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Volume 17 Number 03 (March / April 1997)

International survey of automated library system vendors: integrated, multi-user, multi-function systems running on main-frames, minis, and micros that use a multi-user operating system

Each year Library Systems Newsletter surveys the library automation industry to get an overview of the market and to facilitate comparison among vendors. This double issue is devoted to summarizing the responses of vendors that offer integrated, multi-user, multi-function systems-those running on mainframes, minis, and micros using a multi-user operating system, whether UNIX, PICK, Digital VMS, or the proprietary operating system of a hardware manufacturer. In a subsequent issue, we will summarize the survey results for PC- and Mac-based systems. Vendors offering both multi-user and PC-based systems are included in this issue providing that their multi-user system sales were at least $1 million in 1996. Insofar as possible, the data in this issue are limited to the vendors' multi-user operating system products.

Both turnkey and software only vendors are included in this report because the majority of vendors now sell both ways. Turnkey vendors are those which provide hardware, software, installation, training, and ongoing support from a single source. They assume liability for total system performance. Software only vendors give the buyer only a guarantee that the software is free of defects.

INTRODUCTION

All major vendors are now committed to providing acquisitions, serials control, circulation, and online patron access catalog modules-and in some cases, additional functionality such as information and referral, journal citation, interlibrary loan (ILL), and media booking. Virtually all of the vendors could deliver the four core modules by the end of 1996, although several were rewriting acquisitions and serials control modules. Several vendors were also offering journal citation capability, the loading of files of periodical indexes.

As in previous years, vendors were contacted for this survey by mail, with follow-up by phone and fax. Our queries focused on whether the product was available as a turnkey system, a software package, or both; the hardware platform, operating system, and programming language(s); the number of sales during the past calendar year; the total number of installations; the number of sites which discontinued use of the system during 1996; gross sales and new name sales (sales to other than existing customers) for 1996; profitability; the percentage of customers using each module or major function; the sizes of the installed systems; and the number of staff devoted to software maintenance and development, sales and marketing, and to customer support. Major enhancements reported by the vendors also are included.

There are a number of seeming discrepancies in the data. We have obtained explanations for the most glaring: the inconsistency between the total number of sites reported and the total number of customers for which the user license levels are reported. Most often, when the number of sites for which user license levels are given is fewer than the total number of sites, it is because the vendor began licensing based on the number of users after it had already sold a number of systems. Statistics are not available for the earlier customers. When the number is larger, it is usually attributable to the fact that some vendors consider each member of a consortium as a customer for purposes of counting licenses, but were required by our criteria to count a central site supporting multiple libraries as "one" customer. In at least two cases, it appears to be attributable to the fact that the count was not adjusted for customers which have discontinued use of the system.

SUMMARY

LSN identified vendors, worldwide, marketing integrated, multi-function automated library systems for super- micro, mini, or mainframe computers. The companies which responded are believed to represent about 98 percent of the North American market and 70 percent of sales in the rest of the world. The vendors that did not respond are either small companies or European companies which sell primarily in their own countries.

A number of companies are actively selling two or more significantly different products, among them Ameritech Library Services, Data Research Associates (DRA), and Geac Computers, Inc. Information about the products has been kept separate as much as possible.

Of the vendors responding, nearly all offer both turnkey systems and software-only packages. Only three of the vendors included in this survey sell only software packages.

The vendors included in this survey reported 1,050 new name sales in 1996. These same vendors sold 1,740 systems in 1995. Ameritech's decision to target school districts, rather than individual schools, for its Dynix Scholar product accounts for the roughly 600 decline in systems sold. However, three vendors reported more systems sold in 1996 than in the previous year. Table 1 contains the estimated total number of systems sold each year since LSN began publishing this survey in 1984. (The 1984-91 figures are for North American vendors only.)

The total number of installed systems at the end of 1996 was approximately 12,560. The vendors of multi-function automated library systems reported revenues of approximately $450 million in 1996-roughly the same as in 1995. Geac reported gross revenues in excess of $100 million; Ameritech, which did not report its 1996 figures, probably had revenues close to $80 million; Innovative Interfaces reported gross revenues of between $60 and $75 million; DRA reported gross revenues of between $35 and $40 million; Information Dimensions reported $25-$30 million; BLCMP reported $15-$20 million; CARL, Gaylord, Sisis, and Stowe Computing each reported $10-$15 million; and Contec, Ex Libris, and VTLS each reported sales between $5 and $10 million. All others reported sales under $5 million for the year or declined to provide this information.

Table 1. Estimated Industry-wide System Sales by Year (including estimates for vendors not responding)


Table 1. Estimated Industry-wide System Sales by Year (including estimates for vendors not responding)
Year Number of Systems Sold
1996 ------------------------------------------------- 1,520
1995 ------------------------------------------------------------ 2,322
1994 -------------------------------------------------------- 1,853
1993 ---------------------------------------------------- 1,600
1992 -------------------------------------------------- 1,121
1991 --------------------------------------- 674
1990 ----------------------------------- 566
1989 -----------------------------435
1988 ---------------------376
1987 ---------------350
1986 ----------210
1985 ---------196
1984 -----------232

Table 2 ranks vendors according to the total number of new name systems sold during 1996, as reported by the vendors themselves.

Table 2. Vendors Reporting 10 or More New Name System Sales in 1996
Vendor Number of System Sales
Ameritech 243
EOS International 136
SIRSI 101
Geac 76
Gaylord 57
DRA 55
Es Libris 48
Innovative Interfaces 45
Cuadra 37
VTLS 31
ILS 30
Endeavor 28
Fretwell-Downing 26
Sisis 15
Contec 12
Gateway 12
Information Dimensions 11
Stowe Computing 10
Best-Seller10
No other vendor claimed more than 10 new name sales in 1996.

Table 3 ranks the total installed and accepted systems, of the vendors reporting at least 40 installations to date. Table 4 ranks the vendors by the number of staff devoted to software maintenance and development; Table 5 ranks vendors by the number of staff devoted to sales and marketing; and Table 6 ranks vendors by the ratio of customer support staff to the reported number of installations.

Table 3. Total Number of Installed and Accepted Systems
VendorNumber of Installed Systems
EOS International2,589
Ameritech 1,706
DRA 982
Geac 641
SIRSI 625
Innovative Interfaces 611
ILS 563
Cuadra 404
Sisis 373
Gaylord 308
Information Dimensions 271
VTLS 268
Ex Libris 228
Gateway 112
Stowe Computing 109
ELiAS 105
Fretwell-Downing 85
Best-seller 83
BLCMP 75
Contec 64
No other vendor claimed more than 50 installations each.


Table 4. Vendors Reporting 10 or more Staff Members Devoted to Software Maintenance and Development
Vendor Software Maintenance
and Development Staff
DRA124
Ameritech 86
CARL 75
Geac 65
BLCMP 40
Innovative Interfaces 39
VTLS 35
SIRSI 32
Gaylord 25
Sisis 23
EOS International 22
ELiAS 20
Fretwell-Downing 18
Ex Libris 16
Endeavor 16
ILS 11
Contec 12
No other vendor had more than 10 software maintenance/development staff.


