Serials Solutions Signs Beta Partner WMU and New Content Providers for the Summon™ Unified Discovery Service
Serials Solutions, a business unit of ProQuest, has signed Western Michigan University as a beta development site for its new Summon™ unified discovery service. New content providers will also participate. Among them are IEEE, the world’s pre-eminent engineering society, information technology publisher IGI-Global, international scholarly publishing leader Brill and a pair of Australian presses that expand the service’s local coverage. The Summon™ service’s contributors, which include the massive content resources of ProQuest and Gale, have expanded to more than 80. Harvested content now exceeds 400 million records in preparation for the service’s July launch.
Announced in January, the Summon™ unified discovery service has captured the attention of both librarians and publishers for its creation of Google-like searching of the full breadth of content found in library collections—from books and videos to e-resources at the article level. The Summon™ service addresses what research shows is a fundamental barrier between libraries and users: a simple, obvious starting point for searches.
The service is being developed in close cooperation with library beta partners, with a goal of not only bringing the researcher back to the library, but providing a channel for greater return on the library’s content investment. Western Michigan University, which will use the Summon™ service with its VuFind next-generation catalog, joins Dartmouth College, Oklahoma State University, University of Sydney and University of Liverpool in providing feedback that will refine all aspects of the service.
The Summon™ service bypasses federated search in favor of a single search against pre-harvested content enabling fast results, in true relevancy-ranked order. Publishers have embraced the service for this ability to surface content in the right context at the right time for the right user. The journals of IEEE bring significant engineering content, while Brill and IGI Global will contribute high-quality research publications in multiple fields. Australian content is expanding with the addition of University of Queensland Press, a dynamic university press best known for its risk-taking philosophy and commitment to publishing works of cultural significance, and Australian Academic Press, the largest privately owned Society journal publisher in Australia. Other recently added contributors include Adam Matthew Digital, American Society of Hematology, American Society for Microbiology, Annual Reviews, IOS Press, John Libbey Eurotext and Publishing House Technika.
The Summon™ unified discovery service creates a library-branded search box that eliminates the confusion users have in finding a starting point for library research, making collections simple to use. It’s the result of Serials Solutions’ unique combination of assets and expertise, enabled by its growing list of content providers. The hosted service is built with an open API that will allow it to integrate with existing library Web sites or campus systems with low impact on staff. To learn more about the Summon™ unified discovery service, visit http://www.serialssolutions.com/summon.
About Serials Solutions
Founded by a librarian for librarians in 2000, Serials Solutions is the global leader in E-Resource Access and Management Services (ERAMS) that serves more than 2,000 libraries of all sizes and types. Serials Solutions® KnowledgeWorks, the authoritative e-resource knowledgebase, is the foundation for Serials Solutions® 360, the only complete and integrated e-resource access and management solution. Serials Solutions recently introduced the Summon™ unified discovery service, a revolutionary discovery tool that provides instant access to the full breadth of the library’s collection through a single search.
Serials Solutions also is the exclusive source for Ulrichs™ Global Serials Intelligence and represents the AquaBrowser Library® unified discovery interface in the academic market in North America. The WebFeat® federated search service recently acquired by ProQuest soon will be incorporated into the Serials Solutions family of access and discovery services.
Serials Solutions provides fast implementation, easy customization, and outstanding value to libraries throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.serialssolutions.com or call 1-866-SERIALS. Serials Solutions is a division of ProQuest LLC.
About ProQuest LLC
ProQuest creates specialized information resources and technologies that propel successful research and lifelong learning. A global leader in serving libraries of all types, ProQuest offers the culmination of experience from many respected brands, including CSA™, UMI®, Chadwyck-Healey™, SIRS®, and eLibrary®. With Serials Solutions®, Ulrich’s™, RefWorks®, COS™, and Dialog® brands now in the ProQuest family, the company continues to build on its legacy of responsive people in partnership with librarians.
ProQuest consistently seeks new ways to support researchers and quality research. More than a content provider or aggregator, ProQuest is an information partner, creating indispensable research solutions that connect people and information. Through innovative, user-centered technology, ProQuest offers a depth and breadth of global content that includes historical newspapers, dissertations, and uniquely relevant resources for researchers of any age and sophistication—including content not likely to be digitized by others. Inspired by its customers and end users, ProQuest is working toward a future that blends information accessibility with community to further enhance learning and encourage lifelong enrichment. For more information, visit http://www.proquest.com or the ProQuest parent company website, http://www.cambridgeinformationgroup.com.