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New Project MUSE Platform Goes Live Jan. 1, 2012

A search box on every page of the site offers users the option of searching both books and journals, or filtering by content type prior to running the search. At the search results level, users may again filter to just books or just journals.

Two video tutorials for searching and browsing within the new interface are now available. Additional instructional materials will be provided shortly after the platform launch. View and share the new tutorials here:

Search Books and Journals on Project MUSE 

Browse Books and Journals on Project MUSE 

At launch on Jan. 1, all of the books in MUSE's new UPCC Book Collections will be visible in search results and when browsing on the platform. Users at libraries that have purchased or subscribed to book collections on MUSE will have full-text access to content from those collections.

MUSE will provide a 1-month preview period during January 2012 to allow librarians and scholars to discover the significant breadth and depth of both book and journal content available on Project MUSE. At the end of the preview period on Jan. 31, 2012, search results will default to only content to which the searcher has full-text access. At this point, users will have the option to toggle the search to show all available books and journals relevant to a search, if desired.

Further highlights of the new Project MUSE platform include the following:

• Faceted searching, with options to filter search results by subject area, author, and language of publication
• Enhanced browsing by subject area, title, or publisher, across books and journals or filtered by content type
• Powerful new hierarchical subject structure, allowing users to drill down to the most relevant content
• Search box on each page of the site, with predictive search terms
• New access icons to help users clearly identify content to which they have paid access, free sample content, and open access content
• Discovery and research tools at both the book and journal article level, including More by This Author and Related Content links, citation downloading/exporting, and social sharing
• "Search Inside ..." feature for both books and journals
• DOIs at title and chapter level for books, article level for journals

The Project MUSE URL remains http://muse.jhu.edu. Links to scholarly content in MUSE (journal articles and issues) will not be affected by the platform change, but libraries and users that have bookmarked informational pages within the site may need to update these bookmarks after the Jan. 1 transition.

Source: Project MUSE

Oxford Digital Reference Shelf to Re-Launch in 2012

Improvements will include the following:

• Two content sets: Quick Reference for continually updated quick answers and definitions, available by subscription, and Reference Library for longer entries and essays, available by title by title purchase
• Overview pages for each unique term in Oxford Reference; these pages will include a basic definition and links to other entries on the same topic
• Active editorial program for Quick Reference content will ensure the content is continually updated with topical events, factual changes, and more
• Subject pages will include featured topical content to help expand research
• Library log-in widget providing users with quick and easy authentication

Oxford Digital Reference Shelf titles will now constitute a large portion of the Reference Library content set within Oxford Reference. Customers will still have access to all previously purchased Oxford Digital Reference Shelf titles through this relaunched platform. After the re-launch, customers will continue to have the option of purchasing Reference Library titles title by title on a perpetual access model. Additional details will be revealed in the coming months.

Source: Oxford University Press

Ebook Download Survey From ebrary Now Freely Available

Among other key findings, the survey revealed that 92% of librarians find providing offline access to ebooks more or equally important than providing online access. “Librarians in this survey clearly reflect a view of the critical nature of portability to the future of ebooks,” wrote McKiel. “The clear preference for offline mobile access has its roots in the experience of reading a print book. In order for the experience of reading an ebook to be as satisfying as reading a print book it must at least provide similar ease of use. The two simplest expectations are portability and usability. You need to be able to hold it comfortably, turn the page, and find things in the book. Tablets are getting better and better at providing the basics for the reading experience. They also provide the additional benefit of providing access to a portable library.”

ebrary recently launched download capabilities and will soon announce a dedicated mobile app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Learn more by joining ebrary’s events at ALA Midwinter, Jan. 20-24 in Dallas, Texas. For a schedule of events and to RSVP, visit www.ebrary.com/corp/events.jsp.

Source: ebrary