In an effort to grow their partnership with ProQuest, Cornell’s library is currently expanding its use of ProQuest’s Online Acquisitions and Selection Information System, or OASIS, software in order to broaden access to print, electronic and research titles.
The online platform for finding and ordering print and electronic titles includes customized selection features based on the research interests of the University, according to Jesse Koennecke, director of acquisitions and e-resource licensing services.
“This specific partnership between [the library] and ProQuest is to develop and improve selection support features of OASIS that facilitate how selectors identify and order the materials that might be of interest to the faculty and students in the departments they serve,” Koennecke said.
He added that he anticipates the improved platform will improve the efficiency of the library for both staff and users.
“When the selection support features of OASIS are in place, we anticipate that [print and electronic material] selectors will be able to spend less time focusing on the more routine aspects of their work,” Koennecke said.
The changes will also improve the library’s ability to keep up with the changing needs of a modern, technological campus, according to Koennecke.
“Circulation of physical books has dropped over the last five years while use of e-books has risen significantly in that same time,” Koennecke said. “Not long ago, our book purchasing decisions were centered around physical copies, with e-books being an exception. OASIS will give us a more thorough picture of all of the different formats we could acquire a book and it will provide a streamlined way to order those materials quickly.”
The expanded partnership with ProQuest arises because the University’s current selection support service, WorldCat Selection, will be discontinued in May 2016, Koennecke said.
While Koennecke said that undergraduate students who do not interact directly with the system may not notice an immediate difference, the benefits will be clear for all users of the library.
“[The students] might see more appropriate books for their subject areas, [and] have access to some additional ebooks,” Koennecke said.
He added that the time saved for librarians at the reference desks, informational consultants providing assistance on papers and research projects and people who teach library research will also benefit students.