Industry News
Saturday Nov 7, 2009 
20 most recent items:
November 6, 2009. Follett Software Unveils New Version of Destiny. Follett Software Company announced the unveiling of Destiny 9.5 with a significant portion of the new capabilities based on requests from existing customers, including improved reporting across all Destiny modules to help K-12 school districts better demonstrate collection and inventory usage and value. <<more>>
November 6, 2009. MLA to Include International Bibliography in the Summon Web-Scale Discovery Service . The Modern Language Association has signed an agreement with Serials Solutions to include its quintessential MLA International Bibliography in the Summon web-scale discovery service. The agreement enables the Bibliography to be discoverable through the Summon service, a pioneering technology that provides instant searching of library collections – from books and videos to e-resources at the article level, integrated and accessible from a single search box. <<more>>
November 5, 2009. Forsyth County Public Library Selects Polaris ILS . Polaris Library Systems announced that Forsyth County Public Library in Georgia has selected the Polaris Integrated Library System. The Polaris ILS will replace the library's SirsiDynix Horizon system. <<more>>
November 4, 2009. Lehigh Valley Library System (PA) selects Millennium and Encore. Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley Library System announced its selection of the Millennium ILS and Encore as a complete solution for discovery and solid core functionality in a consortium environment. LVLS is replacing a Horizon system provided by SirsiDynix, Inc. <<more>>
November 4, 2009. The Summon Service Goes Mobile. Just four months after the commercial launch of its Summon web-scale discovery service, Serials Solutions launched a mobile application that enables instant searching of the breadth of a library’s collection from a smart phone. Now, users of any library with the Summon service can search and retrieve digital content, such as full-text articles, and locate physical materials all from a single search box on their iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Palm or Windows Mobile. <<more>>
November 3, 2009. Michigan Library Consortium to Partner with SkyRiver. The Michigan Library Consortium and SkyRiver have reached an agreement where MLC will offer SkyRiver's bibliographic utility services to MLC's member libraries. <<more>>
November 3, 2009. Utah Academic Library Consortium Chooses Ex Libris Primo for Digital Collection Discovery. Ex Libris announced that the Utah Academic Library Consortium has chosen the Ex Libris Primo discovery and delivery platform for the Mountain West Digital Library. The Mountain West Digital Library is an aggregation of digital collections about the Mountain West region of the United States and provides free access to more than 270,000 resources in 314 collections from universities, colleges, public libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and Hawaii. Today, 11 regional hubs host the digital collections of 43 collections partners. Eight of the hosting hubs also serve as full-service digitization centers, providing scanning and metadata services. <<more>>
November 2, 2009. Cataloger’s Desktop 3.0 is a Major Product Re-systemization. Cataloger’s Desktop 3.0 is now available. It is a major modernization of the popular web-based subscription service. Desktop is the Library of Congress’s integrated, online documentation service with the most important cataloging and metadata resources. The re-systemization of the service features a significantly enhanced bibliographic web-based toolbox. <<more>>
November 2, 2009. Auto-Graphics and Index Data Announce Strategic Technology Partnership . Auto-Graphics and Index Data, a software development company specializing in information retrieval, announced a strategic partnership to provide state-of-the-art, standards-based integrated search and discovery software to the library industry. The partnership will further solidify a relationship that began in 2001 and will allow the companies to more fully integrate Index Data's Pazpar2 search engine and its accompanying technologies into Auto-Graphics' AGent library automation platform to provide an enhanced search and discovery experience. <<more>>
November 2, 2009. Biblionix Wins 24 Library Project. The Central Texas Library System announced that Biblionix has been awarded the project and contract for data migration and web hosted automation services for Fiscal Year 2010 for 24 public libraries. The 24 libraries are located in the CTLS and AALS (Alamo Area Library System) regional systems. They range in size up to 68,000 items and 216,000 annual circulation. <<more>>
October 30, 2009. OCLC makes OAIster records available through WorldCat.org to ensure long-term public access to digital resources. The University of Michigan and OCLC today announced that they have successfully transitioned the OAIster database to OCLC to ensure continued public access to open-archive collections, and to expand the visibility of these collections to millions of information seekers through OCLC services. <<more>>
October 29, 2009. Miami-Dade Public Library System chooses AquaBrowser Library. The Miami-Dade Public Library System, is joining over 700 libraries that have chosen AquaBrowser Library, a discovery layer offering visual, faceted searching that connects to any data source. AquaBrowser will help Miami-Dade Public Library System members easily and fully explore the library’s vast collection. <<more>>
October 28, 2009. 240 Library Consortium in Tasmania Goes Live with SirsiDynix Symphony. SirsiDynix announced the implementation of the Symphony Integrated Library System for the TALIS network, the 240 public, school, college and government libraries that comprise the consortium of libraries in the Australian state of Tasmania. Over 260,000 clients can now connect to resources and information located in any of the libraries across the state through a single platform. <<more>>
October 28, 2009. Indiana district embraces data-driven decision making with Tetradata warehouse from Follett Software Co.. Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation in southwest Indiana is implementing one of the most comprehensive custom TetraData warehouses undertaken by Follett Software Company. Evansville, with 22,498 students, becomes the latest K-12 district in the country to opt for a solution that collects test scores, grades and other data to more quickly identify problems and accelerate interventions. <<more>>
