Welcome to the Kentucky Virtual Library's blog.
Posted: January 24th, 2013 | By: betsy
KYVL’s pilot of the EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) is once again up and running.
Please take some time to experience this new tool by searching via the big blue boxes on the KYVL web site. Don’t forget to visit our Training page and sign up for one of our training sessions on EDS.
As always, we welcome your feedback – please submit any questions and/or comments through our Contact form.
Posted: January 22nd, 2013 | By: admin
We are having technological difficulties with the EDS that are quite outside of our control. Thanks to all who reported problems.
The issues only affect IP-authenticated sites, so the service should still be available to all members accessing by logging into http://www.kyvl.org. We hope to have it working properly for everyone very shortly.
Posted: January 22nd, 2013 | By: admin
We are pleased to announce that KYVL has just launched our pilot of the EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) – a new service designed to make searching even easier. EDS allows KYVL to pull together all of our high quality resources and make them accessible through one interface. Our big, blue and easy-to-use search box is now the front end for a sophisticated search system that removes the guesswork in searching. We have created search boxes that are age appropriate and others that are based on areas of interest, allowing even easier access to magazine and journal articles, e-books and newspapers.
All KYVL members will have the opportunity to attend live and online training sessions featuring this exciting tool. Please visit our Training page to register.
We hope you will enjoy using KYVL’s EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS). We welcome your feedback – please submit any questions and/or comments through our Contact form located at: https://kyvl.custhelp.com/app/ask.
Posted: January 18th, 2013 | By: admin
Lorcan Dempsey article highlighted in the just released EDUCAUSE Review Online — New Content Alert: Thirteen Ways of Looking at Libraries, Discovery, and the Catalog
Posted: May 30th, 2012 | By: betsy
While students statewide are cheering the school year’s end, many of us are about to work harder. I know a lot of changes go down at all types of libraries during the Summer months, some of which will likely affect your ability to send/receive items via the KYVL courier service.
If you have a schedule change or other situation (new carpet, renovation) that requires a change in your courier service, you MUST notify the KYVL office – at least 2 weeks in advance, when possible.
All courier schedule changes need to come through this office, whether they are permanent or temporary. You may also tell your courier driver about the situation if you wish, but the primary communication must be with KYVL.
Your courier driver is not authorized to suspend or change your service in any way. This means that KYVL will be billed for your regularly scheduled stops, regardless of whether or not you received service.
Please let us know about any closures or other scenarios that will affect your courier service. We will be glad to help adjust your schedule as needed.
Posted: May 3rd, 2012 | By: betsy
The KYVL proxy server will be down for maintenance, beginning at 11 PM Monday, May 7 until 8 AM Tuesday, May 8. This will prevent users from logging in to KYVL from home and accessing the resources through our website.
If you need to access the databases during this time, you may go to the vendor websites directly using the links below. Your KYVL username and password should work at all of these sites.
All other KYVL sites and resources should remain available during this time.
Posted: May 1st, 2012 | By: Enid
You must be a KYVL member to access the KYVL research databases. For these subscriptions, the Council on Postsecondary Education [KYVL’s parent agency] and the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) subsidize your library’s access with over $1 million in contributions. Participating libraries also receive discounts on other products from the KYVL vendors on master agreement such as EBSCO, Proquest, etc. because of the contracts or due to our purchase of basic packages. Participation in KYVL provides you a core collection of resources at a very low cost compared to the vendor retail costs. Due the state subsidy from KYVL and KDLA, and the KYVL-negotiated statewide contracts, the return on investment is equal to over $10 per every $1 of a library’s membership fee. KYVL resources are licensed for KYVL members only.
Individual districts and libraries would spend far more subscribing to these resources independently — over $20 million retail annually. The ability to negotiate state-wide access results in substantial savings for our state and ensures equal access to information for all Kentuckians. Each district, each public library or college that chooses to opt out of KYVL will impact the cost for everyone. Full participation from the school districts, public libraries and universities lowers the costs to each member — the more participation, the greater the distribution of costs. Public libraries in many counties are already struggling and may not have adequate hours, technology, or staffing to handle higher costs for online resources and delivery of interlibrary loan materials. Without an active subscription to KYVL, a library will not be licensed to supply KYVL credentials to its users.
