Emeryville, CA—Innovative Interfaces announced today that Salt Lake City Public Library (UT) is live with Encore Synergy, the product that brings the whole library—books, articles, and more—to users with a single search.

Says Head of Computer Services Tebbin Salvesen: “Encore Synergy accomplishes three home runs for our users by searching our local collection, searching article databases, and bringing both kinds of content to the first results page.”

Encore Synergy also provides a user experience makes navigating complex information simple. “I think that people want a very broad search like Google provides,” says Salvesen, “but sometimes they just want to know if you have The Cat in the Hat. With Encore we get best-in-class results for both. I also like the tag cloud because it helps patrons think about their search and provides them with new directions they may not have thought of.”

About Salt Lake City Library

For more than 100 years, The Salt Lake City Public Library has been expanding your world by providing the information you need for school, work, and personal fulfillment. “The Free Public Library of Salt Lake City” first opened on February 14, 1898. Today, the library system consists of the Main Library and five branches. The system, which is under the direction of a library board, circulates more than three million items each year. In the last decade, each location has been remodeled, expanded, or rebuilt in order to meet the growing needs of our city.

• Integration with Millennium Course Reserves
• Integration with Millennium Media & Electronic Reserves
• Integration with Millennium Program Registration Event Calendar
• Library staff ability to promote individual titles in RightResult™ ranking
• Ability to search by call number
• Expanded local links and branding Integration with Meebo™ online
• reference widget
• Inclusion of Google Books™ preview
• New community comments feature

All Encore Synergy customers will enjoy all of these new features plus Deep Article Integration. If you have any questions about Encore 4.0 or Encore Synergy features please write the Encore Team.

Trademarks: Google Books™, Google; Meebo™, Meebo, Inc.;
RightResult™, Innovative Interfaces, Inc.

As a response to this challenge, academic libraries have partnered with Innovative to launch Encore Synergy, a discovery solution that integrates articles from scholarly databases, books, local digital collections, and a full suite of community features. At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Libraries, Encore Synergy is the default search on the library’s home page, a single search box that pulls in full-text article content from scholarly sources such as Academic Search™ Premier and PubMed, as well as collections that include research created by the faculty.

At Saginaw Valley State University (MI), Scott Mellendorf, Reference and Off Campus Library Services Librarian sees the value of bringing many diverse resources together in one search. “That’s the power behind Encore Synergy. Libraries benefit users by displaying relevant resources, regardless of format, quickly. The facet groupings give our users a visual display of all library collection formats and related articles from periodicals on a searched topic. This is a ‘win-win’ for the library staff and users, because we can deliver various resources swiftly and provide them with a sense of accomplishment with their initial research.”

Simple Search for Complex Research

On campus, librarians will also tell you that serving undergraduates is crucial to the library’s success, as students translate their college research experiences to a model for lifelong learning. According to Mellendorf: “Offering Encore appears to have helped the new students quickly become familiar with our library collections. It allows us to begin building a foundation for them to understand the different levels of research and resources their college life and real life will demand—finding articles, books, newspapers, magazines, and journals.”

DeeAnn Allison, Professor and Director of COR Services, UNL Libraries, agrees. “Undergraduates are always looking for a painless way to get their papers done,” she says. “The best place for that is through our libraries and we are committed to eliminating barriers to that process.”

Articles in the Toolbox

A major component of Encore Synergy is its Deep Article Integration. Synergy blends real-time, full-text articles and local collection results on the initial results page, eclipsing the federated search and next-generation catalog approaches to search. “Article integration is a welcome addition to the Encore toolbox,” Allison says. “With Encore Synergy, it is becoming quicker and easier for students to find peer-reviewed and full-text articles. This is very important for undergrads and distance researchers who want to conduct research from outside the libraries.” Allison also reports that although only recently launched at UNL, usage of Encore Synergy is rising and that she expects that, “it will increase dramatically when people learn about the ability to preview an article right from the first results page.”

“We use Encore Synergy because it brings together
the research developed on our campus.”

Discovery “Lives” at the Library

Librarians on campus know that the value they add to information is critical to campus research, in terms of selecting content, identifying related resources for searchers, and creating metadata. “Past library catalog statistics show our users search first by keyword, followed by title,” says Mellendorf. “Encore Synergy addresses this issue with its keyword approach, relevance sorting, and quick access to let the user refine searches by subject, title, or author. The Encore Synergy user now is only a click away from the precise metadata our cataloging department so carefully builds into every resource record.”

Encore Synergy pulls metadata directly from article databases and local collections. It maintains the metadata integrity across all formats to keep discovery as simple and feature-rich as possible. From the first search forward, Encore Synergy allows the user to switch between article and book results without losing search terms or relevance.