October 27, 2009. University of Calgary Becomes Newest Member of ARL. Libraries and Cultural Resources of the University of Calgary the joins Association of Research Libraries as the 124th member. <<more>>
October 27, 2009. SC LENDS Welcomes Four New Library Systems Live on Evergreen . SC LENDS, the South Carolina library resource sharing network, welcomes four new members to the consortium. Calhoun, Chesterfield, Dorchester, and York County Library Systems have gone live with Evergreen, the consortial, open-source library automation software. <<more>>
October 27, 2009. Ten Academic and Law School Libraries Install Encore. Innovative announced that its Encore Services team recently installed the product at ten academic and law libraries: Azusa Pacific University (CA); De La Salle University (Philippines); Douglas College (Canada); Marquette University and Marquette University Law School (WI); Saginaw Valley State University (MI); Siena College (NY); Southern Nazarene University (OK); University of Nebraska at Kearney; and University of Wyoming. <<more>>
October 26, 2009. Ingram Digital is Newest Partner to the Summon Web-Scale Discovery Service . Ingram Digital has become the newest major content player to sign with the Summon discovery service, from Serials Solutions. With the Summon service, Ingram Digital will provide metadata for all the titles in its MyiLibrary e-Book platform. MyiLibrary is a fast-growing and comprehensive online e-content solution that currently includes 185,000+ titles, covering all major disciplines, with an additional 5,000 titles being added each month. <<more>>
October 26, 2009. Georgia Tech Library Receives Grant for Digital Repository Collaborative. The Library and Information Center at Georgia Tech received more than $850,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to create a repository service for the several member institutions in University System of Georgia. The repository will provide access to scholarly works and research information from member institutions of the USG who are participating in the grant. <<more>>
October 22, 2009. bX Accelerates Research and Learning. Ex Libris announced that over 180 academic institutions and consortia in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region are using the bX scholarly recommender service, following its launch in May 2009. The service was made immediately available to users at those institutions, enabling them to begin benefiting from the bX recommendations. <<more>>
October 22, 2009. Auto-Graphics and ChiliFresh Collaborate to Develop Web Services Application for Book Review Engine . Auto-Graphics and ChiliFresh announced a technology collaboration to more flexibly integrate ChiliFresh's Review Engine into the AGent suite of library automation solutions and other library systems. The two companies worked together to develop a Web Services application that allows libraries to adapt integrated ChiliFresh content into a customized results set display. Previously, subscribing libraries were limited to a standard display of book reviews; with the development of the new Web Services application, libraries have the ability to present book reviews and ChiliFresh content through their OPAC in whatever manner best suits their needs. <<more>>
The Library Technology Guides website aims to provide comprehensive and objective
information related to the field of library automation.
This site has no affiliation with any library automation company.
Whether you are in the process of selecting a library automation system,
or just want to keep up with developments in the field,
Library Technology Guides is the place to start.
GuidePosts
Perspective and commentary by Marshall Breeding | Blog Archive |
|
Participate in the Perceptions 2009 International Library Automation Survey
For the last two years I have conducted a survey and written a report on the perceptions that libraries form of the quality of the core automation products they use and their satisfaction with the service they receive: Perceptions 2008: An International Survey of Library Automation and Perceptions 2007: An International Survey of Library Automation.
It’s time to collect data for the 2009 edition of the survey. This is an opportunity for libraries to register their perceptions of the ILS product they use, its vendor, and the quality of support delivered. Is support getting better or worse? The survey also probes at considerations for migrating to new systems and the level of interest in open source ILS. While the numeric rating scales support the statistical results of the study, it’s the comments offered that provide the most insight into the current state of library automation satisfaction.
Please help your fellow libraries who might be in the process of evaluating library automation options by responding to the survey. Any information regarding vendor performance and product quality can be helpful when making strategic decisions regarding automation alternatives. A large number of responses strengthen the impact of the survey and the subsequent report. If you have responded to previous editions of the survey, please give your responses again this year. It’s helpful to understand whether things are getting better or worse.
As with the previous versions of the survey, only one response per library is allowed. While all the individuals that work in a library may have their own opinions, please respond to the extent that you can from the general experiences of your library.
How to participate
The survey links each response to the listing for a library in the lib-web-cats directory. This connection provides the ability to correlate responses with the extensive library demographic data in lib-web-cats.
- Find your library in lib-web-cats:
- Select and view the listing for your library
- Press the button
- Complete the form and write in your comments!
When viewing the entry for your library in lib-web-cats, please check for any incomplete or inaccurate information and let me know of any needed changes.
If your library isn't listed in lib-web-cats, please submit its information.
