Industry News
Tuesday May 13, 2008 
20 most recent items:
May 12, 2008. Ex Libris announces the release of Primo Version 2.0. Ex Libris Group today announced the general release of version 2.0 of the Company’s Primo discovery and delivery solution. The result of close collaboration with the Primo customer community, version 2.0 offers enhanced searching capabilities, including the ability to search in very large collections; improved usability and accessibility of the user interface; and easier system configuration and customization. <<more>>
May 9, 2008. SirsiDynix Institute announces upcoming webinars. The SirsiDynix Institute, a forum for professional development in the library community, announced its webinar schedule for late spring and summer 2008. In keeping with the SirsiDynix Institute’s mission to help grow the skills of library professionals, the SirsiDynix Institute will focus on “Open Libraries.” The theme centers on the “openness” that characterizes successful libraries — open partnerships, open approaches, open technologies, open dialog and open communities. <<more>>
May 8, 2008. Altarama Announces Acquisition of Docutek VRLplus. Altarama Information Systems announced that it has acquired the VRLplus business from the Docutek division of SirsiDynix, Inc. Altarama, a pioneer in digital reference tools, has already assumed day-to-day responsibility for customer support and product development, aided by former Docutek technical experts. <<more>>
May 7, 2008. Terrace Public Library Goes Live with Evergreen. Terrace Public Library of the British Columbia SITKA Consortium has followed Prince Rupert, Powell River, and Fort Nelson Public Libraries as the next facility to go live with Evergreen. In preparation, Equinox Software Inc. has been working closely with the consortium to provide comprehensive migration services and support, including database expertise, consultation, and system configuration. <<more>>
May 6, 2008. Polaris Library Systems partners with ChiliFresh.com. Polaris Library Systems announced a partnership agreement with ChiliFresh.com. The partnership enables Polaris customers to integrate the ChiliFresh Review Engine with Polaris PowerPAC. <<more>>
May 6, 2008. Asheville City Schools switch to Follett’s Destiny Follett’s Destiny for centralized library management. Asheville (NC) City Schools have switched from a sitebased library management system to Destiny Library Manager from Follett Software Company. The district made the move as part of a larger effort to consolidate major applications at the district level. <<more>>
May 5, 2008. General Secretariat for Gender Equality in Greece chooses Vubis Smart. Infor announced the General Secretariat for Gender Equality in Greece has chosen Vubis Smart, Infor’s integrated library system. Vubis Smart will be implemented at the Secretariat’s Library for Women’s Issues along with Infor’s federated search application, V-spaces, and OpenURL Resolver, V-link. <<more>>
May 5, 2008. Oxford University Library Services chooses MetaLib by Ex Libris. Ex Libris Group today announced that just six months after going live with the company’s SFX OpenURL link resolver, Oxford University Library Services has chosen the MetaLib gateway and metasearch solution, also from Ex Libris. The combined functionality of these two products will serve as a critical part of the infrastructure for the University’s e-resource strategy. <<more>>
May 5, 2008. MuseGlobal and Adhere Solutions partner to deliver federated search for the Google Search Appliance. MuseGlobal announced a partnership with Adhere Solutions, a consulting company focused on designing, implementing and optimizing applications built on the Google Platform, to deliver the first federated search solution for the Google Search Appliance. Called the All Access Connector, the joint solution will extend the Google Search Appliance, enabling organizations to search hundreds of millions of pages of content from over 5,400 sources—including internal and external databases, repositories, subscription content sources, data feeds and web mining applications—all delivered seamlessly through the Google interface. With the All Access Connector, the concept of Universal Search—finding all relevant content through one search box—is a reality for the enterprise. <<more>>
May 5, 2008. Liz Bishoff Joins BCR as Director of Digital and Preservation Services. BCR announced that Liz Bishoff will be joining BCR as Director of Digital and Preservation Services, effective May27. By creating this new division and bringing Bishoff on board, BCR builds on the recent merger of the well known Collaborative Digitization Program(now known as BCR’s CDP) into BCR, and solidifies their reputation as anationally recognized leader in collaboration and digitization. <<more>>
May 2, 2008. EBSCO strengthens power of its A-to-Z locator tool with new knowledge base change reports. EBSCO Information Services has recently strengthened the power of its EBSCO A-to-Z Web-based resource locator tool with the addition of a Knowledge Base Change Reports feature which, among other benefits, allows librarians to instantly see which titles have been added or removed from their aggregated full-text databases. <<more>>