KYVL provides a courier service to move interlibrary loan and course materials between 405 stops each week at the public libraries, community & technical colleges, and public universities. KYVL provides this service at no cost. If you are not a KYVL member, courier service cannot be purchased. You must be a KYVL member to participate in the ground courier service. Your library may not be a lender but consider the mailing costs of returning the items borrowed for your patrons.
Information on can be found on the KYVL Advocacy page. http://www.kyvl.org/advocate.shtm
About the funding model – http://www.kyvl.org/docs/FundingPPT.pdf
Who is participating? Check the Advocacy page – we track our members.
Posted: November 30th, 2011 | By: betsy
As part of KYVL’s Strategic Plan 2010-13, we continue to streamline our work, address inefficiencies and offer the best possible service to you and the Commonwealth. We believe that the services we provide should be as high quality as possible. This standard applies to the organization and content on our website in addition to our research databases and other services. To maintain a high standard of service to our users, we will be making two significant changes to the KYVL web site.
First, and after long debate, we have decided to discontinue the Internet Research Guide (formerly known as the Virtual Reference Desk) and remove those pages from our site. The IRG requires constant vigilance and a level of upkeep inconsistent with priorities defined by the current strategic plan. We also feel that we should not duplicate the efforts of the many talented librarians who are already creating LibGuides, bibliographies and custom Google searches that serve a similar purpose. KYVL is deeply indebted to all the subject matter experts who have contributed to these pages during the last 10 years.
Second, we will be discontinuing our use of the MetaLib federated searching tool and SFX link resolver. For the foreseeable future, the blue search boxes will be replaced with custom search boxes linking directly to our EBSCO resources. In the short term, we believe this change will result in easier access for our users and more efficient administration for our staff. We will be investigating discovery (or search) options to encompass all our licensed resources as part of the strategic plan.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions about these changes. We look forward to putting the time saved into new initiatives for the benefit of all.
Posted: April 19th, 2011 | By: Enid
KYVL’s Strategic Planning Steering Team continues to work on the 2010-2013 strategic plan by seeking representation from KYVL participants on the new teams formed for oversight, leadership, and funding formula. The Steering Team recently released the Fiscal Year 2011-12 assessments for members and KYVL is collecting signed letters of intent.
Timeline, as defined February 2011 —
2011-2012 KYVL Assessments:
Next Steps for KYVL Strategic Planning Steering Team:
If you have any questions about the process, you can contact Enid Wohlstein, the KYVL Director, or Sheree H. Williams, the Steering Team Chair.
Posted: March 16th, 2011 | By: Enid
Our friends at KDLA [the state library/archives] have announced a new website. Per our colleague Nancy Houseal, State Library Services, in an email today:
“Have you seen it? KDLA’s new website (http://kdla.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx) was launched on March 15. It has a fresh look and was designed with you in mind! When entering the new site, look for the Librarians tab at the top left to find all information relative to you.
KDLA’s web address has changed slightly and many of your old bookmarks will no longer link to your favorite KDLA web pages. Here is a handy list that will help you locate the State Library’s programming materials and resources:
Kit Request Form: http://kdla.ky.gov/librarians/askalibrarian/Pages/KitRequest.aspx
Ask a Librarian: http://kdla.ky.gov/librarians/askalibrarian/Pages/InformationRequest.aspx
Book Discussion Kits (all types): http://kdla.ky.gov/librarians/programs/Pages/BookKits.aspx
Thematic Kits (all types): http://kdla.ky.gov/librarians/programs/Pages/ThematicKits.aspx
Circulating Audiobook Collection: http://kdla.ky.gov/librarians/programs/Pages/CirculatingCollections.aspx
Circulating Large Type Collection: http://kdla.ky.gov/librarians/programs/Pages/CirculatingCollections.aspx
Can’t find what you need on the new website or want to make a comment (good or bad) about the website? Please contact the Reference desk at (800)-928-7000, ext. 342.”
KDLA is a major financial supporter of the KYVL licensed research databases and a very good friend partner in resource sharing and other initiatives. You can access the services of KDLA as a state employee or as a citizen of Kentucky. If you are a university, public library patron or other, you have resources available to you as well, including using interlibrary loan to borrow materials at the state library. We could go on and on regarding what KDLA offers you but see for yourself.
Visit ttp://kdla.ky.gov !
Happy Spring!
Your friendly KYVL Director,
Enid
