1

 

 

 

Public  Libraries  Capability  Statement    August 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

Stacks  offers  a  new  approach  to  the  Digital  Library  Experience.  This turnkey, fully-hosted web platform was designed by l ibrary professionals specif ically for the needs of public l ibraries, aff i l iated l ibraries and their patrons. Stacks sets a new bar by ensuring your l ibrary meets the following objectives:

Intuitive  Design  o   Stacks offers a myriad of responsive, customizable themes and

configurable layouts that are clean, modern and perform optimally on all devices. New themes are added every quarter and can be changed in a matter of seconds without impacting your content. With Stacks, you can be sure your new site is going to stay new and fresh year over year. Want your own unique theme? We can do that too.

Mobile-­‐Friendly  o   I f industry-leading responsive web isn’t enough, we also have tablet-

fr iendly native mobile apps for iOS and Android. Enhanced user functions include digital membership cards, scan to place a hold in 2 clicks and interactive locations.

Accessible  o   Stacks is ful ly functional for visually impaired users. The Stacks platform

meets, and in many ways exceeds section 508 of the Rehabil itation Act, Electronic and Information Technology Accessibil ity Standards. Moreover, it offers guidance and a variety of tools that empower all users creating content on the platform to align that content quickly and easily with the accepted standards. Additionally, Stacks is WCAG 2.0 Level A compliant, exceeding accessibil ity guidelines and supporting several features that are part of the WCAG Level AA compliance by improving page orientation and navigation in all available themes. Stacks also supports over 60 languages using Google Translate technology.

o   Notable features include: §   Introductory text and shortcuts for screen reader patrons §   Elimination of most tables to improve searching with screen

readers or keyboard controls §   Help text and compliance reminders for content creators

3

§   Descriptive page tit les, section header tags and selected l ink labels

§   Streamlined code for simpler page structures §   Detailed alternative text image descriptions §   Decreased page size and l ist pagination for shorter download

times for all patrons §   Implementation of WAI ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet

Applications) coding standards from W3C consortia that work in conjunction with HTML5’s built in accessibil ity features

§   Font zoom in header

Optimized  o   As a SaaS (Software as-a-Service) solution, Stacks provides the highest

possible uptime of 99.9% with best-in-class performance and is structured for SEO best practices. Stacks takes the stress out of your digital experiences and lets you focus on curating the content your patrons want.

Easy-­‐to-­‐Use  o   Our dashboard-driven interface empowers all staff to create bri l l iant and

engaging content with ease. Every feature was built for the l ibrary administrator. Intuit ive interfaces, robust training and support materials, a responsive helpdesk and quality training ensure your success.

Better  Search  o   The most robust search options available on the market. Choose from

full EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) Integration, standard tabbed website and catalog searches or our Bento-box style search with combined local(website), catalog and electronic resource results from a plethora of providers simultaneously.

Sustainable    o   Wish you could know how much your digital upkeep is going to cost in

future years? Now you can. One affordable annual l icense fee guarantees all your integrations wil l be maintained, software and hardware updates are taken care of and security remains top notch.

4

As an exclusive reseller of the Stacks solution, EBSCO has extensive experience servicing the academic and l ibrary market. Building off of this experience, through Stacks, EBSCO is offering a combination of features, function and integration that goes beyond the traditional one-off web design and development model. With this truly collaborative approach, Stacks creates, supports, hosts and services the websites it helps to design, not just up to the time of the launch, but for the l ife of the contract.

Stacks empowers users to create and maintain an improved, user-friendly digital experience that encourages users to explore the resources available to them and brings your local content, catalogs and electronic resources together into one seamless user experience. Stacks wil l also provide staff members at each facil ity with training, an easily-maintained digital experience that is intuit ive to use and one that allows for collaboration among users. Rest easy knowing all the heavy l ift ing is taken care of including support for 60+ languages and ADA compliance on any device.

