Library Technology Guides

Sunnyvale Public Library (CA) joins Springshare's Patron Point. Springshare announced that Sunnyvale Public Library, based in Sunnyvale, California has elected to implement our library marketing and automation platform, Patron Point, to help strengthen its community through learning and experiences. Offering more than 250,000 items in its collection and receiving over 2 million transactions annually, Sunnyvale Public Library has established itself as a cherished community hub. Using Patron Point, SPL will augment its communications to help patrons take full advantage of its wide range of physical and digital resources. Library patrons can take advantage of much more than reading and streaming resources with a full calendar of events and programs for all ages. These include multilingual craft time, storytimes, adult and teen skills classes, concerts, test proctoring, book groups, book sales, movie nights, and more. [Full Announcement].

Allen County Public Library website first to publish with Vega Promote Web. Innovative, part of Clarivate, announced the launch of an elevated and intuitive website experience for Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana using Innovative solutions. Allen County Public Library is the first library to launch a website made with Innovative's new website builder, Vega Promote Web. The library was seeking a solution that would support their vision for a seamless user experience and greater discovery for their community, whether online or in a library branch. Vega Promote Web quickly became the product of choice. Allen County Public Library used the opportunity to redesign two sites for their community: the main library website and the ACPL Genealogy Center website. [Full Announcement].

TIND launches new video player feature with automatic transcoding. TIND has introduced the first iteration of the newly developed Video Player. With automatic transcoding for unmatched playback quality and an admin dashboard for efficient content management, the player simplifies the video upload process and ensures a superior viewing experience across various file formats. This announcement underlines TIND's dedication to institutions with significant video collections, providing a simple solution for effortlessly upload and video streaming capabilities for all end users through the TIND platform. [Full Announcement].

EBSCOlearning and the American Management Association Launch AMA MicroCourses powered by EBSCOlearning. EBSCOlearning, a division of EBSCO Information Services and the American Management Association International join forces to deliver AMA MicroCourses powered by EBSCOlearning, a new platform created to provide companies with resources to upskill their employees and equip those entering the workforce with learning real-world skills. AMA MicroCourses powered by EBSCOlearning is available for businesses, colleges and universities, libraries, schools, and government, and designed to enable organizations and users to improve business knowledge, practical skills and productivity — including a wide range of leadership, management and other in-demand soft skills. [Full Announcement].

Biomedical Publisher Future Science Group joins Taylor & Francis. Taylor & Francis announced the addition of Future Science Group, publisher of medical, biotechnological and scientific research. As well as bringing a portfolio of cutting-edge journals and digital hubs, FSG's leading publishing solutions program will enable Taylor & Francis to offer researchers and medical communication planners a host of additional services. Taylor & Francis now becomes the fourth largest publisher of pharma-funded research, with the addition of 32 peer-reviewed FSG journals and five digital hubs. These complement the existing range of over 340 Taylor & Francis medical and healthcare journals, including the Expert Collection, which is the world's largest series of review journals in research, development and clinical medicine. [Full Announcement].

Professor Sarah Main Joins Elsevier as Vice President for Academic and Government Relations, UK​. Elsevier announced the appointment of Professor Sarah Main as Vice President for Academic and Government Relations, UK effective December 1st, 2023. Professor Main brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her new role at Elsevier. With a distinguished career in scientific research and policy, she has played a pivotal role in advancing science and promoting collaboration between academia, industry, and government. In her new position, Professor Main will be responsible for guiding Elsevier's scientific strategy, fostering innovation, and ensuring the company continues to contribute significantly to the advancement of global research. Her deep understanding of the scientific landscape and commitment to open science align seamlessly with Elsevier's mission to support the global research community. [Full Announcement].

OCLC launches Arabic Discovery Catalog to increase discoverability, access to Arabic library collections. OCLC has introduced the Arabic Discovery Catalog, a new initiative that brings together bibliographic records from libraries located in Arab countries into one catalog to enhance the discoverability and visibility of these collections for international research. The Arabic Discovery Catalog currently includes records of more than 3.8 million Arabic resources and continues to grow, making it one of the most comprehensive bibliographic resources of Arabic culture. OCLC staff have indexed records in Arabic and taken steps to ensure that sorting and searching of results are accurately displayed to deliver an intuitive and seamless discovery experience using Arabic script. The Arabic Discovery Catalog is built on the WorldCat Discovery platform, the discovery solution developed by OCLC that makes it possible [Full Announcement].