Table 5. Vendors Reporting 10 or More Staff Devoted to Sales and Marketing
VendorSales and
Marketing Staff
Ameritech96
EOS International 57
Geac 45
DRA 33
SIRSI 30
Gaylord 28
VTLS 17
Contec 16
ELiAS 15
Endeavor 14
Innovative Interfaces 14
Ex Libris 12
Sisis 10
No other vendor had more than 10 staff devoted to sales and marketing.


Table 6. Ratio of Customer Support Staff to Number of Installed Systems (for vendors with 10 or more support staff and at least 50 installations)
Vendor Ratio of Support
Staff: Installations
Geac 1:4
ELLAS 1:5
Contec 1:6
Fretwell-Downing 1:7
Innovative Interfaces 1:7
Gaylord 1:8
SIRSI 1:11
VTLS 1:13
DRA 1:17
Ameritech (US only) 1:19
Information Dimensions 1:23
EOS International 1:52

The following vendor reports are arranged alphabetically and are based on information furnished by the respondents.

Ameritech Library Services, a part of Ameritech Corporation, was formed in 1994 by consolidating Dynix and NOTIS, formerly two separate companies. Ameritech now offers two major products: Dynix and Horizon. The company no longer sells NOTIS, a mainframe-based system, but it does continue to support 149 NOTIS customers. It also continues to support 16 PALS sites, a mainframe-based product purchased from Unisys when that company withdrew from the library automation market. Two other products, NetConnect and InfoShare, are sold independently. The Dynix and Horizon products are described separately.

Dynix is sold either as a turnkey system or as a software-only product. After offering a wide range of hardware platforms for several years, in 1996, Ameritech decided to offer only Hewlett-Packard hardware for new sales. (This decision has since been modified.) The company has re-targeted Dynix Scholar (a variation of the Dynix product for school libraries) to school districts instead of to individual schools. The hardware platform is any UNIX-based machine, the operating system is PICK under UNIX, and Universe is the DBMS. The programming languages are "C++," Pick BASIC, Java, and Visual BASIC.

The company reported sales of 200 systems in 1996, of which 117 were new name sales, bringing its total to 1,706 systems (representing 4,250 libraries- 3,615 in North America, 86 in Europe, 544 in Asia/Oceana, and 5 in South America). Sales by type of library in 1996 were 49 percent public, 16 percent academic, 3 percent school, and 32 percent special libraries. Two customers ceased use of their Dynix systems in 1996. These figures cannot be compared directly with those of previous years. Ameritech sold nearly 600 Scholar systems in 1995 and included those sales in its Dynix statistics; in 1996, however, Ameritech had virtually no Scholar sales to include in its sales figures, but the total number of installations continues to include the Dynix Scholar sites.

The company reported that all sites were using local cataloging, authority control, report generator, and electronic mail; and 98 percent each were using the circulation and online patron access catalog modules. Approximately 55 percent of the sites each were using acquisitions and inventorying; 25 percent serials control; 10 percent each materials booking and community information; and 5 percent journal citation files. Some 70 percent had an OCLC interface and 17 percent had other cataloging support system interfaces; 60 percent had an Ethernet LAN interface. Over 40 percent had a Z39.50 client/server installed. Over 70 percent had a CPU gateway for remote database searching, including Internet access. Over 10 percent had a GUI OPAC and 2 percent had a Web OPAC. Over 10 percent had technical services GUI. Twelve sites supported over 400 user licenses; 48 had 200-399; 43 had 100-199; 88 had 60-99; 117 had 30-59; 150 had 16-29; 255 had 10-15; 207 had 6-9; and 109 had 5 or fewer users. Dynix 151, a package containing a broad spectrum of enhancements to existing modules, was released in 1996.

The Horizon product also is offered either as a turnkey system or as software only. It is a true client/server product. Major platforms are Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Sun. The server operating systems are UNIX, OS/2, VMS, OpenVMS, Novell NetWare, Windows NT, or MPE using Sybase SQL Server, or Microsoft SQL Server as the DBMS. The staff client operating system is OS/2; the OPAC client operating systems are Windows, Macintosh, and OS/2. The programming languages used are "C" and Modula 2.

Ameritech reported 126 Horizon sales in 1996-all new name sales, compared to 44 sales in 1995. Horizon systems are installed in 349 sites worldwide: 205 in North America, 88 in Europe, 28 in Asia/Oceana, 19 in South America; and 9 in Africa/the Middle East. The break-down of installed systems at the end of 1996 was 8 percent public, 60 percent academic, 2 percent school, and 30 percent special libraries.

All Horizon sites were using local cataloging, authority control, online patron access catalog, report generator, GUI OPAC, GUI technical services; bibliographic utility interface, Ethernet LAN interface, and remote database searching through a gateway, including Internet access. Some 60 percent were using acquisitions and serials control; 70 percent had loaded journal citation files and community information; and 30 percent were using EDIFACT online ordering and claiming. Z39.50 conformity was in use at 10 percent of the systems. Three sites supported 200-399 users; 10 had 100-199; 30 had 60-99; 70 had 30-59; 80 had 16-29; 40 had 10-15; 1 had 6-9; and 2. had 5 or fewer user licenses. Horizon 4.1 was released in 1996. The company also began work on porting Horizon to Windows.

Ameritech declined to provide financial data for the first time since LSN has conducted this survey. Last year, the company reported $110+ million in sales and an after-tax profit. Based on the statistics reported this year, we estimate that the 1996 sales figure is under $80 million, as the company not only sold fewer systems than last year, it sold fewer large systems. A staff of 86 was committed to development for all products, 96 to sales, and 203 to customer support in the U.S. It did not report foreign staffing levels. We estimate that the total staff reduction worldwide during 1996 was at least 160.

Ameritech has North American offices in Provo (UT), Evanston (IL), Waterloo (Ontario), and Mexico City; and overseas offices in Australia, Chile, England, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia.

[Ameritech Library Services, 400 Dynix Drive, Provo, UT 84604-5650; (801) 223- 5200 or (800) 223-5413; fax (801) 223- 5202; Web Page: http://www.amlibs.com.]

Best-Seller, Inc. offers both turnkey systems and software-only. The hardware includes both Hewlett-Packard and IBM minicomputers and superminis, and runs under three operating systems: HP MPE/iX, HP-UX (UNIX), and IBM AIX (UNIX). The DBMS is the company's proprietary Speedware, and the applications are written in "C" and "C++."

The company sold 20 systems during 1996 (10 were new name sales). The total installed base at year-end was 83: 75 in North America and 8 in Europe. No customers halted use of the system in 1996.