 

5

The  platform is the first complete Content Management System (CMS) built

specif ically for l ibraries, boasting the following features:

o   Customizable Themes: A rich portfolio and a team of thought-leaders in responsive design techniques has equipped Stacks to make l ibrary website design easy and even easier to keep current. With Stacks, you can choose a Theme from a myriad of choices and then customize that theme with dozens of settings to make it your own. From professionally selected color palates to granular configurations, it’s never been easier to create a look and feel that is on brand and that you can be confident meets today’s mobile users’ high expectations. New Themes are added quarterly to ensure new and fresh aesthetics are always available to you at no extra cost. And as if that wasn’t enough, you can change your look and feel in seconds without having to adjust your content.

o   Drag and Drop Layouts: To take the flexibil ity one step further, Stacks offers Drag-and-Drop layouts for your home and landing pages. This

6

makes moving elements around quick and easy and ensures perfect performance on every device.

o   One to Many: Libraries are often complex organizational structures and Stacks is designed to meet those complex requirements. Based on a decade of building platforms and servicing complex consortia of l ibraries, Stacks enables l ibraries to create many websites within one CMS. To take it even further, individual l ibraries within the Stacks instance may share fi les and publish content to one, select or all sites within an instance. This empowers even the smallest l ibrary to have a professional website and keep their local information up to date.

o   Granular User Roles: Stacks provides a l ibrary-specif ic hierarchical role structure which is designed to support al l levels of staff from volunteers and interns to senior administrators. Intricate moderation rules such as requiring proofing and approval before publishing with email notif ications, ensures safe and responsible workflows within your organization. These roles can be further refined by individual l ibraries post implementation as necessary. Default roles include: Administrator, Moderator, Editor, Contributor & Patron.

o   Multi-Language Support: Stacks uti l izes Google Translate technology to make Stacks content available in more than 60 languages. By default, you wil l see English, Spanish, French and Chinese. Additional languages can be turned on by request. All content, including search results from integrated catalogs are translated on-the-fly, with the click of a mouse, by any visitor.

o   Social Media Integration: Easily add all your favorite social media accounts to the footer. Want to share content throughout your site l ike item results, events and other content? Stacks adds the share feature to all elements by default and supports al l your favorites including Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more.

7

The  dashboard is a customizable, card-style workspace where you have quick

access to user-specif ic product features and direct l inks to help content specif ic to those features.

Common  dashboard  tasks  include:  o   Resource Flows: Scrollable visual l ists of resources that can be built

manually or pulled automatically from the ILS and/or other convenient locations.

o   Pages: Create and manage pages that display content, support r ich

media and attachments and support other site features.

o   Easy Forms: Quickly and easily build custom forms, polls and surveys, collect responses and analyze the results all within the platform.

o   Social Media: Manage l inks to your l ibraries social media platforms.

o   Callouts: Create blocks of content with or without images that can include descriptions and l inks to other areas of the site or even other sites.

8

o   Integrations: Manage integrations between stacks and third party

software tools l ike ILS systems, cover art providers, review providers, event management systems and more.

o   Research Guides: Create and manage bri l l iant responsive guides and

tutorials with rich multi-media support and full WYSIWYGs.

o   Events Management: Manage all your events, program listings, room bookings and associated registrations quickly and easily.

§   Pulls content from Google or Evanced Calendars §   Includes recurring events with dynamic rules §   Supports customizable taxonomies and faceted search/browse

experience §   Provides email and on-screen confirmation §   Manages event registrations with an easy to use interface §   Schedules publish/display/expiration dates §   Supports calendar and l ist views §   Supports patron registration with l imits §   Supports room bookings

o   Location and Hours: Set location and hours for one or many locations

with optional Google Places integration, details and interactive maps.

o   Directory Listings: Automatically generate searchable directories of people, places or things.

9

o   This Day in History: Create and manage a l ist of historical events that

can be l inked to relevant l ibrary resources via ILS integration.

o   Database Listings: Create an online index of external databases that sort and become searchable by users alphabetically or by category.

o   News Articles: Create news articles to inform your patrons of events, programs and other important happenings in the community.

o   Sliders: Display a series of images with l inks in a sl im horizontal carousel or a large promotional-style banner as an alternative way to showcase content and improve information architecture.

o   Menus: Customize menus and manage their content as quickly and easily as you can drag, drop and save.

o   Reserves: Create and manage reserve materials and associate them with a specif ic program, course, term or instructor.

o   Taxonomies: Customize and manage controlled vocabularies used throughout the site to facet and fi lter content.