Denver Botanical Library is Live on Koha with ByWater Support. ByWater Solutions announced that the Denver Botanical Gardens, Helen Fowler Library in Colorado is now live on Koha ILS with ByWater Support. ByWater Solutions completed the migration of over 30,000 titles from EOS.Web ILS. [Full Announcement].

Clarivate expands partnership with VeriSIM Life to accelerate and de-risk research and drug development. Clarivate announced the launch of VeriSIM Life Translational Index on Cortellis Drug Discovery Intelligence by Clarivate. The integrated workflow provides customers with a diverse array of predictive compound safety and efficacy insights, including bioavailability, hepatic and renal clearance, clinical toxicity, first-in-human dose and more. The new solution serves as the next phase of an expanding partnership between Clarivate and VeriSIM Life, the leading artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled, R&D decisions de-risker for breakthrough drug development, announced earlier this year. [Full Announcement].

Nonprofit Annual Reviews Becomes Strategic Partner. Annual Reviews has become Skilltype's newest strategic partner through a minority investment. Similarly to Skilltype's other investors, Annual Reviews supports the development and training of information professionals. This prepares them for an exciting and fulfilling future. [Full Announcement].

Celebrating 20 Years of ECCO: Gale-ASECS Fellows Forge New Paths in Eighteenth-Century Studies with Digital Humanities. As the Eighteenth Century Collections Online celebrates 20 years of powering higher ed research, Gale, part of Cengage Group, and the American Society of Eighteenth Century Studies (ASECS) are releasing the impact report findings of how the five scholars of the Gale-ASECS Non-Residential Fellowship program used ECCO and Gale Digital Scholar Lab (the Lab) to advance their research. Last year, each fellow received $2,500 from Gale and were given access to the Lab, a cloud-based digital humanities (DH) tool and ECCO for a period of six months. At the end of their access period, each scholar submitted a report on how they used the resources to advance their work. The goal of the fellowships is to help scholars expand the field of eighteenth-century studies for research or teaching, using DH methods to conduct their research. [Full Announcement].

Biblionix retools school libraries with Artemis library automation software tailored for educational excellence. Biblionix, a leading provider of cloud-based library management systems, today announced the availability of its Artemis library automation software for schools. Artemis is a powerful and easy-to-use solution that provides schools with similar high-end tools used in Apollo public libraries, plus incredible customer support from a team of experts. [Full Announcement].

South Carolina Libraries join EAST as the Shared Print Collective Collection continues to grow. Eastern Academic Scholars' Trust (EAST) announces the addition of 37 new member libraries joining the shared print community from the Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries (PASCAL) consortium in South Carolina. This follows the addition of 41 libraries from VIVA, Virginia's Academic Library Consortium announced earlier this year. [Full Announcement].

Soutron Global launches information science career page for librarians and archivists. Soutron Global announces the launch of an Information Science Career Page for Librarians and Archivists. On this page we speak to a divergent group of industry veterans who use Soutron to manage information, records, and archive at their organizations. [Full Announcement].

Access Lab 2024 program announced. OpenAthens announced their Access Lab 2024 program, taking place 26 – 27 February 2024, online. This year's theme ‘Balancing values' examines the tension between balancing technological opportunities with the challenges they present for our community. Access Lab provides a safe space to explore, discuss and learn from your peers. This year, customers and partners came together to form a program group to help shape the program. You can expect to hear case studies, best practices and discussions to get you thinking about improvements you could make in your own organization. Along with plenty of advice and practical takeaways to help you along the way. [Full Announcement].

American Medical Student Association and Taylor & Francis announce new partnership. The American Medical Student Association and Taylor & Francis have announced a partnership to inform and inspire tomorrow's physicians and support the Association's equitable healthcare vision. Experts at the leading research publisher will provide AMSA members with a range of training opportunities on key professional development topics, including publishing ethics and peer review. Special ‘lunch & learn' webinar sessions offer guidance on getting published and update members on policy developments. In addition, AMSA members can now purchase Taylor & Francis, CRC Press and Routledge books at a substantial discount. [Full Announcement].