All sites were using local cataloging, authority control, and online patron access catalog; 98 percent were using circulation; 60 percent an UTLAS interface and 30 percent other cataloging support interfaces; 85 percent acquisitions and serials control; 50 percent inventorying; 40 percent report generator; 15 percent electronic mail; 10 percent Web OPAC; and 5 percent community information. Over 90 percent had an Ethernet LAN interface; 25 percent had an Internet gateway; 15 percent had remote database searching through a CPU gateway; 15 percent had a Z39.50 server; and 25 percent a Web-based client. Three of its sites supported 100-199 users; 2 had 60-99; 15 had 30-59; 17 had 16-29; 29 had 10-15; and 6 had 6-9. Major software enhancements in 1996 included BestTEL, a telephone service. The company also launched a new Web-based system called "Portfolio." Only the OPAC had been completed by the end of the year.

Best-Seller reported sales in the $1 to $2.5 million range, and an after-tax profit. A staff of eight was committed to software maintenance/development, five to marketing/sales, and seven to customer support at the end of 1996.

[Contact: Best-Seller, Inc., 3300 Cole-Vertu, Suite 303, Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada H4R 2B8; (514) 337-3000; fax (514) 337-7629; Internet address: info@bestseller.com; Web Page: http://www.bestseller.com.]

BLCMP Library Services Ltd. offers "TALIS" both as a turnkey system and software-only product on the Sun and Data General hardware platforms. The operating system is UNIX, and SYBASE is the DBMS. Programming languages are "C++" and Java. The company reported 25 sales in 1996, including 7 new name sales. Three of the new name sales were to public libraries and 4 were to academic libraries. The total number of installed systems at the end of 1996 was 75-all in Europe. No customers discontinued use of the system in 1996.

All of the customers were using local cataloging; 95 percent were using circulation and acquisitions; 80 percent had materials booking; 70 percent had the report generator; 25 percent had serials control; 25 percent had GUI OPAC; 25 percent had Web OPAC; 20 percent had ILL and inventorying; and 5 percent had electronic mail. There are no interfaces included in the product. Five percent of customers supported 400 or more users at the end of 1996; 5 percent had 200-399; 35 percent had 100-199; 30 percent had 60-99; 10 percent had 30-59; 5 percent had 16-29; 5 percent had 6-9; and 5 percent had 5 or fewer. Major software enhancements for 1996 included the interlibrary loan and community information modules and completion of EDIFACT online ordering and claiming.

The company reported sales between $15 and $20 million, and had an after-tax profit. A staff of 40 was devoted to software maintenance/development, seven to marketing/sales, and 30 to customer support at the end of 1996. [Contact: BLCMP Library Services Ltd., Institute of Research and Development, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Birmingham B1S 2SQ, England; +44 121 471 1179; fax +44 121 472 0298; Internet address: blcmp.org.uu; Web Page: http://www.blcmp.org.uk/.]

CARL Corporation offers The CARL System both as turnkey systems and software-only. The hardware is Tandem; the operating system is Non-Stop Kernel; and the DBMS used is Enscribe. Applications are written in "C++" and TAL (Transaction Application Language). CARL reported two new name system sales in 1996-both to consortia, bringing its total installed base at the end of 1996 to 36 systems, all in North America.

All sites were using local cataloging, circulation, online patron access catalog, interlibrary loan, and report generator. Some 90 percent were using the inventorying module. Journal citation files were in use at 85 percent of the sites; 69 percent each were using acquisitions and serials control; 62 percent had a GUI interface; and 60 percent were using e-mail. Some 55 percent of the sites were using community information and 22 percent had authority control. A LAN interface was in use at 64 percent of the sites; OCLC interface at 62 percent; and BiblioFile at 8 percent. Remote database searching through a gateway was at 35 percent of the sites; 22 percent had an Internet gateway; 36 percent had Z39.50 client (multi-user) and Z39.50 server; and 5 percent had a CD-ROM interface. Fifteen of the sites had over 400 terminals; 8 had 200-399; 7 had 100-199; 1 had 60-99; and 3 had 30-59. Software enhancements in 1996 included the introduction of CARLweb, a new report module, and an integrated technical services workstation.

CARL's 1996 revenues were $10-$15 million, with an after-tax profit. A staff of 75 was committed to software maintenance and development, eight to marketing and sales, and 16 to customer service.

[CARL Systems, Inc., 3801 E. Florida Avenue, Suite 300, Denver, Co 80210; (303) 758-3030; fax (303) 758-0606.]

Contec Data Systems North America offers C2 both as a turnkey system and as a software-only package on Intel and RISC hardware. The client operating system is Windows and the server operating system is NT. The DBMS is a proprietary full-text DBMS on native server filing systems; and the code is written in "C++." The company reported 12 sales during 1996, all of them new name. Some 21 percent of the new name sales were to public libraries, 43 percent to academic libraries, and 47 percent to special libraries. The total number of installations at the end of 1996 was 64, including 5 in North America; 46 in Asia/Oceana, and 3 in Europe. No customers ceased use of the product in 1996.

All sites were using local cataloging, authority control, circulation, inventorying, online patron access catalog, report generator, GUI OPAC, and GUI technical services capabilities. Acquisitions was in use at 90 percent of the sites; serials control at 85 percent; and community information at 20 percent of the sites. All of the sites were using a LAN interface; 70 percent had an NZBN/ABN interface and 10 percent had other cataloging support system interfaces; all sites had an Ethernet LAN interface. Remote database searching through a gateway was at 40 percent of the sites; and a CD-ROM interface was at 30 percent. None had Z39.50 client/ server or EDIFACT. Two of the sites supported 100-199 users; two supported 60-99; 12 supported 30-59; 15 supported 16-29; 10 supported 10-15; and five supported 5 or fewer users.

Gross sales were between $5 and $10 million, and the company realized an after-tax profit. A staff of 12 was committed to software maintenance and development, 16 to marketing and sales, and 10 to customer support.

The company maintains offices in San Mateo (CA) and Gaithersburg (MD). It also has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, Australia; Auckland and Christchurch, New Zealand; and in Singapore.

[Contec Data Systems North America, 1730 Amphlett Boulevard, Suite 127, San Mateo, CA 94402-2709; (415) 655-4062; fax (415) 655-4061; Internet address: cnainfo@contecds.com; Web Page: http://www.contecds.com.]

Cordant, Inc. see LCG & Associates, Inc.

Cuadra Associates offers STAR as either a turnkey system or a software package. The hardware platforms are IBM RS/6000, Hewlett-Packard 9000 series, Sun 3e and SPARC series, and high-end PCs. The operating systems are AIX, SunOS, HP/UX, and SCO. The DBMS is proprietary. The programming languages are "C" and "C++."

The company reported 70 sales in 1996, 37 of them to new customers. Half were to special libraries and the other half were to other organizations seeking a records management system or special corporate database tool.

STAR does not have modules, but supports a wide range of functionality. There are two versions: STAR/Libraries and STAR/RIMS-the latter for records management applications. The only capability the company says STAR/ Libraries does not have is Z39.50 client/server. The company did not report the number of users supported by each of the installed systems. The major enhancements in 1996 were new Windows and Windows 95 software.

The company, which is privately held, did not disclose any financial data, although it did claim to be profitable. There were 15 staff assigned to software development and maintenance, seven to sales and marketing, and eight to other customer support at the end of 1996.

