OpenAthens joins the American Library Association (ALA)
We’re pleased to announce our corporate membership of the American Library Association (ALA).
About ALA
Founded in 1876, the American Library Association is a national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice of libraries. It advocates for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all.
We join ALA’s roster of well-respected member organizations, including our global partner EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO), as a corporate member. American Library Association membership brings visibility in the marketplace to organizations across the world. Importantly, it offers member-to-member access to buyers and decision makers in the library community. We’ll now be able to connect with more than 53,000 individual and 5,000 organizational members of ALA.
Our offer to ALA library members
Our team works closely with libraries, providing remote access to resources across the globe. This year we celebrate our 25th birthday by continuing to deliver on its core values: helping people achieve great things; providing excellent customer service; and supporting and innovating for the future.
Becoming part of ALA’s extensive member list strengthens our offer of providing fast and efficient access to knowledge for all library users, including alumni. We remained fully functional and responsive to customer needs throughout the pandemic. For example, the team established a Remote Access resource hub to provide vital information about how to work remotely and where to get support. As a result, libraries and their end-users can access e-books, journals, databases, and other knowledge resources quickly and easily from home.
Excellent customer service
Customers benefit from full support by EBSCO’s technical teams, providing local support in the United States and other nations globally. Excellent customer support, an onboarding guide, training and OpenAthens101 webinars on how to get the most out of product features all come together to provide a holistic customer experience.
Jon Bentley, commercial director at OpenAthens, commented:
“ALA is the is the oldest and largest library association in the world. ALA is making a difference for libraries and those that work in them. This is thanks to its ever-improving programming, a focus on advocacy, professional and leadership development, and information policy. Because of these initiatives, joining ALA as a corporate member was a no-brainer.” “Being instantly connected to a network of dedicated library professionals not only bolsters our own offering but helps us inform our customers and join wider conversations on industry topics.”
Stop press!
We have just been awarded the prestigious title of Platinum at LibraryWorks Modern Library Awards 2021 for its continued dedication to providing access to knowledge for librarians and publishers across a range of organizations.
MLA’s judges scored the product on a numeric basis from 1-10 on a series of questions relating to functionality, value, customer service and more. An organization must score in the top 2% to achieve a Platinum Distinction award.
Find out more
Visit the ALA website to find out more about their work