Pennsylvania Libraries to Gain Access to NextReads™

IPSWICH, Mass. — June 16, 2006 — EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO) is pleased to announce that the Pennsylvania Office of Commonwealth Libraries and Access Pennsylvania have recently added NextReads™ to the Access PA External Resources Program making it available to all Pennsylvania libraries and their readers.

From the creators of the highly-successful NoveList® product line, NextReads is a subscription-based email readers’ advisory and library marketing service. This service provides libraries with more than 20 subject and genre-specific title lists that target the areas of greatest customer demand and interest. Available lists include fiction (Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, etc.) and non-fiction (Armchair Travel, Biography, Do-It-Yourself, Spirituality & Religion, etc.) Lists provided by NextReads contain new and midlist titles, selected to maximize use of a library’s current holdings, as well as prepublication titles to guide collection development.

“We think that NextReads will be the one electronic service offered by our library that will draw people back into the library, to check out new books or rediscover some older gems. Each newsletter is editable; before emails are distributable, libraries also have a chance to add info on staff favorites or library programs. As such, it should excel as a continuing source of PR,” says Delaware County Library System’s Helen Subbio.

“We are always eager to spread the joy of reading,” says Gladys Maharam, Deputy Director, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. “Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh customers trust us to recommend books and audiovisuals. NextReads carries this service a step forward with its 24/7 availability. We trust NextReads to compile lists with engaging narratives that our customers can use to identify materials that are relevant to them. In linking the e-mail newsletters directly to our catalog, NextReads enables our customers to find and reserve the materials they want. This combination of information and convenience provides a valuable discovery service for our customers.”

The NextReads newsletter lists are created by librarians and readers’ advisory specialists using library holdings, reviews, and a variety of other sources. Each issue of NextReads is sent to subscribing libraries 60 days ahead of actual delivery to patrons, allowing for collection review and order placement at the local level, if desired. In addition, current Baker & Taylor customers will be able to link directly from the advance newsletter copy to Title Source 3 to order any titles not yet found in their own collection. With automatic delivery (monthly or bimonthly) of newsletters, no extra work for library staff or additional hardware or software is needed. At the local library level, NextReads works with each library in setting up the required pages on a library’s Web site for newsletter sign-up. After selecting the particular newsletter lists that are of interest to them, patrons simply enter an email address to subscribe. Immediately, the patron will receive the most recent issue(s) of interest, complete with local library branding and links to their library OPAC. Customers can request and/or place a hold on a title of interest in the library’s holdings.

For more information on NextReads please visit www.NextReads.com.

EBSCO Publishing is part of the EBSCO Information Services group. EBSCO Information Services provides libraries and research centers with online and print journal subscription services, e-resource access and management services, full-text and secondary database development and access, an OpenURL-compliant link resolver, online book purchasing and related information services. EBSCO maintains a title database of more than 300,000 title listings and upholds relationships with more than 78,000 publishers around the world. EBSCO’s 32 Regional Offices worldwide are staffed with personnel who speak the local language and understand the particular challenges faced by librarians in their areas, offering a uniquely personal level of service. Specialized divisions serve academic, biomedical, government, public, school and special libraries as well as corporations. For more information, visit www.ebsco.com.