Cuadra has offices in Los Angeles, Austin, New York, Cleveland, and Washington, DC.

[Cuadra Associates, Inc., 11835 West Olympic, Suite 855, Los Angeles, CA 90064; (310) 478-0066; fax (310) 477- 1078; e-mail: sales@cuarda.com; and Web: http://www.cuadra.com/].

Data Research Associates (DRA) offers both turnkey system and software only options. The company supports three products (DRA Classic, INLEX, and MultiLIS); it continues to sell two, DRA Classic (worldwide) and MultiLIS (primarily in Europe). The products run on Digital, Sun, HP, IBM, Bull, and various hardware platforms using UNIX, Open VMS, Windows NT, HP MPE, and Netscape for servers; and Windows family, Open VMS, UNIX, HP MPE for clients. The programming languages used are "C," "C++," and "Visual C++;" the DBMS is proprietary. In 1996, DRA had 113 new name sales, including 18 percent public, 50 percent academic, 34 percent school, and 3 percent special libraries. The installed base rose to 982 sites-889 in North America; 36 in Europe; 56 in Asia/Oceana; and 1 in South America. Two sites discontinued use of the system in 1996.

Local cataloging and circulation were in use at all sites; 95 percent were using authority control and electronic mail; 75 percent had the online patron access catalog; 74 percent were using acquisitions; 69 percent had serials control; and 25 percent were using community information capabilities. Approximately 20 percent had journal citation files and 9 percent had materials booking. Over 16 percent had GUI OPAC and 20 percent had Web OPAC. An OCLC interface was in use at 80 percent; and BiblioFile and RLIN interfaces were each at 5 percent of the sites. Some 80 percent of the sites were using an Internet gateway; 40 percent had a LAN interface; 80 percent had remote database searching through a gateway; and 41 percent had Z39.50 client/server. Seventeen sites were supporting 400+ users; 347 had 200-399; 58 had 100-199; 69 had 60-99; 145 had 30-59; 142 supported 16-29; 183 had 10-15; 130 had 6-9; and 188 sites supported 5 or fewer users. Major enhancements during 1996 included bindery and EDI modules for DRA Classic and minor enhancements to the Mu1tiLIS product. Progress was made in the development of the next-generation client/server product for customers of all three product lines.

Gross revenue was between $35 and $40 million, with an after-tax profit. A staff of 124 was committed to software maintenance and development, 33 to sales and marketing, and 58 to other customer support.

DRA maintains offices in St. Louis, Monterey, Montreal, Melbourne, and Paris.

[Data Research Associates, Inc., 1276 North Warson Road, St. Louis, MO 63132-1806; (800) 325-0888 or (314) 432-1100; fax (314) 993-8927.]

ELiAS, N.V. offers Extended Library Access Solutions as a software-only product for IBM RS/6000 and other UNIX-based IBM hardware. The operating system is AIX and the DBMS is available as Oracle or Ingres. Most of the code is written in "C++." The product was released for the first time in 1996, replacing DOBIS/LIBIS, a mainframe-based product. The company sold two systems in 1996, both new name sales to academic libraries. It continues to support over 100 DOBIS/LIBIS sites.

The company did not provide a description of functionality, nor did it indicate the number of users supported on its installed systems ELiAS did not release financial information, but claimed to be profitable in 1996. Total revenues were probably in the $1 to $2.5 million range. A staff of 20 was committed to software maintenance and development, 15 to sales and marketing, and 20 to customer support at the end of 1996.

The company, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, has a partner office (CGI) in Ottawa, Canada.

[ELiAS N.y., 60 Kapeldreef, B-Sod Leuven, Belgium; 011-32-16-270390, fax: 011-32-16-270319.]

EOS International --which was created by the merger of Data Trek and IME--offers four product lines, three of them for use on PCs. This report is limited to the company's T Series, which was formerly sold by the IME part of the new company. Information on the Data Trek part of the new company will be included with the PC- and Mac-based products. T Series is available as a turnkey system or software-only for Sun, DEC Alpha, IBM RS/6000 and other UNIX hardware platforms. Client applications are available for 03.2, Windows 3.1, and Windows 95. The DBMS is proprietary and the programming languages are mainly "C" and "C++." The company sold 151 T Series systems in 1996, 136 of them new name sales. Some 57 percent of these sales were to academic libraries, 35 percent to special, 5 percent to public, and 3 percent to school libraries. The total number of installed systems at year-end was 2,589, including 231 in North America, 46 in Asia/Oceana, 2,187 in Europe, 62 in South America, and 63 in Africa/Middle East.

Since many systems of what was formerly IME had been sold through distributors, EOS does not have reliable records of the modules implemented by its customers. It has licensed roughly 300 customers for 200-399 users; 4 for 100-199; 25 for 60-99; 100 for 30-59; 1,000 for 10-15; 300 for 6- 9; and 500 for 5 or fewer users. The major enhancements in 1996 were revamped self check-in, year 2000 solution, and improved GUIs.

The company declined to release financial information. It had 22 staff committed to software maintenance and development, 57 to marketing and sales, and 59 to customer support at the end of 1996.

EOS International is headquartered in Carlsbad, California with offices in Boston, London, Paris, and Singapore. It has over 40 distributors worldwide,

[EOS International, 5838 Edison Place, Carlsbad, California 92008; (800) 876- 3484; fax: (760) 431-8448; e-mail: sales@eolintl.com; Web: http://www.eosintl.com.]

Endeavor Information Systems offers the Voyager Library Series product both as a turnkey system and as a software-only package. The major hardware platforms are Sun and IBM RS/6000. The operating systems are Sun Solaris and AIX for the server and Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT, and Windows for Workgroups for the clients. There are plans to port the server to NT on DEC Alpha and Intel platforms. The DBMS is Oracle. The programming languages for the server are "C" and "C++." The client presentation and application code are Microsoft Visual BASIC and "C++." The company reported 28 sales in 1996, all new name sales, with 86 percent going into academic libraries and 14 percent into special libraries. The total installed base at the end of 1996 was 44 systems, including 41 in North America, 2 in Asia/Oceana, and 1 in Europe.

All of the customers were using local cataloging, authority control, circulation, online patron access catalog, report generator, GUI OPAC, GUI technical services, LAN interface, remote database searching through a gateway, and Internet gateway. Approximately 80 percent had Web OPAC and 75 percent had acquisitions and serials control. Some 85 percent had an OCLC interface; 15 percent had an RLIN interface. Approximately 10 percent had Z39.50 client/server, imaging, and journal citation files. Five sites supported 200-399 users; 7 had 100-199; 3 had 60-99; 10 had 30-59; 12 had 16-29; 3 had 10-15; 2 had 6-9; and 2 had 5 or fewer users. Major software enhancements included the introduction of image and citation servers.

The company had revenues in the range of $2.5 to $5 million, and realized an after-tax profit. A staff of 16 was devoted to software maintenance and development, 14 to marketing and sales, and 10 to customer support at the end of 1996.