Simon & Schuster forms New Board of Directors. Simon & Schuster, a global leader in general interest publishing, today named its new Board of Directors as the company embarks on its journey as an independent, standalone publishing company. The announcement was made by Jonathan Karp, President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster. [Full Announcement].

Clarivate Connects 172M+ Cited References from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses to the Web of Science. Clarivate announced it has enriched ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index, integrating over 172 million cited references from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global within the Web of Science platform and interconnecting both platforms. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index opens new possibilities in the research workflow for students and researchers, enabling them to explore the development of a topic across varied, multidisciplinary research outputs or to look back at the research foundation of post-graduate works. This enhancement deepens the connection between published and unpublished scholarship, enriching the entire research experience. [Full Announcement].

Springer Nature developing new peer review platform to better meet needs of academic community and support growth in OA publishing. Springer Nature has embarked on a bold new project to build the next generation in peer review platforms. Being designed in-house and in stages, adapting to user feedback as part of its ongoing development, it puts editors, authors and reviewers firmly at the centre. Snapp (Springer Nature's Article Processing Platform) aims to improve the publishing process and provide a more agile response to the growth in Open Access (OA). Its rollout marks a key investment from the company in the future of publishing. [Full Announcement].

Sierra 6.1 introduces new authentication options, status update tracking, RapidILL support. Innovative, part of Clarivate, announced that Sierra 6.1 is now available for Sierra libraries. [Full Announcement].

Peterborough Public Library (Ontario, CA) selects Patron Point. Springshare announced that Peterborough Public Library in Peterborough, Ontario has selected our patron engagement platform to support its mission to inspire its community to become more literate and engaged. [Full Announcement].

Discovering new insights from early-career scholarship through the addition of >172M linked cited references from ProQuest dissertations and theses on the Web of Science. Students and researchers can easily locate new sources of research on diverse topics with the enriched ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index, as well as easily showcase their work and monitor impact over time. Earlier this year, we integrated records for more than 5.5 million dissertations and theses from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global into the Web of Science to provide students and researchers with a more holistic and comprehensive view of the scholarly landscape within a single platform. This integration opened an avenue for researchers from over 4,100 institutions in more than 60 countries to showcase their achievements to peers and evaluators. Researchers at every career stage can claim their dissertation or thesis in their Web of Science Researcher Profile to increase the visibility of their work in a database visited daily by tens of thousands of users worldwide. [Full Announcement].

Webinar Recap - Telling Your Library Impact Story. As publicly funded institutions, public libraries often need to make the case to their communities that, despite providing free services to the community, libraries not only have a positive impact on the lives of those who visit the library, but also a positive economic impact on the communities around them. Quantifying these impacts to tell an impact story can help libraries not only be of further service to their community but can also be useful when seeking public funding and grants. [Full Announcement].

Westlake Porter Public Library is live on Koha and Aspen Discovery with ByWater support. ByWater Solutions announced that the Westlake Porter Public Library in Ohio is now live on the Koha ILS with Aspen Discovery and ByWater Support. ByWater Solutions completed the migration of over 155,000 bibliographic records from the Symphony ILS with ByWater Solutions providing the library with customized implementation and training for their open source solutions. [Full Announcement].

Mobile Worklists 4.6 introduces RFID scanning. Innovative, part of Clarivate, announced the release of Mobile Worklists 4.6, the iOS and Android staff mobile app for Sierra libraries. The latest version of Mobile Worklists introduces support for using a mobile device to scan RFID tags with the device's Near-Field Communication (NFC) feature. This means that libraries can use mobile devices to scan RFID tags on library items as an alternative to scanning barcodes with the device camera. [Full Announcement].

Middlesbrough Libraries have successfully implemented Aspen Discovery. Middlesbrough's popular Libraries Service has added a major boost to its online offer thanks to a successful grant bid. The new Aspen website will enable the service to offer its entire physical and digital stock to customers through a single search for the first time. [Full Announcement].

The Boston Globe names CCC a 2023 Top Place to Work in Massachusetts for third year in a row. , a pioneer in voluntary collective licensing, advancing copyright, accelerating knowledge, and powering innovation, has been named one of the Top Places to Work in Massachusetts in the large employer category for the third year in a row in the 15th annual employee-based survey project from The Boston Globe. [Full Announcement].

