EBSCO is privately owned by the J.T. Stevenson family.

Breeding, Marshall. Project Reshare and OpenRS: differing approaches to open source resource sharing. December 2023. Library Technology Newsletter. In recent months, a schism has erupted in the open source resource sharing realm. Two open source resource sharing projects that previously resided within a single organization have separated, due not only to the differing functional models of their products, but also because of differences in styles of collaboration. Launched in 2018, Project ReShare has been advancing an open source platform for resource sharing, created collaboratively among a community of interested libraries and vendors. Project ReShare continues with its mission to strengthen its resource sharing community and to continue to enhance and support its platform. The organization is also refining its organizational structure and articulating its values and community processes. OpenRS, was launched in 2023 as a new initiative to develop, support, and promote a new open source direct consortial borrowing solution. Though a relatively new project, OpenRS moves forward with a well defined development agenda, backed by two commercial vendors, EBSCO Information Services and Knowledge Integration, with substantial involvement of MOBIUS as its first planned implementor.

. Introducing The Open Resource Sharing Coalition. August 23, 2023. . The Open Library Foundation introduced the Open Resource Sharing Coalition, a resource sharing initiative created in partnership with library consortia, open source developers, and vendors. OpenRS is a heterogeneous resource sharing system that is ILS and Discovery agnostic and accommodates the full spectrum of mediated and unmediated resource sharing. OpenRS acts upon a “consortia first” mentality, striving to provide libraries with the tools needed for robust and extended functionality for resource sharing. The software will provide a containerized code base configured for ease of deployment, maintenance, and upgrades. Libraries and consortia can choose to host the service locally or with a third party. The OpenRS software is built and maintained by Knowledge Integration, with support from EBSCO Information Services. Additional OpenRS Community members include representatives from the MOBIUS consortium, GALILEO/University System of Georgia, Marmot Library Network, Boston Library Consortium, Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, and others.

Breeding, Marshall. GALILEO selects EBSCO FOLIO with support from EBSCO Information Services. April 2023. Library Technology Newsletter. Following an extensive procurement process, GALILEO has selected EBSCO FOLIOopens new tab and ReShare supported by EBSCO Information Servicesopens new tab for the shared system supporting the 26 institutions of the University System of Georgia and the Georgia Archives to replace its current Ex Libris Alma implementation. This announcement marks the only large-scale implementation of Alma to migrate to another platform. It further reinforces the momentum gained by EBSCO FOLIO in the last year, following its selection by the Library of Congress and the MOBIUS consortium.

Breeding, Marshall. EBSCO and Novelist use BIBFRAME to facilitate discoverability. May 2022. Library Technology Newsletter. NoveList, a division of EBSCO Information Servicesopens new tab, offers its Linked Library Service, leveraging linked data to enable multiple paths for making libraries and their collections more visible on the web. The Linked Library Service is based on technologies and linked data infrastructure developed and deployed by Zepheira, a company it acquired in 2020. The Linked Library Service is based on the Library.Link network that brings together a variety of linked data resources. Libraries that subscribe to the service export their collection as represented in MARC records, which are then transformed into BIBFRAME and merged into the network.

Breeding, Marshall. EBSCO Information Services Launches New Search Service. March 2022. Library Technology Newsletter. EBSCO launched a new search service designed as a starting point for research, emphasizing convenient access to open access materials. EBSCO Essentials is available to anyone regardless of affiliation. It provides a search tool for the general public that guides them to the full text of authoritative resources published as open access. The service also serves as a channel toward library-provided resources. Search results also list citations for resources restricted to subscribers. To gain access to these restricted resources, visitors can search for and connect through their library, using their library-assigned sign-in credentials.

. EBSCO Information Services acquires leading library and research web platform, Stacks Inc.. February 7, 2019. . EBSCO Information Services announced the acquisition of Stacks Inc., a leading library and research web platform. EBSCO partnered with the company in 2016 to release Stacks, a hosted content management system for libraries. This acquisition reinforces EBSCO’s commitment to providing library patrons with the best possible search experience and deep integration of resources.

Breeding, Marshall. EBSCO Supports New Open Source Project in Partnership with Kuali OLE. May 2016. Smart Libraries Newsletter. A new initiative has launched to create an open source library services platform for academic libraries. EBSCO Information Services conceived the project and will provide substantial funding. A community of developers comprising commercial and library organizations will create the software. Kuali OLE, previously working to create its own open source library resource management system, will make a transition to participate in this new initiative rather than complete its own software. Many details of the new project, including the nature of Kuali OLE's involvement, are not yet finalized. The resources currently lining up behind this initiative provide the potential for the rapid development generally consistent with the plans for Kuali OLE. Participants characterize this new project as not as a setback, but as an acceleration of the availability of an open source library services platform for academic libraries.