[Endeavor Information Systems, Inc., 9700 West Higgins Road, Rosemont, Illinois 60018; (847) 292-2292; fax (847) 292-2296; Internet address endeavor@endinfosys.com; Web Page http://www.endinfosys.com.]

Ex Libris offers its multi-user ALEPH product as both turnkey and software- only for the major hardware platforms of DEC, IBM, OCL, HP, and Sun. The operating systems are UNIX on DEC, IBM, ICL, HP, and Sun; and Open VMS on DEC; and the programming languages are "C," "C++," and Microfocus COBOL. The commonly used DBMS is proprietary, although ALEPH can interface with many commercial RDBMS. The company has recently introduced ALEPH/500, which uses the Oracle RDBMS.

The company sold 58 systems in 1996, 48 of them new name sales, including 9 percent to public libraries, 75 percent to academic libraries, and 14 percent to special libraries. The total number of installed and accepted systems at the end of 1996 was 228-8 in North America, 163 in Europe, 7 in South America, and 50 in Africa/Middle East.

All sites were using local cataloging, authority control, online patron access catalog, and LAN interface. Approximately 85 percent were using circulation; 80 percent had acquisitions; 75 percent had serials control; 25 percent had interlibrary loan; 20 percent had report generator; 15 percent had community information; 10 percent had materials booking; and 5 percent had imaging. Approximately 13 percent had an OCLC or RLIN interface, and 45 percent had another local or national cataloging support system interface. Approximately 20 percent had remote database searching through a gateway; 30 percent had an Internet gateway; and 10 percent had Z39.50 client/server. Two sites were licensed for more than 400 users; 2 supported 200-399; 12 supported 100-199; 13 supported 60-99; 41 supported 30-59; 38 supported 16-29; 55 supported 10-15; 31 supported 6-9; and 34 sites had S or fewer users. Major software enhancements in 1996 included the development of ALEPH/500, a version of the product using the Oracle RDBMS, and extensive GUI enhancements. Full-MARC compatibility was also added.

Ex Libris reported sales between $5 and $10 million, and it realized an after-tax profit. It reported 18 staff committed to software maintenance and development, 12 to marketing and sales, and 32 to customer support at the end of 1996.

In addition to its headquarters in Tel Aviv, the company maintains sales offices in Syracuse, New York, as well as in Luxembourg, Prague, and Buenos Aires. There are distributors in several other countries.

[Ex Libris (USA) Inc., 509 Bradford Parkway, Syracuse, NY 13224; (315) 449- 2132; fax (315) 449-1860; Internet address: 7ll22.434@compuserve.com; Web Page: http://www.aleph.co.il/welcome.html.]

Fretwell-Downing Informatics Limited offers its OLIB and OLIB WORLDVIEW products as both turnkey systems and software-only. The major hardware platforms are IBM (AIX) and Sun (Solaris), but any Oracle platform is possible. Oracle is the DBMS and the programming language. In 1996, the company had 26 new name sales, including sales to 2 public, 11 academic, and 13 special libraries. The company has 85 installations worldwide-l in North America, 65 in Europe, 5 in Asia/ Oceana, 2 in Africa/Middle East, and 12 in South America.

The company does not keep data on the percentage of sites using each module. One site is licensed for 200-399 users; 1 for 100-199; 3 for 60-99; 11 for 30-59; 18 for 16-29; 13 for 10-15; 24 for 6-9; and 15 for 5 or fewer users. The major enhancements in 1996 were the addition of a Web OPAC and enhancements to the serials module.

Revenues in 1996 were in the $1-$2.5 million range, and an after-tax profit was projected. Eighteen staff were committed to software maintenance and development, seven to sales and marketing, and 12 to customer support.

The company maintains offices in Sheffield, England and has distributorships in Hungary, the Netherlands, Colombia, Lebanon, Australia, and the U.S. (Kansas).

[Fretwell-Downing Informatics (USA), Ltd., Brincliffe House, 861 Ecclesall Road, Sheffield S11 7AE, South Yorkshire, England; +44 (0)114 281 6000; fax +44 (0)114 281 6001; Internet address: libraries@fdgroup. co.uk; Web Page: http://www.fdgroup.co.uk/fdi.htm.]

Gateway Software Corporation offers both turnkey systems and software-only for the IBM AS/400 series of minicomputers. The operating system is OS/400, the DBMS is DB2/400, and the prograniming language is RPG/400. In 1996, the company sold a total of 17 systems, including 12 new name systems. Some 94 percent of the sales were to school libraries, and 6 percent were to special libraries. The total number of installations was 112 (all in North America). One customer discontinued use of its Gateway system in 1996.

All sites were using local cataloging, circulation, online patron access catalog, and report generator; 90 percent were using interlibrary loan; 85 percent had inventorying; 80 percent had authority control; 70 percent had electronic mail; and 50 percent had materials booking. Four percent had a GUI OPAC, 4 percent had a bibliographic utility or cataloging support system interface. Five percent had an Internet gateway. Seven sites supported between 200 and 399 users; 3 supported 100-199; 12 supported 60-99; 11 had 30-59; 30 had 16-29; 26 had 10-15; 12 supported 6-9; and 11 supported S or fewer users. Major enhancements for 1996 included GUIs for all applications and a rewrite of the media booking module.

The company reported sales in the $1 million to $2.5 million range, and realized an after-tax profit. A staff of five was committed to software development and maintenance, three to marketing and sales, and five to customer support. The company is headquartered in Montana, and has eight distributors in North America.

[Gateway Software Corporation, 10 South Montana Avenue, Fromberg, MT 59029; (406) 668-7661; fax (406) 668-7665; Internet address: gateway@irnt.net; Web Page: http://www.imt.net/gateway.]

Gaylord Information Systems offers its GALAXY Integrated Library System either as a turnkey system or a software package. The major hardware platforms are DEC VAX and Alpha, using the Open VMS operating system and a proprietary DBMS. The programming language is "C++." The company sold a total of 74 systems in 1996, 57 of which were new name sales, including 75 percent to public libraries, 20 percent to academic, and 5 percent to school libraries. The total number of installations at the end of 1996 was 308-all in North America.

All sites were using circulation, local cataloging, electronic mail, report generator, inventorying, and online patron access catalog; and 60 percent to 70 percent were using authority control. An estimated 10 percent were using acquisitions, serials control, materials booking, journal citation files, and community information. Approximately 15 percent were using GUI OPAC, GUI technical services, and Web OPAC. Some 60 percent had a bibliographic utility interface, and 80 percent had a Gaylord SuperCat cataloging support system interface. At least 40 percent had remote database searching through a gateway and 20 percent had an Internet gateway. Approximately 10 percent had an Ethernet interface. Fifteen percent had Z39.50 client/server. Two sites supported over 400 users; 3 supported 200-399; 6 supported 100-199; 9 supported 60-99; 50 supported 30-59; 163 supported 16-29; 8 had 10-15; 83 had 6-9; and 11 sites supported 5 or fewer users. Major software enhancements for 1996 included provision for rotating collections and systemwide reserves.

