CASE STUDY: Helping E-Resource Librarians Save Time and Offer Users Better Access

How EBSCO A-to-Z helps Blackmore Library improve setup and delivery of e-resources

The Problem

Blackmore Library staff at Capital University needed help managing their e-resources. Their online catalog was missing more than 60,000 e-resources that the University had purchased.

When Blackmore Library’s EBSCO representative approached library staff with ideas for streamlining their e-resource workflow, Jamie Gieseck-Ashworth, assistant technical services librarian, was doing the job of four different librarians. There was little time for setting up access and linking to the library’s titles and no time for claiming missing access.

Library staff needed a simple solution that wouldn’t add more hours to an already busy day.

E-Journals Get Instant Exposure

When Gieseck-Ashworth found out the library purchased EBSCO A-to-Z^® and ERM Essentials^® to help streamline library workflows, she knew her days of struggling to set up online access were over. “I was so excited, I jumped up and down and was clapping,” she remembers.

She knew that any new Web tool would help her organize the library’s e-journals, but A-to-Z helps her provide instant exposure to their e-journals in a matter of minutes. Before using A-to-Z, the library staff researched and added e-resources one at a time—a process that took 15-20 minutes per e-journal.

Now, Gieseck-Ashworth not only has simple user tools to add titles via the A-to-Z Title Wizard but she also benefits from auto-population via the EBSCO Integrated Knowledge Base. Resources ordered through EBSCO are automatically reflected in A-to-Z without any work by library staff.

Getting Positive Results

Using EBSCO A-to-Z^® has helped library staff significantly reduce time needed for setting up access to e-resources. Gieseck-Ashworth added 80,000 unique titles to her library’s online catalog in less than three hours, saving the library more than 19,000 staff hours. By simplifying their e-resource workflow, library staff no longer spread themselves thin among many different jobs.

“What is so wonderful about A-to-Z is that it lists under the title of the e-journal all the databases it is in, and it gives you all the date ranges you have for full text,” Gieseck-Ashworth says. Clicking through the Title Wizard to locate packages, titles, publishers and vendors is so intuitive that the only “training” needed was a quick overview from her sales representative.

EBSCO A-to-Z also makes finding full text easier for students. Gieseck-Ashworth says that A-to-Z “really revolutionized searching for our students.” Special features in A-to-Z allow library staff to offer Lib Guides and an assignment calculator for students. Blackmore Library’s students are asking smarter questions and finding it easier to conduct research.

With EBSCO A-to-Z, Blackmore Library is able to provide reliable access and better research tools, creating a win-win situation both for library staff and their users.