[Web4lib] EBSCOhost Connection

[Jim Campbell]

This is the first time I've heard about EBSCOHost Connection, but it sounds
very much like Gale's Access My Library program -
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/

The Gale program also requires that users enter a library card number and
the initial rollout was directd primarily at public libraries.  I wrote them
a while back to express interest and ask if they would be using IP,
Shibboleth or something other than local ID number any time soon.  They said
they're planning to implement IP authentication, but that it won't be
available for a while yet.  Given that they're already collecting IP
addresses for possible conversion into ZIP codes, it doesn't seem as though
it ought to be a big step.

If EBSCO is in fact following in Gale's footsteps, then the best thing you
can do is talk to your sales rep (or get your consortium to talk to the
sales rep) and lobby for introducing IP authentication into the options.
And while you're
at it, say something to the Gale reps. It seems odd that both vendors would
so underestimate the importance of the discovery issue for academic
libraries.
 
- Jim Campbell
 
Digital Access Coordinator and Librarian for German
E-Mail: Campbell at Virginia.Edu | Voice: 434-924-4985
 
Digital Access Services, University of Virginia Library
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/digital/das/
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org 
> [mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Mark Gooch
> Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 9:31 PM
> To: stacy.pober at manhattan.edu; web4lib at webjunction.org
> Subject: Re: [Web4lib] EBSCOhost Connection
> 
> As I have understood this service, your patron is on campus 
> and searching Google.  They come across a result that is in 
> EBSCOhost, in a database to which you subscribe. There should 
> automatically be a link in the entry that allows your user to 
> access the article.  If the user isn't automatically 
> identified as coming from an IP at a subscribing institution, 
> they will see a link to locate a local library that 
> subscribes to the database.  It is sort of like the service 
> you can set up with Google Scholar to provide your patrons 
> access to your electronic journal subscriptions.  I'm not 
> sure how this all works with off-campus, proxy access.
> 
> Thanks
> Mark
> 
> Mark D. Gooch
> Technology & Government Information Librarian The College of 
> Wooster Libraries 1140 Beall Avenue Wooster, Ohio 44691
> Phone: 330/263-2522
> FAX: 330/263-2253
> mgooch at wooster.edu
> >>> Stacy Pober <stacy.pober at manhattan.edu> 08/29/06 7:11 PM >>>
> Recently, I received an email from one of our consortial 
> contacts that provided a link to info about  "EBSCOhost 
> Connection from EBSCO"
> <http://support.ebsco.com/knowledge_base/detail.php?id=2716&t=h>
> 
> If I understand this new service - and I'm not sure I do - 
> search engine users will be able to get EBSCOhost citations 
> in their results, and will be shown a link of "Connect to 
> Your Library".
> 
> [skipping some steps]
> 
> Then, if our library has opted into this service, our users 
> can get access to the article, if it's in one of our EBSCO databases.
> 
> Since we often see students searching with Google when they 
> would be better served by looking in article databases, this 
> sounds like it might be useful.
> However, the authentication appears to be a login/password 
> via EBSCO, and our authentication method is IP filtering, 
> with EZproxy used for off-campus authentication.
> 
> EBSCO offers libraries the option of redirecting the user a 
> URL such as our database list, but then they would have to 
> search for the article
> 
> When I called EBSCOhost support to ask for details, the 
> support people had not yet heard of this service.  This was 
> surprising, as their database tech support tends to be right 
> on top of things.
> 
> I'm still a little fuzzy on the limits of this service.
> 
> If users are able to search Google and have the content in 
> our library's EBSCO databases included in that search that 
> sounds like a fine thing.  Users would like having an 
> additional way to search the databases, and we might see 
> overall increased use of our resources, as well as happier users.
> 
> OTOH, if *all* EBSCOhost content is now searchable via the 
> web search engines, this would include many databases we do 
> not get.  That might lead to increased user dissatisfaction.
> 
> Has anyone used this service?  Do you like it? If you're 
> using EZproxy, how have you handled the user authentication?
> 
> --
> Stacy Pober
> Information Alchemist
> Manhattan College
> O'Malley Library
> Riverdale, NY 10471
> stacy.pober at manhattan.edu
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
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> 
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