NISO releases content Profile/Linked Document Standard. The National Information Standards Organization announced publication of its newest standard, ANSI/NISO Z39.105-2023, Content Profile/Linked Document, which enables portions of content, data, semantics, and other resources from separate sources to be combined into a single, standards-based format optimized for interchange, search, and display. [Full Announcement].

Geelong Regional Library Corporation implements Civica's Spydus for enhanced community service. Global GovTech provider Civica and Geelong Regional Library Corporation announced their partnership, marking an exciting step forward in delivering cutting-edge library services to the communities of the region. By implementing Civica's Spydus, a state-of-the-art library management system, GRLC are poised to elevate their offerings enhancing user experiences and operational efficiency. [Full Announcement].

Penguin Random House acquires independent publisher and self-help space leader Hay House. Penguin Random House has acquired independent book publisher Hay House, a leader in the self-help, health and wellness space. The acquisition was announced today by Nihar Malaviya, CEO, Penguin Random House, and Reid Tracy, CEO, Hay House. Terms were not disclosed. [Full Announcement].

Wolters Kluwer integrates GenAI into its legal research products; Transforms how legal professionals assess and interpret court rulings. Wolters Kluwer Legal and Regulatory announced an innovative feature for legal professionals: Generative Pre-training Transformer-generated summaries of court rulings. GPT summarization harnesses generative AI to simplify legal research, eliminating the need to read through multiple court cases, saving valuable time. This innovation in beta will initially serve legal professionals using the Wolters Kluwer Online research platform in Germany before being rolled out to other products. [Full Announcement].

Giving the gift of literacy: Gale and San Diego Public Library rollout adult high school diploma program. As the season of giving kicks into high gear, adults in and around San Diego now have the opportunity to earn their high school diploma through their local public library. The San Diego Public Library has launched Gale Presents: Excel Adult High School, an accredited online diploma completion program from Gale, part of Cengage Group. This program is designed to help busy adults earn their high school diploma online at their own pace and convenience. SDPL already has two students who have graduated from the program and 10 more who are enrolled with scholarships. [Full Announcement].

Clarivate partners with Singapore's National Library Board. Clarivate has successfully implemented library software solutions from Innovative for Singapore's National Library Board library system. NLB's library patrons can now enjoy an elevated user experience and new features such as an intuitive user interface and custom catalogs as they access NLB's library catalogue. The Polaris Integrated Library System and Vega Discover applications from Innovative provide automation solutions for library staff and patrons. These solutions help to improve the library experience for staff and patrons, whether in the physical library or online. Custom API support designed by Clarivate supports local systems such as self-check kiosks, book sorters, the NLB Mobile app and reservation lockers to improve efficiency. [Full Announcement].

Colleen Hoover, Rebecca Yarros and Prince Harry dominate public libraries' top digital book titles of 2023. This year's list of the most popular books in public libraries was dominated by romance novels and memoirs from three bestselling authors that whisk readers away to other worlds. Based on circulation figures from millions of readers in 18,000 public libraries in North America on the award-winning Libby reading app, Colleen Hoover, Rebecca Yarros and Prince Harry led in multiple categories for the top books borrowed in 2023. Libby provides free access to public libraries' collections of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and graphic novels, and was created by OverDrive, the leading digital content platform for libraries and schools worldwide.< [Full Announcement].

EBSCO Information Services and EcoMap partner to help libraries support entrepreneurship. EBSCOlearning, a division of EBSCO Information Service, and EcoMap Technologies have partnered to offer public libraries a service to help patrons on their entrepreneurial journey. EcoMap is a hyperlocal search engine that curates and catalogs community resources to support entrepreneurship and empowers libraries to become stronger hubs for economic development. [Full Announcement].

Innovation and Customer Growth for Alma throughout 2023. The end of the 2023 is approaching and it's been another successful year for Alma. The combination of new features and functionality, additional customers choosing and implementing the service, and a vision to further leverage forward-looking technology is taking Alma to a new level in the area of library unified resource management. Over 400 enhancements were delivered, with many coming from ideas originating within the user community and significant Involvement from customers across the development process. Alma continues to grow, with more than 180 libraries choosing Alma in 2023 and over 130 implementing the service. This brings the total number of libraries selecting Alma to over 2500. [Full Announcement].