May 1, 2008. Library technology veteran Lamar Jackson appointed President and CEO of Bibliotheca Incorporated USA. Bibliotheca, the global leader in open RFID technologies for library automation and media security, announced the appointment, effective immediately, of Lamar Jackson as president and CEO of Bibliotheca Inc., headquartered near Philadelphia in Feasterville, PA. <<more>>
May 1, 2008. Access Innovations Releases Data Harmony 3.4v1. Access Innovations, announced the release of version 3.4 of its Data Harmony software suite. The Data Harmony suite contains three major modules: 1) M.A.I.- an automatic and assisted indexing system, 2) ThesaurusMaster for taxonomy and thesaurus creation, and 3) XIS - the XML Intranet System for content creation and maintenance. <<more>>
April 30, 2008. ProQuest names John Law Vice President, Discovery Services. ProQuest has appointed John Law to the newly created position of Vice President of Discovery Services. Mr. Law will oversee business, technical, and project leadership for building information solutions aimed at getting librarians and end-users to their information discovery moment effortlessly. <<more>>
April 30, 2008. National Library of Morocco chooses Virtua. VTLS announced that the Bibliothèque Nationale du Royaume du Maroc – the National Library of Morocco – has signed a contract for Virtua for their library automation needs. With over 70,000 bibliographic records, BNRM is VTLS’ first customer in Morocco. <<more>>
April 30, 2008. SirsiDynix Announces Release of Web Reporter 1.5 for Horizon 7.4.1. SirsiDynix announced the availability of SirsiDynix Web Reporter release 1.5 for users of SirsiDynix Horizon 7.4.1. A reporting solution designed to work with Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL, and DB2 SQL databases, SirsiDynix Web Reporter is an easy-to-use, Web-based tool for library staff to run predefined reports, as well as create and customize reports. <<more>>
April 30, 2008. Cambridge University Library Launches WebFeat system capable of searching more than 300 of the library's databases. Cambridge University Library has launched the WebFeat federated search service to improve access to the University's vast collection of electronic resources. WebFeat enables Cambridge University Library users to now simultaneously search across more than 300 subscription databases and multiple catalogues from a single intuitive interface. Thanks to WebFeat's WebFeat Administration Console and its translator library of over 9,000 resources, the Cambridge University Library's customized WebFeat implementation was launched in less than 90 days. After a soft launch to the more than 400 librarians at the University, the system will be available for all staff and students in May. <<more>>
April 28, 2008. Over 1,600 library professionals attend 16th IUG Annual Conference. Innovative Interfaces announced the convocation of the 16th-Annual Innovative Users Group Conference in Washington, D.C. Held from April 27-30, over 1,600 library professionals from nineteen nations will participate in over 150 programs conducted by their colleagues and Innovative staff. Attendees of the annual meeting will present best practices for using Innovative products, report on creative and unique implementations of technology, and report on partnerships with the company's product-development team. <<more>>
April 28, 2008. Two UCLA Libraries upgrade to Relais Express V2008. Relais International announced that the UCLA Biomedical Library and the UCLA Young Research Library have upgraded to V2008 of Relais Express. <<more>>
April 28, 2008. 2008 Be Innovative! award winners honored at 16th Annual Innovative Users Group conference. Innovative Interfaces announced the winners of the 2008 Be Innovative! Awards at the Innovative Users Group Annual Conference in Washington, DC. <<more>>
April 28, 2008. The International Library Market is Strenghtened as DS becomes Part of Axiell. DS, the UK’s leading public library management system supplier, has reached agreement on a merger with Axiell Library Group AB. With immediate effect DS becomes part of the Axiell Library Group family of companies. <<more>>
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Perspective and commentary by Marshall Breeding | Blog Archive |
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Civica acquired by private equity firm 3i
In another major transition, Civica a UK-based company that offers the Spydus library automation system and a number of IT products for local governments, is in the process of being acquired by 3i, a major private equity firm. Prior to this acquisition, Civica was a publicly traded company on the AIM exchange. Spydus, formerly Urica, is one of the dominant library automation systems in Australia, has a large portion of the libraries in Taiwan, has a growing portion of libraries in the United Kingdom, and has a presence in many other geographic sectors.
Civica joins the ranks of other library automaiton companies owned by private equity firms: SirsiDynix (Vista Equity Partners), Ex Libris (Francisco Partners), Infor (Golden Gate Capital).
I have written an article on the transition of Civica and the background of Civica and its Spydus automation that will appear in the June 2008 issue of Smart Libraries Newsletter published by ALA TechSource.