. EBSCO Publishing and EBSCO Information Services merge. May 22, 2013. . EBSCO Industries, Inc. announces the EBSCO Information Services and EBSCO Publishing businesses will merge on July 1, 2013 and will operate as a single business under the name EBSCO Information Services. Tim Collins, a 26-year EBSCO veteran and previously President of EBSCO Publishing, will serve as President of the combined entity.

Breeding, Marshall. EBSCO Discovery Service Extends Options through New Partnerships. August 2012. Smart Libraries Newsletter. In recent weeks, EBSCO has announced a number of partnerships that potentially extend the reach of EBSCO Discovery Service. This product has become well established as one of the major indexbased library resource discovery services, along with Summon from Serials Solutions, Primo and Primo Central from Ex Libris, and OCLC's WorldCat Local. These products compete vigorously to offer the broadest coverage of the resources in library collections, the strongest features for search and retrieval, and for the most flexibility and interoperability with other applications within a library's technical infrastructure.

Breeding, Marshall. EBSCO Releases EBSCO Discovery Service API. July 2012. Smart Libraries Newsletter. EBSCO Publishing has improved the extensibility and interoperability of its EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) through the release of a new Application Programming Interface, or API, compatible with current technology practices and with popular discovery interfaces such as VuFind. This move brings EDS, which already competed well on the power of its search technology and the breadth of its index, into an even stronger position relative to other discovery services, such as Summon and Primo Central, which have previously released APIs.

. New EBSCO Discovery Service API makes it easier for libraries to create a custom discovery solution. June 5, 2012. . EBSCO Publishing continues its commitment to performance and stability with the release of EBSCO Discovery Service API, representing the new standard for comprehensive content and an array of intricate software features and functionality. EBSCO Discovery Service API enables libraries to use their own portals or website applications for a discovery user interface while making the most of their discovery solution by connecting researchers to the superior content and enhanced search features available from EBSCO Discovery Service.

Breeding, Marshall. EBSCO Consolidates its Platforms. March 2012. Smart Libraries Newsletter. EBSCO has announced that it will begin merging all of these services into the EBSCO Discovery Services. The consolidation of these tools will not only provide opportunities for more seamless behind-the-scenes integration of the linking and discovery environments, but it will also allow libraries to manage both product families through a single administrative tool.

View all featured content about EBSCO Information Services

January 9, 2025. Submissions now open for the 2025 John Cotton Dana Awards. The American Library Association is now accepting submissions for the 2025 John Cotton Dana Award. The John Cotton Dana Award is one of the most prestigious awards given to up to eight libraries for outstanding library public relations. The $10,000 awards will be provided by the H.W. Wilson Foundation and honors the best library marketing efforts nationwide. Applications for the JCD Award should be submitted electronically and received by March 3, 2025.

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December 17, 2024. Texas State University Libraries go live with FOLIO using EBSCO FOLIO support. The Texas State University Libraries have successfully transitioned to the FOLIO library services platform with support from EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO). This migration — completed alongside the adoption of EBSCO's other SaaS offerings — was finalized in Fall 2024, replacing the university's previous library management system and discovery infrastructure.

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December 12, 2024. Five ways magazine archives enhance academic research. EBSCO and Library Journal recently conducted a focus group with academic librarians in the U.S. to discuss the value of magazine archives in college libraries. The focus group findings provide evidence that magazine archives play a valuable role in enhancing academic research. Here are some of the ways magazine archives can be beneficial.

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December 12, 2024. Unlocking academic excellence: top six ways library databases empower high school students. As educational trends evolve and expectations rise, high school students are under growing pressure to excel academically, whether they are in general education courses or enrolled in more rigorous programs such as Honors, Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB). Library databases play a crucial role in supporting every student's academic journey by providing access to high-quality resources, developing essential research skills, advancing information literacy and more.

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December 11, 2024. EBSCO Clinical Decisions introduces Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Advisory Council. EBSCO Clinical Decisions announced the formation of its Generative Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council. Established in June 2024, the Advisory Council was created to provide an independent source of expert oversight and pioneer the responsible, safe, and effective use of generative AI in clinical decision support. This cross-disciplinary council consists of leaders from health care, patient advocacy, legal, technology, and informatics sectors.