Thomas Padilla to Deliver Opening Keynote at NISO Plus 2024 in Baltimore. The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) is pleased to announce that Thomas Padilla, Deputy Director, Archiving and Data Services at the Internet Archive, will deliver the opening keynote address at the NISO Plus 2024 conference in Baltimore on Tuesday, February 13, at 9:30 am. Internationally recognized for his leadership in promoting responsible stewardship and computational use of memory organization collections as data, Thomas earned his MS in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Thomas has more than a decade of experience developing, consulting, publishing, presenting, and teaching on responsible stewardship and computational use of memory organization collections and digital strategy. [Full Announcement].

Westlake Porter Public Library (OH) launches SMS notifications for their patrons this week. Unique Library announced the addition of MessageBee notifications for the Westlake Porter Public Library (WPPL) in northern Ohio. The public library adds to existing Material Recovery and NCOA Address Verification Service. [Full Announcement].

Toward a digital library ownership model. The Digital Public Library of America has been helping libraries meet the growing demand from readers for ebooks and audiobooks by working with publishers to provide licensing terms that help libraries maximize access and get the most out of their dollar. While the variety of options and licensing terms we have developed have been well received by our partners, they still do not allow libraries to own digital content outright, the way they do physical books. In recent years the Digital Public Library of America has heard growing interest from librarians who want to own their digital content. In response, they are developing a model, described below, that would allow libraries to own, rather than license, digital content, without the operational challenges of executing their own deals with publishers, ingesting content and book feeds, or hosting files on their own. [Full Announcement].

Taylor & Francis Online streamlines researcher access to cited articles through GetFTR integration. Researchers will experience streamlined access to cited articles with the addition of GetFTR (Get Full Text Research) to the references sections of Taylor & Francis journals. The integrated GetFTR indicator enables users to see at a glance which cited articles are available to read next, with smart links for direct access.GetFTR icons signpost researchers to full text articles available through open access or their institutional library's subscriptions. The indicator uses real-time entitlement data from all participating publishers' sites and enables users to access cited articles with a single click. [Full Announcement].

Empowering Umm al-Qura University's digital transformation with MEDAD Institutional Effectiveness and Library Services Platform. continuation of UMM AL-QURA University's – UQU – pursuit of supporting the digital transformation journey for all its educational and operational processes to continue achieving its strategic goals in a way that aligns with Saudi Vision 2030, UQU has chosen Naseej for Technology ─ the region's leading knowledge and eLearning solutions provider ─ to provide it with the latest Quality, Assessment and Evaluation, Academic Accreditation, Library Management, Library Portal, and Digital Assets Repository. [Full Announcement].

INN-Reach modernization underway. Innovative, part of Clarivate, announced that a new version of INN-Reach is being rolled out to customers. There are now three INN-Reach Central systems, Maine InfoNet, LINKin in Illinois, and the Long Island LINK system that are now live on the upgraded platform. Upgrades for the Biblioteca de Catalunya in Spain is in the planning stages. [Full Announcement].

MacEwan University chooses holistic suite of Ex Libris products. Ex Libris, part of Clarivate, announced that MacEwan University has chosen to implement a holistic suite of Ex Libris products – Alma, Primo, Leganto and Rapido, in place of multiple disparate services and solutions. [Full Announcement].

Remembering Bruce Rosenblum. It is with deep sadness that NISO relates the passing of friend and colleague Bruce Rosenblum. Well-known throughout the information community, he was a quiet but influential leader, and his impact will be felt for years to come in the unseen infrastructure supporting the millions of people who write, edit, and read scholarly articles. [Full Announcement].

Empowering research institutions to navigate an evolving landscape: Introducing our new academic research council. The academic community is confronting a rising tide of challenges, from dwindling funding success rates to acute university staff shortages. These critical pain points underscore an urgent need for actionable insights and decisive strategies. To address these challenges, Clarivate has created a research council that aims to bridge the gap between theoretical and tangible solutions. Comprised of 15 leaders at top research institutions from across the globe, the council includes members from both research offices and libraries. The unique composition is designed to foster collaborative solutions to pressing issues. [Full Announcement].