The company reported 1996 revenues of between $10 and $15 million, with an after-tax profit. It had a staff of 25 committed to software maintenance and development, 28 to sales and marketing, and 40 to customer support.

In addition to its headquarters in Syracuse, Gaylord maintains offices in Salt Lake City, Williamsport (PA), Highland Heights (OH), Lenexa (KS), Knoxville (TN), and Wellesley (MA).

[Gaylord Information Systems, P.O. Box 4901, Syracuse, NY 13221-4901; (315) 457-5070 or (800) 272-3414; fax (315) 451-5883; Web Page: www.gaylord.com.]

Geac Computers, Inc. offers its U.S. customers both turnkey and software-only systems for two products: ADVANCE Integrated Library Systems (which replaced the GLIS System); and PLUS Integrated Library System (former CLSI LIBS 100Plus). It also offers its European customers the VUBIS Integrated Library System. Geac continues to maintain and support (but not actively sell or develop) both the GLIS and LIES 100 systems.

ADVANCE uses UNIX and is capable of running on a variety of hardware platforms (DEC Alpha, Motorola, Sun, and IBM PowerPC) under the UNIX operating system and the UniVerse DBMS. BASIC, SQL, "C," and "C++" are the programming languages. The vendor reported 44 ADVANCE system sales in 1996, 34 of which were new name sales. Ten percent of the sales were to public libraries, 60 percent to academic, and 30 percent to special libraries. The company did not report the total number of installed systems, but we estimate that it is approximately 259-all in North America.

All ADVANCE sites were using local cataloging, authority control, circulation, online patron access catalog, interlibrary loan, report generator, and electronic mail; 80 percent were using acquisitions and serials control; 60 percent had inventorying; 25 percent had materials booking and journal citation files; and 10 percent had community information (I&R). Al]. of the sites had a bibliographic utility or cataloging support system interface. Over 40 percent had remote database searching through gateway; 90 percent had an Internet gateway; and 60 percent had an Ethernet LAN interface. Some 60 percent had Z39.50 client/server and 60 percent had EDIFACT online ordering and claiming. One ADVANCE site supported over 400 users; 6 supported 200-399; 16 supported 100-199; 28 had 60-99; 40 had 30-59; 57 had 16-29; 75 had 10-15; 27 supported 6-9; and 7 sites had 5 or fewer users.

PLUS, which is offered as either a turnkey system or a software-only package, runs on Sequent, IBM PowerPC, and Motorola PowerPC hardware platforms using the UNIX operating system, the Informix DBMS, and it is written in ANSI-standard "C" and SQL. There were 23 system sales in 1996, including 3 new name sales. The total installed base was 115 worldwide. A breakdown by library type/location was not reported, however, at least 70 percent of the sites are public libraries in North America.

All PLUS sites were using local cataloging, authority control, circulation, online patron access catalog, report generator, and electronic mail; 45 percent had acquisitions; 10 percent had serials control and journal citation files; and 5 percent had a GUI OPAC. An OCLC interface was in use at 90 percent of the sites; 10 percent had the BiblioFile interface. Half of the sites had an Internet interface and 55 percent had an Ethernet LAN interface; 30 percent were using remote database searching through gateway; and 60 percent of the sites had Z39.50 server, and 25 percent had Z39.50 client. Approximately 10 percent had BISAC online ordering. Six PLUS sites supported over 400 users; 15 supported 200-399; 33 supported 100-199; 26 had 60-99; 24 had 30-59; ?? had 16-29; 5 had 10-15; 3 supported 6-9; and 3 sites had 5 or fewer users.

VUBIS is also offered as either a turnkey system or a software-only package on a wide range of UNIX, VMS, DOS, and Novell hardware platforms. The DBMS and programming language are M-Technology (MUMPS). The company reported 43 sales in 1996, 39 of which were new name sales. Over 90 percent of the sales were to public libraries and the balance were to special libraries. The total installed base of this system is 267-all in Europe.

All VUBIS sites were using local cataloging, authority control, and online patron access catalog; 60 percent had circulation and inventorying; 30 percent had acquisitions; and 20 percent had serials control. Approximately 34 percent used the PICA cataloging support system interface; 80 percent had a CD-ROM interface; and 2 percent had an Internet gateway. There was one site supporting over 400 users; 2 supported 200-399; 4 supported 100- 199; 5 had 60-99; 16 had 30-59; 20 had 16-29; 76 had 10-15; 105 supported 6-9; and 38 sites had 5 or fewer users.

Major software enhancements for 1996 included support of Z39.50 version 3 for ADVANCE and PLUS; support of US MARC holdings format for ADVANCE; telephone notification of holds and overdues; and telephone renewal for PLUS, scoping for PLUS; and completion of GeoPac public access client, GeoCat cataloging client, and GeoWeb access for both ADVANCE and PLUS.

Geac reported revenues exceeding $100 million in 1996, with an after-tax profit. A staff of 65 was committed to software maintenance and development for all products, 45 to sales and marketing, and 180 to customer support. In addition to its world headquarters in Markham, Ontario, Geac has offices in Dallas, St. Louis, Troy (MI), Wallingford (CT), and Westborough (MA) in the U.S.; as well as principal offices in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and the U.K.

[Geac Computers, Inc., P.O. Box 5150, 9 Technology Drive, Westborough, MA 01581-5150; (800) 825-2574 or (508) 871-6800; fax (508) 871-6850 or (800) 759-0126; Web Page: http://www.geac.com; or Geac Computers Ltd., Suite 300, 11 Allstate Parkway, Markham, Ontario, L3R 1B3 Canada; (416) 475-0525; fax (416) 475-3847.]

IME Group see EOS International.

Information Dimensions, a subsidiary of OCLC, Inc., offers a software only product known as TECHLIBplus, almost exclusively to special libraries. The product runs on DEC Alpha and VAX, IBM, HP, and Sun hardware platforms. The operating systems are VMS and UNIX (HP-UX, AIX, SUN-OS, OSF/1, SVR4, and Solaris). BASISplus is the database management software, and the applications are written in Assembler, "C," "C++," and Visual BASIC. The company sold 26 systems in 1996-11 were new name sales, all to special libraries. During the year, 7 sites discontinued use of the system. The total number of installations was 271 worldwide-110 in North America, 144 in Europe, 13 in Asia/Oceana, 3 in Africa/Middle East, and 1 in South America.

All sites were using local cataloging, report generator, and online patron access catalog modules; 90 percent were using circulation; 75 percent serials control; 50 percent acquisitions; 35 percent authority control; 30 percent journal citation files; and 25 percent were using GUI OPAC, Web OPAC, and interlibrary loan. An OCLC interface was in use at 85 percent of the sites. Some 20 percent had Z39.50 client (PC-based); 20 percent had an Internet gateway; and 5 percent had remote database searching through a gateway in the CPU. An estimated 10 sites supported 400+ users; 10 supported 200-399; 13 had 100-199; 20 had 60-99; 32 had 30-59; 55 had 16-29; 70 had 10-15; 50 had 6-9; and 10 sites supported S or fewer users. Major software enhancements made in 1996 included the Beta testing of an Arabic version and greater customizability of OPAC for intranets.

