EBSCOhost^® Electronic Journals Service, which will replace the existing EBSCO Online® service, is set for release in mid-July.

As a full-featured, comprehensive gateway to electronic journals, the EBSCOhost Electronic Journals Service will offer customers two versions: a Basic and an Enhanced version. The Basic service will be offered to EBSCO Subscription Services customers at no additional charge and will allow searching and access to electronic journals the library subscribes to through EBSCO.

The Enhanced e-journals service, which will carry a minimal annual fee, provides an end user portal to more than 8,000 e-journals (all with durable URLs), comprehensive linking support to more than 10,000 e-journals, pay-per-view article purchasing, alerting services and more. Access to e-journal packages and titles not purchased through EBSCO can be consolidated through the service. The Electronic Journals Service (EJS) Enhanced will also offer a broad suite of administrative tools designed to help librarians manage electronic content easily and efficiently.

Add-on features of the Enhanced service include custom branding that allows the librarian to modify the look and feel of the system and enhanced usage reporting that allows for custom analysis of an e-journal collection.

"We have spent a great deal of time talking with customers to learn exactly what they need in an electronic journals service," said F. Dixon Brooke Jr., vice president and division general manager of EBSCO Subscription Services. "We found that they want simplified access to full text articles for their patrons and a serious tool to help them manage their electronic journals. There is a great need for help in organizing, accessing, authenticating and registering their electronic journals, and we are confident that the suite of e-journals services offered in our Enhanced service will meet these needs."

EBSCO's existing electronic journals service, EBSCO Online, will be replaced July 15, 2002. All current customers will be switched to the Enhanced version of the new Electronic Journals Service for a trial period, after which they will choose the version they will continue using.

Another new product to be released by EBSCO in July is the TOC Premier database. Available on an annual subscription basis, this database provides tables of contents for approximately 25,000 titles published by the leading popular and academic publishers, including those of all e-journals offered through EJS Enhanced.

Additional services in development will provide a total end-to-end solution to a library's e-resources access and management needs. The first of these tools to be available is the A-to-Z List service. This service will create a list that functions as the library's electronic serials finding tool and offers access to the titles by name or subject. A combination of electronic journals, newspapers, newsletters, databases and any serial title that the library collects may be included. A-to-Z List will offer a comprehensive tool that includes every item cataloged and available on the library homepage and/or supported via the local online catalog, with links to/from the OPAC. This service will become available in August 2002.

Released: June 15, 2002