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December 4, 2024. Natural Language Understanding in Library Research Platforms - Findings from EBSCO's Natural Language Search Beta. EBSCO's Natural Language Search Beta, an upcoming search mode for EBSCO Discovery Service and EBSCOhost that uses AI to parse queries, finds that Natural Language Search is complimentary to more traditional search.

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December 3, 2024. EBSCO Information Services releases definitive full-text resource for Petroleum Studies. EBSCO Information Services announced the launch of Petroleum Source, a new full-text resource covering the extraction, refining, transportation and impact of oil, gas and other resources. Petroleum Source supports students and researchers in their exploration of the technological trends and related scientific knowledge surrounding the world of petroleum products and their global impact. Offering an invaluable collection of sources, Petroleum Source includes more than 200 scientific and technical indexed and abstracted journals, 115 of which have full-text and 236 company profiles. Researchers can also access essential SWOT analyses, industry reports, and an e-book collection of related subjects.

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November 26, 2024. Virginia Military Institute Selects FOLIO With Support from EBSCO. Virginia Military Institute selected FOLIO as its new library system using EBSCO Information Services' support. The EBSCO FOLIO Services team will ensure VMI's seamless transition to the open-source Library Services Platform, which is expected to go live in Summer 2025.

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November 14, 2024. Inclusive design and accessibility in EBSCOhost: transforming library research platforms. Accessibility in research platforms is no longer just a trend in today's digital world — it's a fundamental requirement, particularly for research platforms that serve as gateways to knowledge. Digital accessibility ensures that applications can be easily navigated and understood by individuals with varying needs, including those with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities. Yet, accessibility is only one part of the equation. Inclusive design extends accessibility, going beyond compliance to create experiences that benefit all humans. EBSCO understands the importance of keeping accessibility in mind throughout the product development lifecycle. This understanding starts with EBSCO's designers and product managers and carries through to software developers, and this was no exception for the enhanced EBSCOhost interface. By prioritizing accessibility in EBSCOhost, the team strives to create an environment where research is available to all, regardless of individual abilities or circumstances. Our team is committed to developing features and tools that enhance usability not only in EBSCOhost but in EBSCO Discovery Service, Explora, EBSCO e-books and other EBSCO products like Flipster. We emphasize intuitive design, adaptive technologies, and personalized user experiences to make our platforms accessible and user-friendly for everyone.

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November 7, 2024. EBSCOlearning and Mindstone announce Mindstone AI Skills training from EBSCOlearning. EBSCOlearning, a division of EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO), and Mindstone announce Mindstone AI Skills Training from EBSCOlearning, a program and online platform focused on offering skills development and training to organizations seeking to upskill their non-technical workforce on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their everyday jobs. Mindstone AI Skills Training from EBSCOlearning focuses on real-world, practical applications and ensures individuals at all levels in an organization can use the latest AI tools in their daily work activities.

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View All EBSCO Information Services News Announcements

Feb 20, 2015 EBSCO acquires of YBP Library Services from Baker &Taylor.
EBSCO Information Services made a significant investment in the library workflow with the acquisition of YBP Library Services from Baker &Taylor. GOBI3 (Global Online Bibliographic Information) serves as YBP's primary tool for the discovery and acquisition of digital and print monographic content. Relied upon by academic, research and special libraries worldwide, GOBI provides access to more than 12 million titles, including more than one million digital titles from leading aggregators and publishers.

Jun 30, 2013 EBSCO Publishing and EBSCO Information Services consolidate into single company operating as EBSCO Information Services
EBSCO Information Services and EBSCO Publishing businesses will merge on July 1, 2013 and will operate as a single business under the name EBSCO Information Services. Tim Collins, previously President of EBSCO Publishing, will serve as President of the combined entity. Allen Powell, President of the subscription services division of EIS, will now report to Collins.

Jun 02, 2011 EBSCO Publishing acquires The H.W. Wilson Company
EBSCO Publishing and The H.W. Wilson Company have merged in what is being viewed by the companies as an ideal match. This combination of organizations will allow the strengths of each to benefit existing and forthcoming products and services. Libraries using products from either company will benefit as improvements are made to the respective resources. The Wilson controlled vocabularies will be integrated into EBSCO’s controlled vocabularies, resulting in improved subject indexing for EBSCO databases. The EBSCOhost platform will be enhanced to take advantage of this indexing in its search and relevancy ranking algorithms. All Wilson indexing, abstracts and full text will be fully searchable via EBSCO Discovery Service for subscribers of Wilson databases. The addition of Wilson’s robust abstract/index records and unique full text will strengthen EBSCO Discovery Service.