 

10

The  integrations are deep and robust throughout the platform for a tailored

l ibrary experience.

o   Faceted EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) Search: For the ult imate user experience, Stacks integrates with EBSCO Discovery Service providing a true single-search for all your l ibrary’s catalog and electronic resources including full text database results.

o   External Catalogs: Search the Polaris PowerPAC, SirsiDynix Enterprise, II I Sierra, Evergreen, OCLC WorldCat, Koha OPAC, ExLibris Primo, Bibliocommons, VuFind and more.

o   Authentication: Stacks supports Single Sign-on providers such as OpenAthens, EZproxy, SAML2.0+, Active Directory/LDAP, SIP2 and more.

o   Integrated ILS Details: Stacks Integrated Search works with Innovative Interfaces ILSs such as Mil lennium and Polaris; SirsiDynix ILSs such as Horizon and Symphony; ExLibris and more. View item details such as call number, location and more plus place holds.

o   My Account: ILS functionality including but not l imited to: view items out, renew items out, view holds and status, cancel holds, view fees and fines, view reading history paired with Stacks functions l ike create and manage saved l ists.

o   Cover Art: Integrate book jackets from Content Café, Bowker Syndetics or Chil ifresh

o   Reviews: Choose to include item reviews from Baker & Taylor or Chil ifresh

o   Recommendations: Supported by Novelist Select

11

Stacks  Mobile   is our native, tablet-friendly iOS and Android application(s).

Your  patrons  are  on  the  move…. Stacks Mobile’s native mobile apps for iOS and Android offer an industry-leading mobile l ibrary experience beyond the traditional feature set, boasting rich integrations and exclusive functionality. When paired with the Stacks web platform, mobile app content is easy to manage and automatically updated when you make website changes using our intuit ive Dashboard. Stacks Mobile is available exclusively through EBSCO Information Services.

The  ultimate  search  experience.    o   EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) Integration, bringing together the most

comprehensive collection of content on the market. o   Robust integrations with your ILS, cover art, review and

recommendation providers.

12

 

Take  your  library  with  you.   o   Scan any book, anywhere and check availabil ity or place a hold

instantly.

o   Digital membership card, account management and interactive maps to find locations near you.

Interact  with  your  patrons. o   Patrons can register for events, book rooms, submit surveys and more.

o   Content and aesthetic managed from our intuit ive web-based

Dashboard.

How  does  it  work?

o   Stacks Mobile apps are tablet-fr iendly and are released in the app store under your brand.

o   Change the look and feel of your website or update content such as hours and location details or event l istings and see those updates in your app(s) instantly.

o   One affordable annual subscription fee guarantees updates, maintenance, support and continued enhancements.

Patrons  can... o   Search the l ibrary catalog(s) o   View details, reviews, recommendations and cover art o   Share with your favorite social media o   Retrieve call numbers and item status o   Manage My Account o   View and renew items out o   View and cancel holds and see status

13

o   View fees and fines o   View reading history o   View account details o   Digital membership card o   View and register for events o   View and book rooms o   Find locations near me and get directions o   Submit surveys and learn about programs and services

Librarians  can... o   Manage app content with our intuit ive Dashboard o   Get away from the reference desk and engage patrons on the floor o   Library staff can use iPad’s as mobile catalogs when helping patrons o   Retrieve call numbers while in the stacks o   Mount iPads as interactive Public Access Catalogs on the end of

bookshelves to serve for convenient catalog searches

What  makes  Stacks  Mobile  so  great? Stacks Mobile apps are the fastest l ibrary apps in the Apple App and Google Play stores.

Couldn’t  we  do  this  ourselves?  Yes, but we assure you that with Stacks Mobile you wil l get it much faster and for less money than it would cost to build your own custom application. Not to mention all your updates and future improvements are included in the subscription.

Who  Deals  with  the  App  Store(s)  during  this  process? We take care of that for you and ensure your apps are kept up to date.

 

14

Stacks  Implementation    

The  full  implementation  plan  is  outlined  below:    o   On-boarding Checklist: The Onboarding checklist is provided to the

client by Stacks. This checklist is designed to capture as much information about the l ibrary and its needs as possible and covers areas such as basic l ibrary information; system information; third-party integration points; authentication; and analytics. The implementation team is available to assist the l ibrary with this information, as needed.

o   Site Set Up: The Stacks team wil l create your instance and go through the checklist to verify all of the details. Using the information provided, the Stacks team can give a head start by setting-up all init ial integrations. This phase can include setting up Google Analytics and related accounts, activating site search and ILS integration, as well as activating integrations with other third party tools. The Stacks team may contact you at this stage for additional information if required.

