Collections News

Clarivate/ProQuest has launched a new app for full book downloads from the Ebook Central (EBC) platform, which will replace Adobe Digital Editions for Ebook Central titles only. Patrons will be able to use the new app as of August 14, 2025.

The first time patrons try to download a full ebook from Ebook Central, they will be prompted to install the EBC app. Instructions on how to install the app can be found at this link: https://proquest.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=79286480. What users need to know:

• Install the App: Users can install the app on up to six personal or institutional devices.
• Start Reading: After installation, users can enter their 7-digit login code and start reading offline right away.
• Access Existing Loans: Any ebooks already on loan in Adobe Digital Editions will sync automatically – no re-download needed.

Further resources about the app can be found at this page. You can also sign up for a short webinar that covers the user experience at this link: https://proquest.ewebinar.com/webinar/discover-the-ebook-central-reader-app-20325.

Important note: the online reading experience will not change for patrons. This change only affects full ebook downloads.

Ovid is replacing the current version of APA PsycArticles with a new Full Text Database version for APA PsycArticles. This new version of the database offers enhanced bibliographic metadata & search functionality. Key differentiators compared to the current PsycArticles implementation are:

• Full APA records
• APA Thesaurus tool integration
• Ovid Term Finder functionality

The database asset has been updated with the link to the new version of PsycArticles, and you will now see this phrase when you access PsycArticles using the asset: “APA PsycArticles Full Text Database (Beta) 1894 to July 2025 Week 04”. You can still access the older version by clicking on “change” in the below image and selecting the version of APA PsycArticles that does NOT say Beta.

Ovid will remove the Beta label on September 1, 2025, when the current version of PsycArticles will be hidden from our resource list.

ICYMI, we will shift to EBSCO’s new user interface (UI) for all EBSCO databases on 31 December 2025. There have been some issues with the new UI, particularly but not exclusively around search functions that are essential for knowledge synthesis research (systematic reviews, etc.). EBSCO has promised meaningful improvements in the coming months, so transitioning to the new UI in December makes a lot of sense.

This change relates solely to the introduction of a new interface for EBSCOhost databases — it’s entirely separate from our transition to Primo and away from EDS.

More details to come as December approaches.

We’ve just been notified that the bibliographic database Repère is being discontinued on 30 June 2025. Details are a bit scarce but more information on the database’s future is promised for July.

What we’ve learned is that Repère’s provider, Services documentaires multimédia (SDM), is ceasing operations on 30 June 2025. It is handing some of its assets to the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (although Repère is not moving to BAnQ oversight, according to SDM’s press release). Meanwhile, the BAnQ also recently announced that they’re taking over production of the Service québécois de traitement documentaire (SQTD), ie. bibliographic and authority records for Québec publications.

Repère is popular and important, so it’s unfortunate that it has been thrown into uncertainty. We’ll follow this issue, but we also appreciate you sharing any related info/news you come across with CSU.

Here is good interim recommendation from Denis Lacroix (thanks Denis!): an alternative database would be using Eureka/Newscan, but this is not a perfect match to Repère’s coverage.

Please update your LibGuides.

After the Alma/Primo cutover, we’ll work with Cataloguing and Metadata Strategies to explore options for discoverability of SQTD records in Primo (ie. via the Central Discovery Index).

Hello everyone,

For two of our large subscription ebook packages, books are added throughout the year (and their accompanying records are added to the catalogue), but removals happen only twice each year. This is an update on removals that will occur in June and July 2025. Lists of removed ebooks are attached to this post.

Please note that this is routine collection maintenance. This maintenance is not related to budget cuts.

ProQuest Academic Complete
ProQuest will remove 4784 ebooks from the ProQuest Academic Complete ebook subscription package. Usage data illustrate that 2.9% (n=141) of removed titles had seen use at the U of A in the past 24 months.

EBSCO Academic North America
EBSCO will remove 2200 ebooks from the EBSCO Academic NA ebook subscription package. Usage data illustrate that 4.8% (n=105) of the removed titles had seen use at the U of A in the past 12 months.

In the CSU, we’ve taken steps to prevent loss of access to ebooks that have seen some use. We already have several of the most-used books on other platforms (e.g., OVID, Taylor & Francis, JSTOR), and have placed orders for the remaining titles.

If you have questions or concerns about these changes, please email csu@ualberta.ca.