Archive of iconic Kenyan journalist Hilary Ng'weno is now live on Africa Commons, documenting the role of journalism in turbulent times. Coherent Digital announced that The Hilary Ng'weno Archive is now live on its Africa Commons platform. Customers and trialists may access the content immediately. Ng'weno, the iconic Kenyan journalist, publisher, commentator, and public figure, is recognized for a fifty-year career that helped shape modern Kenya. He's known for holding people in power to their word through his magazines, newspapers, television programs, and documentaries. He created and managed The Nairobi Times, the only Kenyan newspaper to report the 1982 attempted coup the next morning; The Weekly Review, which ran for twenty-four years; Rainbow, a children's magazine; other print publications; and hundreds of hours of films and documentaries, including the Kenya Heritage Series--all of which are now available online exclusively through Africa Commons. [Full Announcement].

Yavapai County Free Library District (AZ) partners with Unique Management to boost patron experience.. Unique Library announced that Yavapai County Free Library District has expanded their relationship to include material recovery. The service will work to reduce the amount of outstanding overdue materials, while courteously reminding patrons of their commitment to their library. [Full Announcement].

Bridges Library System (WI) launches SMS notifications for their patrons. Unique Library announced the addition of MessageBee notifications for the Bridges Library System near the Milwaukee area in Wisconsin. The system includes locations in Waukesha and Jefferson Counties, and utilizes the Polaris ILS. [Full Announcement].

Información Científica Internacional to distribute OCLC services in Mexico and Central America. OCLC is partnering with Información Científica Internacional (ICI Cloud), a leading library services organization based in Monterrey with offices in Mexico City, as a new distributor of OCLC services in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Honduras, and El Salvador. ICI Cloud specializes in providing and supporting a wide range of library programs and services to academic, public, corporate, and government libraries. It is now representing OCLC for institutions interested in cataloging, resource sharing, WorldCat Discovery, CONTENTdm, WorldShare Management Services, WebDewey, and EZproxy services in these countries. [Full Announcement].

Ten Honorees receive prestigious I Love My Librarian Award for Outstanding Public Service. The American Library Association announced 10 recipients of the coveted I Love My Librarian Award. Honorees are exceptional librarians from academic, public, and school libraries who were nominated by patrons nationwide for their expertise, dedication and profound impact on the people in their communities. [Full Announcement].

EveryLibrary Institute's 'The Political Librarian Issue 2: Unveiling Library Challenges in Political Landscapes. The EveryLibrary Institute presents the release of the second edition of 'The Political Librarian,' a comprehensive collection offering insights into the pressing challenges and nuanced dynamics encountered by librarians navigating the intersection of politics and library services. [Full Announcement].

Latest Soutron Client Advisory Group Meeting Reviews Managing Electronic Materials. Soutron Global announces that the latest Client Advisory Group meeting met the last week of November for a lively discussion regarding managing electronic materials. Key clients from the legal, publishing, educational, health and electronics sectors met with Soutron Vice-President of Research & Development Graham Partridge to discuss the challenges with storing, copyright restrictions, displaying, playing, along with access & security were discussed in the lively Q&A session. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions collaborates with EBSCO to enhance Koha integration. ByWater Solution collaborated with EBSCO Information Service on a development aimed at helping Koha libraries. Libraries using the Koha Open Source ILS are now able to use new functionality to streamline the acquisitions process. The EDIFACT Invoice Plug-In for EBSCO Journals, which allows Koha systems to fully integrate with EBSCO Journals, will now facilitate loading EDI Invoices into Koha. [Full Announcement].

Elsevier introduces digital enhancements to medical literature, revolutionizing article-based education. Elsevier, a global leader in evidence-based clinical practice content, research publishing, and information analytics, announced the launch of an exciting new feature aimed at improving medical literature by introducing videos to official journal publications. Enhanced Publications is the latest tool in Elsevier's portfolio aimed at bettering the clinician experience. It is fully peer-reviewed, indexed content and will allow physicians to access the wealth of information in select high-profile medical journals through sponsored video content. [Full Announcement].

Alma in 2023: More than 400+ Enhancements. The end of the 2023 is approaching and it's been another successful year for Alma. The combination of new features and functionality, additional customers choosing and implementing the service, and a vision to further leverage forward-looking technology is taking Alma to a new level in the area of library unified resource management. [Full Announcement].

How one R1 institution is opening the door to open access. When Mississippi State University Libraries discovered SirsiDynix's CloudSource, they were in the midst of overhauling their e-resource management strategy. Six months after adopting the new content and discovery services platform, MSU Libraries are providing their researchers, students, and community scholars with seamless access to high-quality academic e-resources—and revitalizing their budget along the way. [Full Announcement].

