Patrons and students using EBSCO’s Explora will encounter a new, more modern interface and feature improvements as the company rolls out a redesigned user experience “based on extensive user research and customer feedback.” These changes are part of EBSCO’s larger efforts to update user experiences for many of its products, including EBSCO Discovery Service and EBSCOhost resources.

Explora gets an update

EBSCO completed its switch to a new Explora interface in July 2022, with libraries changing over to the new interface automatically. In addition to a more modern look and feel, new features include a featured banner image that links to a corresponding topic overview and topic categories for popular research topics and subject areas. Future enhancements include learning management system (LMS) integrations, text-to-speech functionality, and improved advanced search features.

As indicated in EBSCO’s documentation, any existing links to Explora content should continue to work, redirecting users to the correct resource. For more details about the interface changes, check out EBSCO’s documentation online:

• Visual Guide to the New Explora User Interface (PDF overview of product features)
• The New Explora – Quick Start Guide (detailed how-to information for navigating new features)
• Frequently Asked Questions about the new user experience

Looking to promote these changes with your students and patrons? EBSCO has produced a promotion kit with downloadable handouts, posters, bookmarks, and social media assets for your use.

Future changes to EBSCO products

Explora’s not the only EBSCO product undergoing changes. The company has plans to release a new and improved interface, currently in development, for products on its EBSCOhost platform as well as a new EBSCO Experience Manager to improve on the form and functions of the current EBSCOadmin portal. For a complete overview of product changes, refer to EBSCO’s Platform Roadmap that includes planned feature improvements and timelines for implementation. Read through the roadmap and have feedback? EBSCO invites you to share your thoughts. While still in development, both the new EBSCOhost platform and EBSCO Experience Manager are available for library staff to preview. To preview the EBSCOhost platform for your library, e-resources administrators can contact EBSCO support requesting access. EBSCO Experience Manager is expected to release around August 1, 2022, and institution administrators can request access following instructions in EBSCO Connect.