15

o   Information Architecture: Before accessing the site itself, the support team wil l provide a package that guides the l ibrary through outl ining a high level menu structure for the site. This wil l provide the basics of what wil l l ive where and help us advise you on how to create and structure content during training. Ensuring that we are able to tailor the training program and maximize its value.

o   Training: Stacks implementation includes a half-day training program and robust training/help materials. Three sessions wil l be provided focusing on Administration, Content Editing and Content Best Practices. This includes 24/7 access to manuals, video tutorials, and the ticket support desk.

o   Content Development: Stacks wil l work with the l ibrary to scope, configure and launch its website. The l ibrary wil l be responsible for creating all content unless otherwise negotiated. At the time of deployment, day-to-day maintenance, such as event postings, content updates, hours of operation, etc. wil l be managed by l ibrary staff through an easy-to-use dashboard. From one location, this dashboard offers access to all the product features and each user can adjust it to suit their preferred daily workflow.

o   Go-Live: Once the site is populated with content and all users have been configured, it’s t ime to share it with the public. The support team wil l work closely on changing over DNS settings so the new site can land gently in its proper home. EBSCO and Stacks are more than happy to coordinate with PR or Marketing teams in order to time the Go-Live with dates or events that are important to you and your stakeholders.

A user guide, access to customer service by email or phone and a robust, searchable help site are available to all Stacks users at no additional charge. Additional training may be scheduled as needed and Stacks offers additional content migration support for l ibraries that want some help with the heavy l ift ing. Please see the Stacks’ Information Architecture & Writing for Mobile for more information regarding the Stacks’ methodology.

16

Qualifications  and  Experience:  

About  EBSCO  o   EBSCO is the leading provider of content and technology for various

institutions. The company offers premium content through databases, e-books, journals and magazines, digital archives, and more, as well as a versati le discovery tool for searching across all of an institution’s content.

o   As the world’s largest intermediary between publishers and l ibraries, EBSCO is the only database aggregator that is also a subscription agent, uniquely positioning it to streamline many aspects of the e-resource l ife cycle. By bringing together premium content that is not available anywhere else online, EBSCO continues to serve the l ibrary community through innovation.

o   In business for more than 70 years, EBSCO serves the needs of researchers at al l levels including K-12 schools, public l ibraries, academic l ibraries (graduate-level institutions, junior/community colleges), as well as corporations, hospitals and medical institutions and government institutions.

o   EBSCO Industries, Inc.

§   EBSCO is a division of EBSCO Industries, Inc., one of the largest privately held companies in the United States. According to Forbes magazine, EBSCO’s annual sales are estimated at $2.5 bil l ion, which (as of 2015) make it the 180th largest private company in the United States. EBSCO maintains a Dun & Bradstreet f inancial strength rating of 51A, the highest awarded, which underscores the importance placed on providing outstanding, ethical service.

o   EBSCO makes Stacks available as an exclusive agent.

17

About  Stacks  o   Stacks is the culmination of years of l ibrary work by Hybrid Forge Inc.

and the insight of their customers. Partnered together, this team brings a wealth of l ibrary systems and operations expertise along with extraordinary technical depth. Since 2006, they have been providing trusted technology advisory services and the highest caliber of development services for both the web and mobile, with clients spanning North America. The Stacks platform, available only from EBSCO, has supported more than 500 l ibraries.

o   The Stacks’ commitment to improve access to educational information is apparent in its many client engagements and in its abil ity to provide services and access to important information to all levels of education, while supporting public and corporate l ibraries. Sites that have used Stacks’ services include the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Dallas Public Library, the Miami-Dade Public Library System, The Regional Automation Consortium (which services more than 150 public l ibraries and over 100 K-12 school l ibraries), the Microsoft Faculty Library, MacEwan University, Lethbridge University, Alberta Education (Canadian provincial government entity), the Alberta Legal Information Society and The Alberta Library.

o   Stacks Demo site: §   Demo.Public.StacksDiscovery.org

 

 

 

18

Is  Stacks  Right  for  Your  Library?    Here are some questions to ask when looking for a website design and maintenance vendor:

Is  your  service  fully-­‐hosted  with  up-­‐time  guarantees?    o   The Stacks cloud hosting platform leverages redundant, fault tolerant

subsystems to guarantee 99.9% uptime.