IOP Publishing expands open access in Asia Pacific region with its first Read and Publish agreement in Taiwan. IOP Publishing has secured its first ‘Read and Publish' transformative agreement in Taiwan, demonstrating its dedication to expanding open access to research in the Asia-Pacific region and at scale globally. The three-year transformative agreement with the Physics Research Promotion Centre, which is part of the National Science and Technology Council, will enable 20 Taiwanese universities to offer their researchers unlimited OA publishing at no cost to them. The agreement will also allow authors to retain copyright of their work and gives reading access to all IOPP research published over the last 10 years. [Full Announcement].

Clarivate, the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Higher Education Press of China release annual Report to reveal future innovation in engineering science and technology. Clarivate released Engineering Fronts 2023 , along with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the Higher Education Press of China. This report is the seventh annual collaboration and aims to track the development trends of engineering science and technology by identifying key research areas. The new report identifies a total of 187 pivotal research fronts, encompassing forward-looking, leading and exploratory research areas of engineering. Among these, 93 engineering research fronts have been pinpointed to theoretical exploration – derived using a synthesis of citation data extracted from the Web of Science™ from Clarivate together with nominations by experts at the CAE. [Full Announcement].

Announcing the Results of ORCID's 2024 Board Election. On behalf of the ORCID Board and staff, thank you to everyone who submitted nominations and participated in this year's Board election process, especially the members of our Nominating Committee. [Full Announcement].

Blackstone Publishing enters global distribution partnership with Dreamscape Media for physical audiobooks. Blackstone Publishing announced its strategic collaboration with Dreamscape Media in a significant distribution deal. As part of this agreement, Blackstone will extend its distribution network of Dreamscape Media's remarkable catalog of titles, available in CD and MP3-CD formats. This agreement marks the start to a partnership that will see Blackstone distributing Dreamscape Media physical audiobooks for the foreseeable future. [Full Announcement].

Urban Libraries Council and University at Albany's Center for Technology in Government to Examine Libraries' Role in Artificial Intelligence. The Urban Libraries Council and the University at Albany's Center for Technology in Government are partnering to examine how libraries can empower communities to better understand Artificial Intelligence and ensure its ethical design and application. This three-year research project, funded through a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, will include surveys and interviews with ULC member libraries, case studies, a comprehensive report and a practitioners' guide for libraries. [Full Announcement].

The 23.12 release for Aspen Discovery and LiDA includes improvements to relevancy and more for LiDA with linked accounts as part of the 80+ new enhancements. As larger consortiums use Aspen, we've identified a need to update the relevancy to take into account the many dozens of editions a consortium might have of the same title. We've also made improvements to title searches to better take series titles into account. For sorting, we've made some smaller updates such as ignoring econtent when doing call number sorts and making sure that we're always ignoring articles for title sorting no matter the source of the content. This month saw LiDA adding a few final features and notifications to make sure that all functionality for Aspen Linked Accounts is included in LiDA and synced with a patron's use of Aspen Discovery. LiDA also moved loading of patron languages to on-demand to improve loading performance. [Full Announcement].

Investigating a better UC ebook reading experience: Phase 1 report. The UC Palace Project Team completed their phase 1 investigation of the Palace ebook reading platform in summer 2023 and submitted a report to the Direction and Oversight Committee (DOC) in fall 2023. DOC endorsed the report recommendations at their December 5, 2023 meeting. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions announces December 2023 Community Giveback winner. Each month, ByWater Solutions selects one library to be awarded $500. These funds are meant to support libraries and their communities and fill gaps in funding to further library goals. The December 2023 winner of the ByWater Community Giveback, the Arcadia Public Library in California. The funds will be used to support the purchase of Chinese language materials and supplies for the library's 3D printer. [Full Announcement].

EBSCO Information Services Unveils EBSCO's Clinical Decisions Dyna Innovation Center. A team of clinical and health care experts from EBSCO Information Services' Clinical Decisions embarks on a journey to leverage generative artificial intelligence technology within its point-of-care resources, with the goal to deliver faster-than-ever access to their industry-leading, evidence-based, expert-curated, trusted information to clinicians, nurses and health care professionals. Clinical experts at Clinical Decisions are exploring the use of AI to bring answers directly to the bedside, making it easy to obtain near instantaneous answers, leveraging the use of large language models within EBSCO's trusted, evidence-based environment. [Full Announcement].