Sales were in the $25 to $30 million range, and the company realized an after-tax profit. A staff of eight was committed to software maintenance and development, six to sales and marketing, and 12 to customer support. (The number of staff reported does not include resellers and integrators.) The company maintains offices in Dublin (OH), Washington, New York, San Francisco, Ottawa, London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Stockholm.

[Information Dimensions, Inc., 8050 Tuttle Crossing Blvd., Dublin, OH 43016-3569; (614) 764-6227; fax (614) 798-5742; Web Page: http://www.idi.oclc.org.]

Innovative Interfaces offers both turnkey systems and software-only packages. The hardware is Digital, IBM, HP, or Sun; the operating system is UNIX; and the programming language is "c." The company sold 93 systems in 1996, including 45 new name sales. Twenty percent of the new name sales were to public, 65 percent to academic, and 15 percent to special libraries. The total number of installed systems at the end of 1996 was 611, including 543 in North America, 16 in Europe, 51 in Asia/Oceana, and 1 in Africa/Middle East.

All sites were using the report generator module; 90 percent had acquisitions, serials control, and local cataloging; 85 percent were using authority control, circulation, and online patron access catalog modules; 15 percent had inventorying, media booking, and 10 percent had interlibrary loan. Twenty percent had journal citation files and electronic mail; 35 percent had GUI OPAC, 30 percent had Web OPAC, and 2 percent had technical services GUI. Over 85 percent had a bibliographic utility or cataloging support system interface. Over 65 percent had an Internet gateway and 10 percent had remote database searching through a CPU gateway. Over 80 percent had an Ethernet LAN interface. Z39.50 client/server was installed at 20 percent of sites. Eleven sites supported over 400 users; 37 sites supported 200-399; 79 had 100-199; 71 had 60-99; 185 had 30-59; 115 had 16-29; 93 had 10-15; 17 supported 6-9; and 1 site supported 5 or fewer users. Major enhancements for 1996 included cataloging workstation client software and electronic reserves.

Innovative Interfaces reported revenues of $60-$70 million, with an after-tax profit. A staff of 39 was committed to software maintenance and development at the end of the year, 14 to sales and marketing, and 85 to customer support.

The company maintains offices in Brisbane, London, Taipei, and Bangkok, in addition to its California office in Emeryville.

[Innovative Interfaces, Inc., 5950 Shellmound Street, Emeryville, CA 94608; (800) 444-2344 or (510) 655-6200; fax (510) 450-6350; Internet address: sales@iii.com; Web Page: http://www.iii.com.]

International Library Systems (ILS) Corp. offers its SydneyPLUS Library Management System as software-only for both PC-based and multi-user systems. The hardware platforms are IBM PCs and compatibles, Novell LANs, DEC VAX, and UNIX. The operating systems are MS-DOS 6.1, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, VMS, IBM AIX v3.2, Solaris v2.3, and HP VX v9.O. The DBMS is proprietary and all programs are written in "C" and "C++." The company reported 35 sales in 1996, 30 of which were new name sales-all to special libraries. The total number of installed systems at the end of 1996 was 563, including 337 in North America, 224 in Europe, and 2 in Africa/ Middle East.

All sites were using local cataloging, authority control, report generator, and online patron access catalog; 85 percent were using circulation; 77 percent serials control; 70 percent acquisitions; 42 percent GUI OPAC; 4 percent Web OPAC; and 5 percent materials booking. Approximately 31 percent were using a bibliographic utility or cataloging support system interface; 5 percent had remote database searching through gateway; 4 percent had an Internet interface; and 70 percent had an Ethernet LAN interface. Fourteen sites were supporting 100-199 users; 97 had 60-99; 74 had 30-39; 122 had 16-29; 177 had 10-15; 94 had 6-9; and 15 sites had 5 or fewer users. Major software enhancements for 1996 included Web OPAC, NT client/ server version, and an interlibrary loan module.

Revenues were in the $2.5 to $5 million range, and the company realized an after-tax profit. A staff of 16 was committed to software maintenance and development at the end of the year, nine to sales and marketing, and nine to customer support. The company's new headquarters office is in Richmond, B.C., with sales offices in Toronto, Los Angeles, and Sydney.

[International Library Systems Corp., 13560 Maycrest Way, Suite 1135, Richmond, British Columbia V6V 2J7 Canada; (604) 278-6717; fax (604) 278-9161.]

Keystone Systems, Inc. offers its product, KLAS, as both a turnkey system and software-only. The primary hardware platforms are Sun, IBM, and Compaq using the UNIX, AIX, Solaris, and Windows NT operating systems. The DBMS and programming language are Progress, a fourth-generation relational database manager. The company sold 6 systems in 1996-all new name sales. Half of the sales were to academic libraries, and the other half were to special libraries. The total number of systems installed at the end of the year was 9, all in North America.

All of the sites were using inventorying, remote database searching through a CPU gateway, report generator, and electronic mail; 77 percent were using local cataloging and authority control; 87 percent had circulation; 56 percent had OPAC; 22 percent had materials booking; 33 percent had serials control; and 11 percent had acquisitions and technical services GUI. Approximately 77 percent had a bibliographic utility or cataloging support system interface; 57 percent had a LAN interface, and 33 percent had an Internet gateway. Two sites supported 30-59 users; 4 had 16-29; 1 had 10-15; 4 had 6-9; and 1 site supported 5 or fewer users.

The company did not report its 1996 revenues, but did claim an after-tax profit. A staff of four was committed to software maintenance, two to sales and marketing, and four to customer support.

[Keystone Systems, Inc., 4513 Creedmoor Road, Suite 301, Raleigh, NC 27612; (919) 782-1143 or (800) 222-9711; Internet address: sales@klas.com.j

SIRSI Corporation offers both turnkey systems and software-only packages with its Unicorn Collection Management System for IBM, HP, Sun, DEC, and other UNIX platforms. The operating system is UNIX; the database management system is BRS/Search with relational C-ISAM; and the programming language is "C." The company reported that it sold 109 systems during 1996-101 of which were new name sales. Approximately 13 percent of the sales were to public, 38 percent to academic, 26 percent to special, and 21 percent to school libraries. The total number of installed systems at the end of 1996 was 625, including 542 in North America, 70 in Europe, 10 in Asia/ Oceana, and 3 in South America. Five customers discontinued use of their Unicorn systems in 1996.

All sites were using the local cataloging, circulation, inventorying, online patron access catalog, report generator, and community information modules. Serials control was in use at 81 percent of the sites; 70 percent had authority control; and 62 percent were using acquisitions. Materials booking and journal citation files support were in use at 20 percent. GUI OPAC and technical services were at 30 percent of the sites and WEB OPAC at 19 percent. Almost all of the sites had a bibliographic utility or cataloging support system interface. Over 75 percent did remote database searching through a CPU gateway, and 70 percent had an Internet gateway. Over 90 percent had Z39.50 server, but only 40 percent had the client. Some 55 sites met the criteria for unlimited users (over 100); 16 supported 60-99; 101 had 30-59; 85 had 16-29; 100 had 10-15; 130 had 6-9; and 174 sites supported 5 or fewer users. Major software enhancements for 1996 included Z39.50 version 3 compliance and enhancements to several modules.