Can  we  use  our  own  domain?    o   Yes. Set-up is included as part of the subscription service.

Can  our  website  serve  as  the  main  portal  to  all  our  library  assets?    o   Yes. Stacks is one platform for a complete experience. With Stacks, you

can integrate third-party software and downloadable fi les as well as display alpha or category-sorted access to all your databases in the same interface users search your catalogs and local content.

Must  library  staff  learn  any  programs  or  have  advanced  technical  

capabilities  to  handle  day-­‐to-­‐day  website  upkeep?    o   No. Stacks looks after the code; you manage the content. Stacks offers

a full content management system with drag-and-drop layouts and customizable themes. This allows l ibraries to create responsive content with easy multi-media support and full WYSIWYG editing capabil it ies. Day-to-day maintenance, such as event postings, content updates, hours of operation, etc. can be managed by l ibrary staff through an easy-to-use dashboard.

Does  the  service  help  us  create  forms  or  offer  other  tools  for  information  

gathering?    o   Yes. Stacks’ "Easy Forms" feature allows for the creation of many types

of forms, including surveys, polls and custom forms. This feature also provides a robust engine for analyzing responses and creating reports on results. No coding is required.

Does  the  service  support  access  to  library  membership  accounts?    o   Yes, through the Stacks My Account feature.

19

o   Support is available for SirsiDynix ILSs, Innovative Interfaces ILSs including Polaris and more…

o   Functions of My Account include: §   View items out §   Renew items out §   View holds and status §   Cancel holds §   View holds ready for pickup §   All items presented with book jackets and l ink to item details

including location §   View Fees and Fines §   View and Manage Saved Lists §   Remove from List §   Place hold from list §   Rename lists §   Create new lists §   View Account Information

Is  Stacks  affordable?    o   Yes. Stacks is intended to reduce overhead by saving you the

investment it takes to educate local developers, define requirements and we’ve even done the user experience research for you. For one affordable annual l icense fee, we take care of hosting, updates, maintenance and more. Rest easy knowing your digital experiences are build to last and stay new and fresh year over year with guaranteed 99.9% uptime and best-in-class performance. In the true spirit of l ibraries and their community-minded nature, Stacks becomes more powerful and affordable the more l ibraries collaborate. For the first t ime, you’l l know exactly how much to budget in the coming years to support new and innovative digital features with continuous product upkeep and enhancement for the l i fe of the contract.

Does  the  service  offer  web  analytics  capabilities?    o   Yes. Stacks integrates with multiple analytics tools to monitor and

measure the user experience.

20

How  simple  is  Social  media  integration?    o   Stacks offers easy integration, allowing you to share and connect via all

your favorites including Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Are  mobile  options  customizable  and  as  easy  to  manage  as  the  desktop  

interface?    o   Yes. Stacks offers a robust feature set which includes many of the

desktop features l ike events and scan a book to place a hold. The Mobile Add-On carries over look and feel from Stacks responsive websites making transitions seamless.

Do  your  services  include  ongoing  support?    o   Stacks Implementation includes a half-day training program and robust

training/help materials. Additional training may be scheduled as needed, and Stacks offers additional content migration support for l ibraries that want some help with the heavy l ift ing.

Three individual Training Sessions wil l be provided to as many trainees as necessary via Webex, focusing on Administration, Content Editing and Content Best Practices.

o   Online access to step-by-step Stacks Manual: Help.StacksDiscovery.com

o   24/7 Online Support Desk: Support.StacksDiscovery.com o   Stacks Support Desk by phone: 1-855-5-STACKS (1-855-578-2257) o   Online Video Tutorials: YouTube.com/c/StacksDiscoveryEBSCO o   Stacks l ibraries are also supported by EBSCO’s Customer Service,

available Monday through Friday, 24 hours a day and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).

 

For  More  Information:  o   Visit to StacksDiscovery.com or contact your EBSCO Sales

Representative