documentation, and collaborative discussion methods such as Librarian Q&A sessions and faculty training. This session is ideal for those seeking practical strategies for improving user engagement and streamlining library services.
EBSCO Information Services has steadily grown from humble roots in the 1940’s to one of the largest global businesses focused on libraries. Marshall Breeding will conduct a tour of EBSCO through resources and data sources available on Library Technology Guides, highlighting its impressive history of business acquisitions and product development. EBSCO Industries is a diversified group of companies, including EBSCO Information Systems as its largest enterprise. Owned by the descendants of its founder, Eldon B. Stephens, EBSCO represents a distinctive ownership model that contrasts with other major industry players. The session will cover the trajectory of FOLIO, from its initial announcement in 2016 to a mature product selected by some of the world’s largest and most complex libraries and consortia. EBSCO’s support and investment in open source software is unprecedented in the industry, supporting a product strategy that blends FOLIO components with its own commercial components. This session will provide information and perspective about the factors that have led EBSCO Information Services to its strong position as a successful library vendor with products and services spanning content, discovery, and resource management.
Marshall Breeding is an independent consultant, speaker, and author. He is the creator and editor of Library Technology Guides and the libraries.org online directory of libraries. His monthly column Systems Librarian appears in Computers in Libraries; he is the editor for Smart Libraries... Read More →
Thursday May 1, 2025 2:00pm - 2:50pm EDT
Ballroom D | Ocean1 Sabin St, Providence, RI 02903, USA
This talk will summarize research conducted by EBSCO’s user research team on how generative AI tools like ChatGPT, SciSpace, and Semantic Scholar have shaped student research workflows. We will first take a deep-dive into the ways AI technology has (and hasn’t) shifted student mental models and expectations of research interfaces. We’ll give real-world examples from user interviews detailing how students integrate AI into various aspects of discovering, summarizing, and outlining research, as well as some of the areas where AI falls short of student needs. We’ll also discuss some of the most common barriers to student adoption of AI tools ranging from scholarly concerns over accuracy and information sources to institutional concerns over appropriate usage and academic integrity. Finally, we’ll discuss the ways these insights are guiding EBSCO’s user-centered approach to AI initiatives and what to expect from future development.
This session will cover discussion on current, expected and new options to Share (results, searches, alerts (Journal/search) and Cite information using available formats or various bibliographic managers / tools from Results List (non-personalized) and Dashboard (personalized) areas.
Join EBSCO senior product managers Heather White and Rachel Hally to learn about EBSCO’s Voice of the Customer (VOC) program and how we use data to make decisions about product development. First, Rachel will provide an overview of VOC and its evolution over the past two years into a multi-faceted program that incorporates customer feedback from numerous communication streams. Then Heather and Rachel will show us their own VOC workflows and explain how she used enhancement requests to make data-driven decisions about which features were the most important to support customers’ migration to the new UI.
Before joining EBSCO in 2021 as a product manager, I was an academic librarian for 17 years. I started my career in a high school library, moved into Reference & Instruction positions in college and university libraries, and then settled into community college libraries. I spent the... Read More →
Thursday May 1, 2025 3:10pm - 4:00pm EDT
Ballroom B | Coral1 Sabin St, Providence, RI 02903, USA
Many libraries have just moved to the new EBSCO EDS interface, and some are still transitioning. This session will be a tour of the new EDS interface, including what's new, what has changed, and the reasons behind the update. This will also be a chance to ask questions.
Amy has been with EBSCO 19 years. During this time she primarily worked directly with academic libraries throughout New England. By talking with our clients and listening to their needs Amy has been able to identify how our software solutions can help. Amy currently handles several... Read More →
In this session, learn how linked data connects information across interrelated library resources so they can be easily discovered in your collection. Linked data uses ontologies, which are essentially the linked data schema for how information is related to each other, to create these networks. Attendees will understand how EBSCO applies knowledge graph analytics through use cases. They will also understand how to leverage their own linked data to identify duplicate resources, if an author’s affiliation
Open Educational Resources (OER) are vital for enhancing educational access and affordability. EBSCO's has taken great care in licensing OER content to help provide a comprehensive and reliable solution for institutions looking to support these efforts. By integrating EBSCO's OER content into your institution's curriculum, you can offer students and faculty access to high-quality, peer-reviewed educational materials at no cost. This not only reduces the financial burden on students but also promotes academic success by providing diverse and up-to-date resources. Additionally, EBSCO's platform offers advanced search capabilities, making it easy for educators to find and incorporate relevant OER materials into their courses. Supporting OER efforts with EBSCO's content aligns with the broader goals of educational equity and innovation, ensuring that all students have the resources they need to succeed. By adopting EBSCO's OER content, your institution can lead the way in creating a more inclusive and effective learning environment.
Before joining EBSCO in 2021 as a product manager, I was an academic librarian for 17 years. I started my career in a high school library, moved into Reference & Instruction positions in college and university libraries, and then settled into community college libraries. I spent the... Read More →
Thursday May 1, 2025 4:05pm - 4:55pm EDT
Ballroom B | Coral1 Sabin St, Providence, RI 02903, USA
