Electronic research databases provider EBSCO Publishing, US, has announced that Drake University and Cowles Library have selected EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) to enhance access to scholarly information. The customisable resource from EBSCO Publishing will be known as Cowles SuperSearch. Cowles SuperSearch will search across multiple databases, the library's catalogue, as well as Drake's Institutional Repository.
In looking for a discovery solution, Drake University was determined to meet three goals - increase the use of scholarly resources overall; increase the interdisciplinary use of scholarly resources; and enhance the technical and financial management of digital content resources. This initiative is a key component of the strategic 'knowledge base' programme goal of the library. In opting for EBSCO Discovery Service, the university determined that EDS had key components designed to meet their goals - an end user interface, providing a single search box with multiple search function options, and an advanced support platform designed to manage multiple digital content elements.
The customisability of EBSCO Discovery Service, including the ability to choose the name Cowles SuperSearch, was also a big part of the decision to go with EDS. Drake has added D-Space; the school's Institutional Repository to EDS and plans to implement several specialised SuperSearch options such as SuperSearch for Education, SuperSearch for Pharmacy and SuperSearch for Humanities. EBSCOadmin, the administrative interface behind EDS and other EBSCOhost resources, make it simple to configure, support and deploy these specialised profiles.
The Cowles Library has acquired an extensive array of eJournals, databases and eBooks along with its own unique collection of digital content (www.escholarshare.drake.edu). Adding the base index in EBSCO Discovery Service to the Drake collection allows Drake University to provide students and faculty with an impressive custom collection of scholarly resources.
EDS seeks to create a unified, customised index of an institution's information resources and provide access via a single search box. The EDS Base Index forms the foundation upon which each EDS subscribing library builds out its custom collection. Beginning with the Base Index, each institution extends the reach of EDS by adding appropriate resources including its catalogue, institutional repositories, EBSCOhost and other databases, and additional content sources to which it subscribes.
The EDS Base Index is comprised of metadata from various global information providers. At present, the index represents content from approximately 20,000 providers in addition to metadata from another 70,000 book publishers.
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