The company declined to divulge its revenues, but did claim an after-tax profit. We estimate revenues were about $15 million. A staff of 32 was committed to software development and maintenance, 30 to sales and marketing, and 55 to other customer support.

SIRSI maintains offices in Huntsville, Jackson, Long Beach, Fillmore (NY), Atlanta, Charleston, Vienna (VA), Ottawa, Melbourne, and London.

[SIRSI Corporation, 689 Discovery Drive, Huntsville, AL 35806; (205) 922-9825; fax (205) 922-9818; Web Page: http://www.sirsi.com.]

Sisis Informationssysteme, a new company formed by combining the Siemens Nixdorf Library Division and SOFTCON, offers its SISIS integrated library system as both a turnkey system and as software-only. It is offered as a multi-user system on Siemens Nixdorf RM200, RM400, and RM600 (MIPS-RISC processors) platforms; using the SINTX 5.4 operating system (SINIX is the UNIX-operating system of Siemens Nixdorf, based on UNIX V.4); the Informix-online (ONL) /standard engine (SE) and Oracle DBMS; and the "C" and 9~++~ programming languages. The company reported 25 system sales in 1996, 15 of which were new name sales. Approximately 33 percent of the sales were to public, 27 percent to academic, and 40 percent to special libraries. The total number of installed sites at the end of 1996 was 373, all in Europe.

All of the sites were using the local cataloging and circulation modules; 90 percent were using the online public access catalog; 70 percent each were using acquisitions, serials control, and inventorying; 30 percent were using electronic mail; 20 percent had interlibrary loan; and 10 percent were using community information. A LAN interface was in use at 60 percent of the sites; 40 percent had a CD-ROM interface; and 20 percent had remote database searching through gateway. The company did not disclose the number of installed systems, by number of user licenses. Major software enhancements for 1996 included Z39.50 client/server, Web OPAC, and an online interface with PICA, a European bibliographic utility.

The company reported gross sales between $2.5 and $5 million for its software-only sales, and between $5 and $10 million for its turnkey system sales, but no after-tax profit. The company had 23 staff committed to software maintenance and development, eight to sales and marketing, and nine to customer support.

[Sisis Informationssysteme GmbH, Grunwalder Weg, 82041 Oberhaching, Germany; +49 89 67308-326; (fax) +49 89 67308-399.]

Stowe Computing Australia offers its Book Plus product both as software-only packages and turnkey systems running on the hardware platforms of IBM AS/400 and RS/6000, and using either IBM OS/400 or the UNIX operating system; the DBMS is DB/400 and C-Tree RDBMS; and the programming languages are RPG/400 and COBOL. The company sold five systems in 1996-four were new name sales, including one public, two special, and one school library. The total installed customer base at the end of 1996 was 109, including 30 in Europe, 73 in Asia/Oceana, and 6 in Africa/Middle East.

All of the sites were using the local cataloging, authority control, circulation, online patron access catalog, interlibrary loan, materials booking, and report generator; 95 percent were using acquisitions, serials control, and inventorying; 70 percent had community information and e-mail; 20 percent had GUI OPAC and 10 percent had GUI technical services. Seventy percent of the sites were using an ABN bibliographic utility interface; 50 percent had the BiblioFile interface; 60 percent had a LAN interface; and 10 percent had remote database searching through gateway. Approximately 10 percent had an Internet gateway. Two sites supported 200-399 users; 10 supported 100-199; 40 supported 60-99; 18 supported 30-59; 20 supported 16-29; 10 supported 10-15; and 5 supported 6-9 users.

The company reported 1996 revenues of $10-$15 million, with an after-tax profit. There were 24 staff committed to software maintenance, five (plus overseas agents) to sales/marketing, and eight to customer support.

The company maintains offices in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland, and London; agents are based in Johannesburg, Paris, and Zurich.

[Stowe Computing Australia, 208 Greenhill Road, Eastwood, South Australia 5063; +61 8 372 6111; fax +61 8 372 6199; Web: http://stowe.com.au.]

VTLS offers both turnkey systems and software packages using Hewlett-Packard series 3000, RISC architecture computers under the MPE/IX operating system; HP 9000 Series RISC architecture, under the HP-UX operating system; IBM RS/6000 RISC architecture computers under the AIX operating system; the DEC Alpha RISC architecture computers under Digital UNIX operating system; and the Sun Sparc series under SunOS. The software is written in "C" and COBOL; the DBMS is Oracle (IBM), Image (MPE), or Allbase (HP). The company reported 41 VTLS system systems in 1996, 22 of which were new name sales-including 15 percent to public, 35 percent to academic, 45 percent to special, and 5 percent to school libraries. It also sold 9 Virtua systems (a client/server- based version), all new name sales, three to academic and six to special libraries. The total installed customer base at the end of 1996 was 268, including 110 in North America, 100 in Europe, 37 in Asia/Oceana, 14 in South America, and 7 in Africa/Middle East. One site discontinued use of the system in 1996.

All sites were using local cataloging, authority control, and the report generator module; 99 percent were using online patron access catalog; 96 percent were using circulation; 82 percent had serials control; 47 percent had acquisitions; 9 percent had electronic mail; 12 percent had interlibrary loan; 10 percent had inventorying; 7 percent had journal citation files; and 5 percent had the materials booking module. GUI OPAC was in use at 36 percent of the sites; Web OPAC at 9 percent, and GUI technical services at 34 percent. All of the sites had a bibliographic utility or cataloging support system interface. A LAN interface was in use at 98 percent of sites; remote database searching through a CPU gateway at 41 percent; and Internet gateway access at 7 percent. only 4 percent of the sites had a Z39.50 server, but 33 percent had Z39.50 clients. One site supported over 400 users; 41 sites supported 200- 399 users; 31 had 100-199; 39 had 60-99; 62 had 30-59; 44 had 16-29; 19 had 10-15; 19 supported 6-9; and 6 sites supported 5 or fewer users.

VTLS reported 1996 revenues in the range of $5 to $10 million, with an after-tax profit. A staff of 35 was committed to software maintenance and development, 17 to sales and marketing (plus 16 agents worldwide), and 21 to customer support.

In addition to its headquarters in Blacksburg, VTLS maintains offices in Barcelona, Helsinki, Krakow, and New Delhi.

[VTLS, Inc., 1800 Kraft Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24060; (800) 468-8857 or (540) 551-1200; fax (540) 557-1210; Internet address: askvtls@vtls.com; Web Page: http://www.vtls.com.]


Publication Information


PublisherLibrary Systems Newsletter was published by the American Library Association.
Editor-in-Chief:Howard S. White
Contributing Editor:Richard W. Boss
ISSN:0277-0288
Publication Period1981-2000
Business modelAvailable on Library Technology Guides with permission of the American Library Association.