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netLibrary launches new site

Based on extensive usability testing and customer feedback, netLibrary has reengineered its site to ensure the highest levels of performance and reliability. Watch for faster page loads, multiple language choices, improved access for users with disabilities and more. netLibrary 2004 features include:

A streamlined interface providing more intuitive navigation and enhanced search capabilities.
Choice of five display languages including English, Spanish, French, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese.
A new site design based on Section 508 guidelines that makes the interface more accessible to users with disabilities.
New software and hardware enhancements that increase site stability and provide faster page loads.

Learn more

JISC study suggests that library portals boost database usage

Want a way to help steer users away from Google and to the quality resources on your site? Build a portal—a central access point to databases—says a preliminary study commissioned by the U.K.'s Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). After launching a new library portal that provided simultaneous database searching, de-duping of results and links to full text, the Loughborough University Library saw a dramatic increase in database usage-609%. Some databases saw increases of more than 1,000%. Usage could grow even more; approximately one-third of respondents to a library follow-up survey said they had never used the portal.

View the study in Word
View the study in PDF

Demonstrate your library's impact

Learn how to speak to your community about your library's value. The community section at the WebJunction Web site is currently focused on how libraries—with a little strategy, presentation and determination for innovation—can demonstrate the impact they have in their communities.

Among the resources:

Roadmap to Demonstrating Impact, with step-by-step solutions from the simple to the sophisticated;
A link to the IMLS National Leadership Grant Tutorial, a resource that provides the skills, knowledge, and tools to develop a good project plan; and
A collection of 13 articles on demonstrating impact, including:
- An article on “Value & Vision” from American Libraries magazine;
- Advice on “Telling Your Library's Story” from the Southwest Iowa Library Service Area;
- An introduction to “Value Propositions for Libraries”, a business-world concept that can help sharpen your thinking about the best ways to present your library;
- An essay that asks “What If You Ran Your Library Like NPR”; and
- Models for demonstrating impact from three libraries in Alaska, Florida and Colorado.

In addition, you can share ideas for demonstrating impact with other libraries in the WebJunction Fundraising & Development forum.

WebJunction is an online community of libraries and other agencies sharing knowledge and experience to provide the broadest public access to information technology

WebJunction focus on demonstrating impact

OCLC welcomes the following new member libraries

National University of Singapore, Music Library
Location: Singapore
OCLC Symbol: SIMUS
OCLC Network: OCLC Asia Pacific

Università Degli Studi Di Parma
Location: Parma, Italy
OCLC Symbol: ITPAR
OCLC Network: OCLC PICA

International Buddhist University
Location: Habikino-Shi, Osaka, Japan
OCLC Symbol: JAIBU
OCLC Network: OCLC Asia Pacific

Landmark Medical Center
Location: Woonsocket, Rhode Island, USA
OCLC Symbol: RILMC
OCLC Network: NELINET

Ohio Department of Transportation
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA
OCLC Symbol: OHDOT
OCLC Network: OHIONET

Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business
Location: Beijing, China
OCLC Symbol: CCCKG
OCLC Network: OCLC Asia Pacific

McFadden Intermediate School
Location: Santa Ana, California, USA
OCLC Symbol: MCFJL
OCLC Network: Independent

Baogang Research Institute
Location: Shanghai, China
OCLC Symbol: CCBRI
OCLC Network: OCLC Asia Pacific

Sharpview Elementary School
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
OCLC Symbol: SESIL
OCLC Network: Independent

More information about OCLC participating institutions

WorldCat update

Every 12 seconds an OCLC member library adds a new record to WorldCat, which contains more than 54 million records representing 910,432,321 holding locations as of January 24, 2004. Every 4 seconds an OCLC member library fills an interlibrary loan request using WorldCat, which has supported 132,566,871 interlibrary loan requests as of January 24, 2004. A library user searches WorldCat using the OCLC FirstSearch service every second.

See the latest WorldCat record

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