IPSWICH, Mass. — April 10, 2014 — EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) has already set the bar for what the next generation discovery service can be in libraries—and EBSCO is looking at what comes next. With the goal of discovery innovation as a driving force, EBSCO has hired three industry veterans to interact closely with the library community to further understand the strategic needs of each segment, and help establish the framework for next phases of library innovation through discovery. Neil Block, Gar Sydnor, and Tamir Borensztajn are the latest additions to EBSCO’s growing discovery team.
There is much on the horizon to further optimize and illuminate the value of the library and its resources. As the demands and expectations of end users in all libraries continue to evolve, a discovery service can be one of the library’s greatest assets. As it is, these services can bring together the library’s content and increase exposure of library services in one simple experience.
Neil Block, former president of Innovative Interfaces, joins EBSCO as Vice President of Discovery Innovation, Academic Libraries. Block received his MLIS degree from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Over the last 25+ years, he has worked at multiple technology companies in the library world, and now he joins EBSCO, the library vendor with the largest technology team, to focus on the company’s flagship technology product.
EBSCO understands that the needs and issues for academic libraries are different than those of public libraries and schools.
Gar Sydnor, formerly of The Library Corporation (TLC), joins as Vice President of Discovery Innovation, Public Libraries & K12 Schools. Sydnor had been Senior Vice President of The Library Corporation since July 2007, and was heavily involved in TLC’s strategic direction and growth. Over his 23+ year career in the library industry, he has helped public and school libraries implement the latest technology while emphasizing better user experiences for the students and patrons they serve.
Tamir Borensztajn (MLS), graduate of Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Simmons College, and former Executive Director, Public Sector Innovation EMEA at Infor (Library Division), joins EBSCO as Vice President of Discovery Strategy. Working with Tamir is fellow librarian, Bethany Wright (MLS), who is taking on a new role as Market Research Analyst specific to discovery services.
EBSCO’s President, Tim Collins, says: “EBSCO has nineteen advisory boards and runs numerous focus groups each year, in order to gain feedback from librarians. We also have a discovery service listserv for customers with thousands of participating librarians, and we monitor it closely. In addition, we have an unparalleled end user testing program that is at the heart of our decision making process. Adding Neil, Gar, and Tamir allows us to have more library technology veterans interacting with customers and potential customers of our technology products.”
About EBSCO Information Services
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is the leading provider of resources for libraries including EBSCONET®, EBSCO’s total e-resource management system, and EBSCOhost®, the world's premier for-fee online research service, including full-text databases, subject indexes, point-of-care medical reference, historical digital archives and e-books. EBSCO provides more than 375 research databases and more than 600,000 e-books plus subscription management services for more than 360,000 unique titles including more than 57,000 online titles. Through a library of tens of thousands of full-text journals and magazines from renowned publishers, EBSCO serves the content needs of all researchers (Academic, Medical, K-12, Public Library, Corporate, Government, etc.). EBSCO is also the provider of EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS), which provides each institution with a fast, single search box for its entire collection, offering deeper indexing and more full-text searching of journals and magazines than any other discovery service. For more information, visit the EBSCO Web site at: www.ebsco.com. EBSCO is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., one of the largest privately held companies in the United States.
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For more information, please contact:
Kathleen McEvoy
Vice President of Communications
(800) 653-2726 ext. 2594
kmcevoy@ebsco.com
