This week, my library has begun working on moving over from the old ProQuest platform to the new one. As we work our way through the set up options, we've been keeping an eye on the discussions on the ERIL-L mailing list about the "challenges" in migrating over (this thread on FriendFeed is also useful). So far, we haven't experienced any real problems yet but there is one complaint that I'd like to mention here. On the new interface, the space reserved on the screen for custom links and custom logos has moved from a so-so location to a really crummy one. Check out these annotated screenshots that show where our links and logos are now and where they will be. By way of comparison, look at how EBSCOhost's platform gives up much more prominent link and logo locations on the page. What is really useful, though, about the EBSCOhost interface is that the search results page can have an embedded widget appear alongside the list of found items (we use that space for a chat with a librarian widget).

I doubt that ProQuest is going to be able to do anything about this but I hope they'll take note of it when they inevitably start tinkering again with the interface in the future.

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