Encore Synergy applies the right discovery technology to the knowledge sources librarians select. On campus, this includes knowledge that is created locally. Says Allison: “We use Encore Synergy because it brings together the research developed on our campus—Institutional Repository, CONTENTdm, Digital collections from the Libraries’ Center for Digital Research in the Humanities. And with new licensed databases, Encore Synergy reduces the complexity of academic research.”

For more on Encore Synergy’s Deep Article Integration see this recent post.

Academic Search™ Premier; EBSCO Publishing. CONTENTdm® OCLC.
PubMed is a service of the US National Library of Medicine.

Emeryville, CA—DeKalb County Public Library has selected Encore and will implement Innovative’s discovery platform with the SirsiDynix Horizon™ ILS.

Says Tamika Strong, Automation Services Coordinator: “Our library has been looking at various enhancement tools over the last few years that would improve our patrons’ searching experience when they use our online catalog. We were looking for a product that not only offered Google-like searching and user ratings and reviews, but also the ability to search databases for articles at the same time. We selected Encore because it met these criteria and much more. Encore will help us meet the searching needs of our patrons while at the same time increasing and improving access to more than 900,000 items in our collection.”

About DeKalb County Public Library

DeKalb County Public Library is a place to grow. The library enlightens and enriches the people of DeKalb County by providing responsive, dynamic services that meet the changing informational needs of a diverse population. Through a trained, service-oriented staff, partnerships, and ready access to both print and electronic resources, the library is committed to superior service that promotes a strong, literate DeKalb community and enhances its quality of life.

Horizon™ is a trademark of SirsiDynix.

“Innovative’s approach to discovery goes beyond the limitations of both federated search and aggregated index models,” says John McCullough, Vice President, Encore Division. “Encore Synergy unlocks the full power of libraries on the web, by providing immediate discovery of everything they contribute to their communities. We recognize the commitment of the Encore Team and its library development partners in their efforts towards the very best discovery tool on the market.”

Key Features of Encore Synergy

Encore Synergy libraries benefit from:

• Single search box for local and remote resources
• Deep Article Integration for seamless presentation of full-text, real-time article content
• Persistent facets for books and articles
• Dedicated Article Discovery mode
• Integration of access and licensing information for electronic resources
• Google Books™ preview
• Library-subject-driven tag cloud
• Integrated Meebo™ for librarian live-chat
• Community participation features

Freedom from the requirement of data loading, federated search tool, or link resolver

Read more about Encore products.

Google Books™ is a trademark of Google. Meebo™ is a trademark of Meebo, Inc.

(Release corrected at 1pm PDT on July 30, 2010. The HELIN Library Consortium is not live on Encore Synergy.)

Emeryville, CA—Innovative announced today that Encore Synergy, a product that brings the whole library and more to a single search, is live at eight institutions: Deakin University (Australia), Sacramento Public Library (CA), Saginaw Valley State University (MI), Scottsdale Public Library System (AZ), West Bloomfield Township Public Library (MI), University of Nebraska-Lincoln (NE), University of San Diego (CA), and Wellcome Library (United Kingdom). Encore Synergy is the only way to bring books, live full-text articles, e-resource information, programs, course reserves, and more to a single search box.

“Innovative’s approach to discovery goes beyond the limitations of both federated search and aggregated index models,” says John McCullough, Vice President, Encore Division. “Encore Synergy unlocks the full power of libraries on the web, by providing immediate discovery of everything they contribute to their communities. We recognize the commitment of the Encore Team and its library development partners in their efforts towards the very best discovery tool on the market.”

Key Features of Encore Synergy

Encore Synergy libraries benefit from:

• Single search box for local and remote resources
• Deep Article Integration for seamless presentation of full-text, real-time article content
• Persistent facets for books and articles
• Dedicated Article Discovery mode
• Integration of access and licensing information for electronic resources
• Google Books™ preview
• Library-subject-driven tag cloud
• Integrated Meebo™ for librarian live-chat
• Community participation features
• Freedom from the requirement of data loading, federated search tool, or link resolver

For more on Encore Synergy please write info@encoreforlibraries.com.

Santa Fe Springs Public Library has selected Encore. The Library will implement Encore with their Horizon™ ILS.

“Encore is all together snazzier and more sleek than anything we’ve seen at libraries before,” says Hilary G. Keith, Director of Library and Cultural Services. “We think that it will make our library easier to use and more interactive with its community features like reviews. As a medium-sized library, installing Encore as our front end allows us to bring our presentation of content up to date without having to change ILS systems.”

