EBSCO Previews Remodeled Platform Integrating NetLibrary Ebooks
By Michael Kelley Mar 23, 2011A year after its acquisition of NetLibrary, EBSCO Publishing this week began previewing a unified platform that integrates NetLibrary's ebook collection with the company's large collection of databases.
The preview allows libraries to search both their NetLibrary ebook collections and EBSCOhost databases with either the basic search screen or the advanced search options.
"Ebooks are a ten out of ten on our strategic plan," Tim Collins, president of EBSCO Publishing, told LJ. "All of the types of libraries we serve are buying ebooks, and we need to be prepared to serve those needs. Given our long-term relationships with both publishers and libraries, we see ourselves as being well-positioned to help both publishers and libraries by leveraging the value and popularity of the EBSCOhost platform as a delivery vehicle for ebooks."
Improving NetLibrary's interface
NetLibrary has about 300,000 ebooks and audiobooks, and further enhancements planned later this year will allow for the loading of EPUB content, which will expand the number of front list titles in the collection.
The need to improve the NetLibrary interface was a goal of the integration, which involved a full team in Boulder, CO, and a significant portion of the company's development team at its Ipswich, MA, headquarters.
"The NetLibrary interface has been a well-known source of frustration for librarians and end users," Scott Wasinger, director of ebook sales, told LJ. "NetLibrary was simply in need of updating to introduce better searching, faster speeds, and more options for librarians and end users alike." Previously, to download an audiobook would have taken 39 clicks, he said.
Jody Fagan, content interfaces coordinator at the James Madison University Libraries in Harrisonburg, VA, said the integration of NetLibrary with EBSCOhost could make it more attractive to libraries.
"There were so many problems with the NetLibrary interface before that...we didn't consider it previously," she told LJ. "But EBSCO has such a familiar interface that now I think our library and others might take a second look at NetLibrary, although I would reserve judgment until I actually have a chance to use it."
The new integrated interface will include allowing ebook users to save, email, view citations, and bookmark results. Users can also explore just the table of contents, which was not possible with NetLibrary's discrete interface since a user had to access the full text, making the title unavailable to other users. The interface is Web-based so no reader or hardware is required.
"Another new feature is the inclusion of BISAC categories [Book Industry Standards and Communications], which introduces new user-friendly subject headings and search functionality (BISAC categories are used in bookstores) and takes library classification to a new level," Wasinger said. MARC records also are provided for free.
Access will depend on the company's agreements with various publishers, but Wasinger said NetLibrary's current one-book/one-user model is "limiting." The new platform will offer a three-user model and also an unlimited user model.
"A library might initially pay for one user and establish a framework for upgrades in which a certain number of subsequent uses or requests would trigger an upgrade to a three user or an unlimited user model," he said.
The TitleSelect service allows libraries to license selections on a title-by-title basis. Prepackaged subject sets are also available. After the full migration to EBSCOhost takes place in July, a new Collection Manager service is going to be introduced.
Creating a single point of entry
Scott Anderson, the information systems librarian at Millersville University, PA, said such integrated platforms reduce the mechanical overhead and bring a Google-like simplicity to the search function but with added functionalities that serve the needs of the library.
"From our perspective, it's a good thing because we are trying to bring together and unify the means and mechanisms for making all of our content more readily and more seamlessly available to our users," he said. "So, the ability to have ebooks in the discovery space reduces what people have to know about the underlying mechanics of the library."
For an institution the size of Millersville, which has about 7500 undergraduates, the cost comes out to a few dollars per student, he said.
"Putting it all together creates a single mental model for students to understand the library," he said. "... Then as professional librarians and faculty members...the focus becomes not on the mechanics of where to go but more of an intellectual exercise of what are these different content types we are going to be dealing with."
When NetLibrary migrates to EBSCOhost in July, it will also introduce optional ebook and audiobook landing pages to facilitate content browsing. The site will also feature full 508(c) accessibility, COUNTER [Counting Online Usage of NeTworked Electronic Resources] compliant reporting, permalinks to page numbers, and branding options.
