Jisc announces three new library services for #HE

Jisc is launching three new library services on 31 July 2019.

Library hub discover, library hub compare, and library hub cataloguing will make it easier for UK higher education libraries and researchers to access, discover and manage academic collections.

Neil Grindley, head of resource discovery at Jisc, said:

“We are delighted to introduce these next-generation library services, which will help researchers and librarians locate and manage print and electronic books, journals, newspapers, maps and anything else listed in library catalogues.”

The library hub discover service, which is open to all, is designed to make academic library collections visible through web searches, which means they’re available to a wider audience.  

The service will feature more than 100 library catalogues at launch but will keep growing over time. Based on data held by the national bibliographic knowledgebase (NBK), it is the most comprehensive aggregation of UK academic, national, and specialist library metadata available and replaces the selective coverage of Jisc’s Copac and SUNCAT services, which are being retired at the same time as the new library hub services are launched.

Dr Amy Staniforth, resource discovery team leader at Aberystwyth University, said:

“Aggregating our library data at a national scale will allow us to see all our collections in context for the first time. We’re pleased that users will be able to find and access our resources more easily, but as a smaller institution, we’re particularly excited by the opportunity to identify and enhance our poorly described and underused material for improved discovery.”

Also launching at the end of the month, are the library hub compare service and library hub cataloguing, developed in partnership with OCLC, which will help library staff and collection managers to make more informed decisions about their holdings and to download high-quality catalogue records for use in their local systems.

In a joint comment, executive director of Research Libraries UK, David Prosser, and executive director of the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL), Ann Rossiter, say:

“We whole-heartedly support the launch of the new Library hub services and are excited about the progress this represents. The collections of UK academic and specialist libraries will be more available and visible than ever before, and new more flexible and powerful features will deliver benefits for learners and researchers.”

Jisc has provided library discovery and management tools to UK academic libraries for more than 20 years. The new library hub suite of services is in response to demand from the sector, which asked Jisc to evolve its offering to provide high-quality, efficient and effective services that will cope with the scale and scope of what will be required over the next 20 years.