To date, over 200 libraries have selected Encore including those with Innovative’s Millennium ILS, Aleph™, Horizon™, and Voyager™ systems.

Aleph™ is a trademark of ExLibris, LTD. Horizon™ is a trademark of SirsiDynix. Voyager™ is a trademark of ExLibris, LTD.

About Santa Fe Springs Public Library (CA)

Located in Southern California, Santa Fe Springs Public Library manages a collection of approximately 70,000 books and reference and circulating materials for adults and children. Its database collection features: magazine articles, newspaper articles, Opposing Viewpoints, ReferenceUSA, Health and Wellness, auto repair diagrams, testing and education, and more.

Encore has been designed on the principle that users should have a single search box that discovers all types of information offered by the library. Articles are a key component of the information libraries offer, from scholarly research sources, which command the majority of academic library budgets, to the up-to-the-minute news sources available to public library patrons.

With Encore Synergy, the Encore Discovery architecture has been extended to fully integrate next-generation article discovery technology. Users are seamlessly presented with an article “preview” and can move effortlessly between the local collection discovery mode to the article mode, and back again. The user interface is familiar to Encore users but now applied to article searching, with provider-supplied relevance optimized for the article data and facets such as full-text and peer reviewed.

Encore Synergy enhances the database provider’s discovery tools with local library features, such as the tag cloud and “Did You Mean?” features derived from local indexing. The library’s unique, mission-specific metadata continues to offer guidance and search pathways through the ocean of web information.

“Deep Article Integration” is how I refer to how Encore Synergy brings articles to a single search box model. Unlike any other product, Encore Synergy includes articles by leveraging local metadata, streaming live content, adding discovery tools, and providing maximum flexibility in a user’s discovery session. In short, when the goal is broad, simple discovery of all kinds of content Encore Synergy brings in articles the smart way.

April 16, 2010

Emeryville, CA—Innovative announced today the launch of Encore Synergy, the only discovery solution that fully integrates next-generation article discovery technology into a cutting-edge library discovery platform.

Deep Article Integration in Encore Synergy

With Encore Synergy, library users benefit from all the features of Encore Discovery, which has already gone beyond the library catalog by including library programs, harvested digital collections, electronic journals, eBooks, and more in a single search. Now, Encore Synergy’s Deep Article Integration folds articles into the environment of local discovery, providing a superior user experience that includes single log-in support for all functions, consistent displays, and seamless, intuitive transitions between article and local catalog modes. Encore Synergy achieves its integration natively, eliminating the need for data loading or synchronization by library staff.

Key Features of Encore Synergy

Encore Synergy applies all of the principles of Encore to the world of article discovery, so that users:

• discover both articles and local collections from a single search box
• are presented with article-specific relevance and facets such as full text and peer reviewed for article results
• benefit from RightResult™ relevance and local-collections facets in catalog results
• are offered smart alternatives for discovery based on the library’s expertise and metadata
• see live results from article databases and the local catalog in a single search, including direct linking to all available full-text
• discover all of the article resources the library offers, without being limited to a given discovery vendor’s resources. Encore Synergy is content-neutral.

Commitment to the Library User

“Encore Synergy continues the commitment that Innovative has made to the library user: timely, relevant results in an easy-to-navigate solution,” says John McCullough, Vice President of Innovative’s Encore Division. “It offers the ease of a Web search combined with the intelligence and expertise of the library. Encore Synergy users don’t have to ‘pick a lane’ between next-generation local collections discovery and cutting-edge article discovery: it’s all within a single interface.”

The Power of The Hour: Screen detail shows year-to-date, hourly circulation across three locations.

The Hourly Circulation by Transaction Location (pictured) report provides facets so that library staff can quickly drill down to information that is more specific, such as which self-check units are busiest at a given hour, or what item-type is represented most in circulation transactions. Encore Reporter also provides a report for Hourly Circulation by Day of the Week.

“You can be creative with Encore Reporter,” says Mollie Pharo, Collection Development Manager. “As we continue to explore the potential of the product, I sit down on occasion and think creatively about real issues and challenges we have. Then I just take my questions to the Millennium ILS data in the Encore Reporter interface. The harder part of the process is thinking what you want to know and the easier part is getting the information!”

EVPL is a development partner for the Encore Reporter product, which offers an array of elegant and easy to use features and reports such as: Key performance indicators, facets & drill-down capabilities, Google Maps™ mash-ups, circulation and patron trends, transit information, Popular Titles, Acquisitions / Collection development, and more. For more about Encore Reporter, please write us at info@encoreforlibraries.com.