Mar 17, 2010 OCLC sells NetLibrary to EBSCO Publishing for $7,867,200
From the 2009/10 OCLC Annual Report: On March 17, 2010, OCLC sold the assets of the NetLibrary Division (including the NetLibrary platform, operations and infrastructure in Boulder, Colorado) and the rights to license a select number of vendor-owned databases previously sold on the OCLC FirstSearch service to EBSCO Publishing for $7,867,200 and assumption of related liabilities. The transition services agreement between OCLC and EBSCO Publishing ($230,000 annually for an initial term of three years) ensures that all NetLibrary eBooks have been placed in a dark archive at OCLC and OCLC will continue to make OCLC- MARC records available for download by the relevant library for NetLibrary eBooks as well as providing library holdings synchronization. OCLC recognized a gain on the sale of $21,666,500.

Mar 17, 2010 EBSCO Publishing acquires the NetLibrary Division from OCLC
OCLC and EBSCO Publishing signed an agreement whereby EBSCO will purchase the assets of the OCLC NetLibrary Division and the rights to license a select number of vendor-owned databases currently available through the OCLC FirstSearch service. The purchase includes the NetLibrary eBook and eAudiobook platform as well as operations and infrastructure in Boulder, Colorado.

May 30, 2008 EBSCO Information Services acquires Minerva Wissenschaftliche Buchhandlun from Springer-Verlag
EBSCO Information Services has acquired Minerva Wissenschaftliche Buchhandlun, of Vienna, Austria, from Springer-Verlag. Founded in 1909, Minerva has a well established tradition for providing exceptional service to libraries in the areas of serials management and monograph orders, complementing very well the EBSCO portfolio of products and services. Minerva is the leading subscription agency in Austria and Hungary and has business operations throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

Sep 24, 2003 EBSCO Publishing acquires Whitston Publishing Company
EBSCO Publishing announced the acquisition of Whitston Publishing Company, Inc., a well-respected publisher of reference works for academic and public libraries since 1969. Whitston's flagship database, the American Humanities Index has been available through the popular EBSCOhost online research service since January 2003.

Jan 24, 2003 EBSCO acquires operations of RoweCom Worldwide
RoweCom, Inc., doing business as RoweCom, Faxon or divine Information Services announced the signing of a non-binding letter of intent with EBSCO Industries, Inc., the global leader for the delivery of integrated information systems and services, for the proposed purchase of the RoweCom worldwide subscription agent business. The proposed transaction was also endorsed by the steering committee of the ad-hoc group of publishers and library customers of RoweCom. The committee, including the publisher members the American Institute of Physics, the Association of Learned & Professional Society Publishers, Elsevier, Oxford University Press and Wiley, will endeavor to expand the group of publishers supporting this transaction as they believe the contemplated agreement is a significant step forward for customers and publishers.

1999 EBSCO acquires NoveList from CARL
NoveList acquired by EBSCO. The company employed 5 personnel at the time.

1995 EBSCO Information Services formed
EBSCO Information Services (EIS) formed to provide libraries with one source for quality information-related services and products.

1986 EBSCO acquires Popular Magazine Review and Horizon Information Systems to form EBSCO Publishing
EBSCO Publishing got its start as a family business in Ipswich, MA that created summaries of magazine articles from the local library and published in a newsletter. The company was founded in 1984 as Popular Magazine Review by Gerald Seaman and Tim Collins, which had expanded considerably by the time it was acquired by EBSCO Industries in 1987 and renamed the product to Magazine Article Summaries. That year EBSCO Industries had also acquired Horizon Information Systems, a company founded in 1985 by Dan Tonkery to create search and retrieval software for databases distributed on CD-ROM, with Oliver Pesch leading the development process. These two companies were combined to form EBSCO Publishing.

1984 Popular Magazine Review founded by Gerald Seaman and Tim Collins
In 1984, Gerald Seaman and Tim Collins co-founded Popular Magazine Review. The firm's product was a print magazine index with article summaries

1958 EBSCO Industries, Inc. established
Operations were combined under EBSCO Industries, Inc., profit centers were established, and corporate headquarters moved to the center of Birmingham.