Andrew K. Pace named Executive Director of Association of Research Libraries. The Association of Research Libraries welcomes Andrew K. Pace as its next executive director, effective February 1, 2024. Andrew joins ARL from the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions Library Consortium, where he has served as executive director since 2022. At USMAI, Andrew leads the consortium of 17 academic libraries across the state of Maryland, centrally hosting management, discovery, and resource-sharing applications for millions of print, licensed, and open-access resources. His team also leads new digital initiatives in digital asset management, open educational resources (OER), and new service development. [Full Announcement].

Koha Community announces 23.11 Release. The Koha Community, home of the world's first free and open-source library system, announced last month that the Koha 23.11 release is available. Koha 23.11 is a major release, that includes 10 new features, 330 enhancements, 573 bugfixes. Y [Full Announcement].

Ex Libris launches a new website. Ex Libris, part of Clarivate, has launched a new website redesign in alignment with our latest branding. The new website design is focused on user friendly flows and navigation, while ensuring that all content and materials remain highly accessible to all. As part of the transition to the new branding, we are thrilled for the opportunity to refresh our content offerings and share new developments, exciting initiatives and foundational community collaborations. [Full Announcement].

Vega Discover Kids Catalog and Themed Catalogs enter beta testing. Innovative, part of Clarivate, announced that early adopters are now beta testing customized catalogs in Vega Discover. As announced at the 2023 Innovative Users Group conference, Innovative has been working on custom catalog options for Vega Discover, including a Kids Catalog that is eye-catching and easy for kids to navigate, and Themed Catalogs which allow the library to promote custom collections. [Full Announcement].

Malmo Public Libraries in Sweden selects Vega Discover. Innovative, part of Clarivate, announced that the Malmö Public libraries in Sweden has selected Vega Discover as their new discovery layer. [Full Announcement].

Mid-Columbia Library System (WA) launches SMS notifications for their patrons. Unique Library announced the addition of MessageBee notifications for the Mid-Columbia Library System in Washington this week. The 13-branch system is adding SMS notifications for E-Receipts, Hold Notice, Overdue Notices, Card Expiration, Auto-Renewal, and Pre-Overdue alerts. [Full Announcement].

Four Public Libraries Join the Bibliovation 7.4 Family. public libraries have joined the LibLime customer family using Bibliovation 7.4. One library supports the Fort Collins community in Colorado, one library supports users in southern Utah, one library supports their community in central Georgia, and the fourth library serves users in central Texas. All four libraries are using Bibliovation to manage their print, ebook, and digital collections using the deep functionality in the Bibliovation circulation module. [Full Announcement].

Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System (FL) partners with Unique Management to boost patron experience. Unique Management Services has implemented and began our industry-leading Material Recovery service with Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System this week. The service will work to reduce the amount of outstanding overdue materials, while courteously reminding patrons of their commitment to their library. This collaboration comes after Panhandle recognized the need for an effective system to ensure the return of materials. [Full Announcement].

Mass Maritime Academy Library joins HELM and ByWater Solutions' Koha Support. ByWater Solutions announced that the Higher Education Libraries of Massachusetts, an association of Massachusetts college libraries in public higher education has added Mass Maritime Academy Library to their HELM catalog. ByWater completed the transition of the Academys' 21,000 plus holdings from Horizon and is providing ongoing support services to the library. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions announces support of Aspen Discovery for Citrus Libraries. ByWater Solutions announced that they are providing support and hosting services for the Aspen Open Source Discovery system for the Citrus Libraries in Florida. Citrus Libraries is an existing Koha Partner supported ByWater Solutions. [Full Announcement].

Cassyni seminars integrated into Dimensions, further connecting research video into the scholarly ecosystem. Cassyni, the leading platform of research seminars, announced its latest strategic collaboration with Dimensions, among the world's largest linked research databases, to increase the discoverability of research seminars and further connect them to the scholarly ecosystem. Going forward, Cassyni seminars will be indexed in the Dimensions dataset. The inclusion of Cassyni's semantic video knowledge within the Dimensions' platform unlocks the potential to use research video for benchmarking, analytics and evaluation, significantly increasing its utility and relevance in the scholarly context. [Full Announcement].