Marshall Breeding May 5, 2008 08:30:52 Link to this thread
A merger of in the international library automation business: DS joins Axiell
The consolidation of the library automation business continues abroad as well as among the companies familiar to those of us in North America. In recent news, DS, one of the major companies involved in the United Kingdom has been acquired by Axiell Group, a company that develops library automation in for Nordic countries.
In Jan 2008 Axiell Group reorganized itself into three business units. The acquisition of DS adds a fourth:
- Axiell Bibliotek AB (Sweden)
- Axiell Biblioteksystem AB
- BTJ System AB
- CSC Consulting Group (Library Section )
- TietoEnator Library (2005)
- Axiell Bibliotek A/S (Denmark)
- AB Axiell Kirjastot AY (Finland)
- TietoEnator Libraries Oy (acquired 2007)
- Akateeminen Tietopalveu ATP OY (acquired Dec 2007)
- DS (United Kingdom)
- Acquired April 2008
In 2007 the Axiell Group reported revenue of 21.17 million euro and employs a total of 117 personnel.
The full acquisition of DS by Axiell Group follows a successful collaboration where the two companies worked together to produce a next-generation interface product, Axiell Arena/DS Arena, that would work across the automation products of both companies.
Marshall Breeding May 5, 2008 07:51:12 Link to this thread
Asia Perspective
In preparation for my upcoming trip to Taiwan and South Korea, I’ve been working in gathering information on the library automation scene in Asia. Libraries in most parts of Asia have generally implemented sophisticated approaches to automating their libraries. Most all academic and public libraries have integrated library systems and have implemented digital library systems, content management systems, or other portals to handle their Web sites.
I will be speaking at the Annual Meeting of University Librarians in Taiwan. and for the Graduate Institute of Library and Information Science at the National Chung Hsing University. The trip will include a quick trip to Seoul, South Korea to talk about next generation library interfaces.
As part of my background research in library automation in Asia, I have been working on adding libraries from this region to lib-web-cats and trying to determine the automation systems they use. Here are some graphs based on data from lib-web-cats:
- Academic Libraries in Taiwan
- Academic Libraries in China
- Public Libraries in Taiwan (Not very complete)
- Academic Libraries in South Korea
- Academic Libraries in Hong Kong
As seen in these charts, a number of companies that provide automation software to libraries in the United States have found a market in Asia, including: Innovative Interfaces, Ex Libris, SirsiDynix, and Civica.
Some of the companies involved in providing automation systems in Asia that might not be familiar to those of us in the United States include:
- Top Information Technologies. A distributor for Civica for Spydus to public libraries in Taiwan. The company is a distributor for Ex Libris with many deployments of ALEPH 500, SFX, MetaLib in many academic libraries in Taiwan.
- Transtech Computer Company, offers the TOTALS II, a major automation system used in Taiwan. The company also distributes the MuseSearch federated search product from MuseGlobal.
- Jiangsu Huiwen Software created LibSys, the most prevelant automation system among academic libraries in China with 383 installations to date.
- Futurenuri provides the XMLAS and TG-Vintage-LAS automation systems to libraries in South Korea.
- INEK provides the Solars automatoin system to libraries in South Korea.
Many libraries in China use the ILAS system developed by the Shenzhen Library.
Over time, I'm trying to ensure that Library Technology Guides represents a more international perspective. This information on a few of the countries in Asia is just a small step toward that goal. Despite the internationalization of the library automation industry, I'm becoming aware that every region and country has its own distinct dynamic of companies and products.
Marshall Breeding Apr 27, 2008 10:42:17 Link to this thread
A resource for discovery layer interfaces
With all the recent interest in next-generation library catalogs, also called discover-layer interfaces, I have created a new resource page in Library Technology Guides to guide you to libraries that have implemented, or at least selected, one of these systems. The main feature of this page consists of logo of each of the major discovery layer products that launches a query into lib-web-cats to retrieve libraries associated with these systems. In some cases the default online catalog link will take you to this interface, but for many libraries you may need to go to the Web site to find a link to it. Especially in cases where the product has been recently purchased, the next-generation interface may not be publicly available. Even in these cases, seeing the kind of libraries that have purchased one of the commercial products or committed to implementing one of the open source ones should be useful information to those considering this new genre of library software.
I’ve also included links to some of what I’ve written about these new interfaces.
This resource is a work in progress. Please let me know if I’ve missed any of the major offerings in this area or libraries that involved with them.
Marshall Breeding Apr 15, 2008 10:30:47 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.