Still the only major turnkey library automated system vendor to offer word processing capabilities as part of its integrated library automation system, Geac recently announced expansion into a new market, that of office automation.
The GOAST system will be configured on the Geac 6000 and 8000 minicomputers, those used in its banking and library applications. The software will offer word processing functions, including a dictionary feature for spelling verification. It is expected that files will be maintained and stored online. A variety of system security features will be provided, including the operator and terminal passwords common in the library environment.
In addition to word processing, GOAST also supports the UCALC spreadsheet analysis capability and an electronic mail module, GEM.
The announcement of Geac's entry into the office automation market should bode well for those sections of the library community that have been attracted to Geac automated library systems, at least in part, by the availability of its word processing software. The new effort, which concentrates on word processing as a major application, offers these users some assurance that the word processing software offered as part of the library system will be maintained and developed with a similar level of care as is applied by vendors whose main source of income is such office automation applications. Lack of such assurance had been a concern to libraries that desired the word processing feature in an integrated library system.
[Contact: Geac, 350 Steelcase Rd. West, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R lB3. (416) 495—0525.]