1944 Military Services Company founded by Elton B. Stephens and Alys Robinson Stephens
Elton B. Stephens and his wife, Alys Robinson Stephens, formed a partnership to sell magazines, personalized binders and racks to the U.S. Armed Forces under the name of Military Service Company.

2023 EBSCO Information Services Accomplishments Narrative

EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) continues to focus on supporting an open environment for libraries and an equitable research experience for users by:

• Ensuring access to trustworthy and diverse information, and delivering new experiences to users with a focus on equity in research
• Creating new pathways to information and collection analysis with a focus on open linked data
• Providing libraries with more choice of software applications to support and enhance librarian workflows with a focus on supporting an open infrastructure
• Providing libraries with more choice in the procurement, deployment, and management of their library services platform with a focus on open source

New this year: EBSCO announced that we are exploring ways to harness Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) via pilot projects, exploring opportunities to combine the power of AI to process natural language searches with our strength to surface and link to the most trustworthy and meaningful content for queries across disciplines.

Key areas of focus:

• Equity in research: Our work includes providing an equitable discovery experience by including content from many countries, in many languages, covering an array of topics and viewpoints. We are thereby evolving our research platform interfaces to optimize how any user anywhere can access, search, choose and use information. We treat open access the same as non-open access content; we index, curate, and provide access to the world’s scholarly literature inclusive of open access content.
• Continued to roll out a new interface of EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) and EBSCOhost® to customers in certain markets and encouraged customers to opt-in into migration to enhance and personalize the user experience.
• Introduced databases including Education Source Ultimate, RIPM Jazz Periodicals: Music, History, and Culture, and Moments Magazine Archive to meet varying research needs.
• Introduced Exploring Race in Society as a free resource to cover important issues related to DEI in today’s modern research world.
• Launched EBSCOlearning™, an EBSCO subsidiary which offers corporate learning, educational, and career development products and services for businesses, educational institutions, and workforce development organizations, including FinancialFit, Accel5, GradPrep and more. EBSCOlearning begins its launch with three partnerships with EcoMap, BlueRecruit, and the AMA.

Open infrastructure

We work to ensure interoperability between applications and a suite of integrations in support of best of breed services and content for users. Our work includes developing our applications and services so libraries can integrate with third-party solutions such as ILL, ILS, authentication services, ordering platforms, learning management systems and more. Specifically:

• Started to build and prepare for Mosaic, a new GOBI ordering platform that will leverage modern technology to streamline workflows and make ordering library resources easy and intuitive.
• Announced the EBSCOhost Passport Browser Extension which aims to make resources more readily available to researchers and promote "open" initiatives/library patronage.

Open linked data

We support the discoverability and portability of library resources on the Web.

• Transforming library catalogs using BIBFRAME, an open standard, to make library resources connected and visible on the Web.
• BiblioGraph, a linked data technology allowing users to access library catalogs from anywhere on the web, is quickly becoming a global initiative with integrations happening in the US, Canada, UK, Taiwan, Australia, Portugal, and more, allowing for discoverability of collections on the open web.
• Recommendations available in EBSCO Mobile, including suggested articles and additional content to enhance continuous research flow, and eBooks.

Open source

We support open source software with a focus on interoperability, open standards, and choice for libraries. EBSCO contributes to the development of FOLIO and provides a full suite of FOLIO services with implementation/migration, training, hosting, and support to make open source accessible for any library.

• EBSCO FOLIO facilitated the migration of more than 100 libraries and library systems to FOLIO Library Services Platform, and EBSCO FOLIO ERM (which integrates print and electronic resource management) with implementation partners worldwide.
• GALILEO announced it will be migrating to FOLIO using EBSCO FOLIO services to further develop and implement a new, open-source IT platform to enhance its physical and digital collections. We also were the first to introduce FOLIO to Lebanon (Notre Dame University-Louaize) and the Netherlands (Nyenrode Business University).
• We partnered with eReserve to support institutions’ resource management workflows with EBSCO FOLIO Services, including services related to copyright control.
• As part of the Library of Congress FOLIO Project (LCAP), EBSCO is currently engaged in building a BIBFRAME editor with guidance and input from the Library of Congress. The editor is being tested by the Library of Congress, Universidad de Concepción in Chile, Grand Valley State University, and Spokane Public Library.
• Sponsor of WOLFcon, to underline the necessity of open source software in the library automation market to create a platform for innovation.
• Continued engagement with the FOLIO Community and Open Library Foundation.

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