Marshall Breeding Nov 3, 2009 22:08:15 Link to this thread
Developments in the Queens Borough Public Library vs SirsiDynix lawsuit
The Queens Borough Public Library has filed a lawsuit against SirsiDynix for matters related to its 2006 procurement of the Horizon 8.0 software. The initial complaint, filed July 2, 2008, posted earlier on this site, contains the accusations of the Queens Borough Public Library. On October 26, 2009, SirsiDynix filed a motion to dismiss many of the demands specified in the complaint. This motion reveals something of SirsiDynix side of the matter.
As supporting evidence, SirsiDynix has filed the License Agreement between Dynix Corporation and the Queens Borough Public Library signed on March 6, 2006. It’s rare to get a glimpse of a license agreement made by a library for a major library automation procurement, since in most cases these documents are considered proprietary and confidential. The documents filed also include an affidavit of Brad Whittle, currently the Vice President for North American Sales and Marketing for SirsiDynix who was involved with the sale of Horizon to Queens.
These motions made by SirsiDynix for dismissal are based on complex legal arguments and case law. We make no attempt to summarize or explain. Making these documents available does ensure that both sides of the case have been represented in the documents available to those in the library community following the issue.
Marshall Breeding Nov 2, 2009 10:14:00 Link to this thread
Clifford Lynch clarifies views relative to open source ILS efforts
This morning I contacted Clifford Lynch, Executive Director for the Coalition for Networked Information regarding the quote that was attributed to him in the white paper authored by Stephen Abram that that has caused a firestorm on Twitter today.
Here is the response that I received and am posting with his permission:
I don't think that I ever wrote those words down in an article; I suppose I may have said something to that effect in an interview or q&a in some conference program like ALA Top Tech, though perhaps no quite as strongly as it's expressed here. I have without question spoken out about my concerns regarding investment in open source ILS development in the last few years. IF I did say this, it feels like it's used a little out of context -- or maybe the better characterization is over-simplistically -- in the report.
Perhaps the most useful thing to do would be to simply and briefly restate my current views on this. You are welcome to quote or share this; it would probably be best to use it in its entirety if you do.
I am very concerned that there are unrealistic expectations about what can be accomplished in terms of economic payoff or improvement in quality of service in the ILS world through investment in the re-implementation of traditional ILS systems; there is a mature, competitive market in such systems, and I question whether the choice to invest in developing an open source ILS makes sense given very constrained resources. The issue here is investment priorities. If we choose to do this, we need to be very clear about what we are trying to accomplish, and how the open source implementation gets us there. Also, there's a lot of confusion among the ideas of open source as a way of disseminating the results of research and allowing others to build upon the research, the idea of open source (or community source) as a means of engineering and developing a system that is conceptually fairly mature and can serve as a collective good, and the possibility and effectiveness of open or community source programs as a means of doing collective research and development.
I think there are still major problems -- many of which we really don't know how to solve effectively, and which call for sustained and extensive research and development -- in various areas where ILS get involved in information discovery and the support of research and teaching. While I'm not opposed to seeing an open source ILS -- who could be? -- and recognize that it could be very useful, particularly as a platform for research and future innovation, open source re-implementation of current ILS functionality will not be a panacea for these still-unsolved challenges.
Thanks for asking about this. I hope this is helpful both in clarifying my thinking on this, and, more importantly, advancing the community debate about the best courses of action here.
Marshall Breeding Oct 30, 2009 09:09:11 Link to this thread
3M vs EnvisionWare
Another lawsuit is underway in the library underway in the library automation industry, this time in the RFID and self-service circulation arena. 3M, one of the veteran companies in the use of electromagnetic and RFID technologies for library security systems, self-check, inventory, and other automation functions has filed suit against EnvisionWare, Inc. which has more recently introduced a suite of competing products. The complaint (Case 0-09-cv-01594-ADM-FLN) filed in the United States District Court of Minnesota on June 23, 2009, describes the products and technologies 3M has developed and refers to the patents that it has been awarded. 3M claims that specific EnvisionWare’s products infringe upon patents that it has been awarded. Products in question include EnvisionWare’s LibraryPDA, selected features in its OneStop self-service circulation system dealing with fines and fees.
The patents which 3M claims have been infringed include: "Applications For Radio Frequency Identification Systems" United States Patent No. 6,232,870, "Applications For Radio Frequency Identification Systems" United States Patent No. 6,486,780, and "Terminal For Libraries And The Like" United States Patent No. 6,857,568.
No specific amount of damages is mentioned in the complaint. A date for trial has not yet been set.
Marshall Breeding Oct 21, 2009 20:44:57 Link to this thread
Caveat and Credit
Library Technology Guides was created and is edited by Marshall Breeding, the Director for Innovative Technologies and Research at the Jean and Alexander Heard Library at Vanderbilt University. He is solely responsible for all content on this site, and for any errors it may contain. Please notify him if you find any errors or omissions.
Follow Marshall on 
.