Industry News
Thursday Jul 2, 2009 
20 most recent items:
July 2, 2009. Multnomah Co. Library Partners with Bibliotheca for RFID Systems. Bibliotheca Inc announced that Multnomah County Library has chosen the company to provide a range of BiblioChip RFID solutions for use at its central library in Portland, Ore., and at branches throughout the county. <<more>>
July 2, 2009. Santa Clara County Library Invests in Bibliotheca Self-check, Security and Automated Sorting Solutions . Bibliotheca Inc. announced that the Santa Clara County Library is purchasing a range of the company’s BiblioChip RFID technology-based solutions, including Bibliotheca’s Orion self-check stations for library patrons, Biblio StaffStations for easy replacement of barcodes with RFID tags and new enhanced BiblioGate VI 3D security gates at each of the library’s outlets. The library is also investing in Bibliotheca’s industry-leading automated materials handling technology. <<more>>
July 1, 2009. Tech Logic Introduces Media Passport. Tech Logic, the market leader in RFID library circulation technologies and automated sorting technologies, has created another tool for libraries to manage circulation: Media Passport. <<more>>
June 29, 2009. Charles and JoAnn Lester Library in Wisconsin Selects Koha and LibLime. LibLime announced that the Charles and JoAnne Lester Library in Nekoosa, Wisconsin, has selected a Koha ZOOM hosted solution for their next integrated library system. <<more>>
June 29, 2009. Follett Software Company introduces Tetradata Insights. Follett Software Company has launched TetraData Insights, a three-step model that enables Continuous Improvement using available data, helping K-12 school districts to positively impact student performance. <<more>>
June 29, 2009. Talis launches Education Division focusing on Learning Technology. With a vision to connect faculties, students and educators together, Talis has formed a new Education Division that will create joined up learning environments and provide seamless access to education resources and pedagogical expertise. <<more>>
June 29, 2009. Comperio now Using Index Data technology. Index Data and Comperio are pleased to announce a marketing and technology partnership. Comperio is using Index Data's indexing and metasearching technology in its newest ILS and metasearching products and services. Zebra, Index Data's MARC and XML-based index engine and database server, will power the latest version of Clavis NG, Comperio's flagship ILS product. Pazpar2 powers Comperio's new metasearch offering--Plinio. Plinio adds federated searching capabilities to Discovery NG, the Social OPAC integrated into Clavis NG, the most advanced ILS available in the Italian library market. Plinio also integrates a Link Resolver and an Electronic Resources gateway. <<more>>
June 26, 2009. Ten Ramon Llull University (Spain) Libraries to Launch Million-Volume Millennium Catalog. The Ramon Llull University in Barcelona, Spain has selected the Millennium ILS and will launch a single union catalog to unify access to ten of its libraries. The new union catalog will provide access to over one million volumes that represent the collections of the schools of business, science, humanities, law, architecture and more. Millennium is replacing a number of systems at the University including Koha and Virtua. <<more>>
June 26, 2009. New EBSCOhost Enabling Technology Makes its Debut . EBSCO launched new display and searching technology designed to improve the user experience. The new system supports natural language searching for scientific formulas and provides users with the ability to store and show html markup allowing display of scientific formulas. The new database architecture means Article names, Abstracts and Key Phrase Headings within citations will contain scientific formulas. <<more>>
June 25, 2009. Continued Momentum for Voyager with the Release of Version 7.1. Ex Libris Group announced the general release of version 7.1 of the Voyager integrated library system. The new features introduced in version 7.1 extend WebVoyáge capabilities and tighten the integration of Voyager with other Ex Libris solutions—the Primo discovery and delivery solution and the Rosetta digital preservation system—as well as with third-party systems and services. <<more>>
June 25, 2009. TLC expands MARC records database with EF Sears. The Library Corporation is pleased to announce that it has bolstered its already impressive ITS.MARC database with EF Sears, a rich and growing collection of MARC records compiled by EF Library Services LLC. <<more>>
June 25, 2009. Polaris Library Systems Welcomes New Team Members in Customer Support and MIS. Polaris Library Systems, a leading provider of library automation technology, has expanded staffing in customer support. <<more>>
June 24, 2009. Barcelona Provincial Council Selects Millennium. The Barcelona Provincial Council has selected the Millennium ILS for the Province of Barcelona Municipal Library Network (PBMLN). The PBMLN, which holds over seven million items, will also install patron-empowerment products such as Program Registration, Community Reviews, Online Patron Registration, and My Record Feeds (patron-specific RSS messages). PBMLN is migrating from a VTLS Classic system. <<more>>
June 23, 2009. Walden University in Minnesota Chooses Koha and LibLime. LibLime announcedthat Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has selected a Koha ZOOM hosted solution for their next integrated library system. <<more>>
June 23, 2009. Retooled and Ready for the Renewal Season - SwetsWise 5.3 is Released. Swets announced the successful release of SwetsWise 5.3, the latest technical update to its pioneering portfolio of products and services. Release 5.3 installs a list of technical improvements and additional functionalities into a number of SwetsWise electronic services, drawn directly from customer feedback and suggestions. These suggestions resulted from direct input during usability improvement studies as well as from conversations with customers <<more>>
June 23, 2009. Columbia Bible College (British Columbia) Goes Live With Evergreen. Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, British Columbia has gone live with Evergreen, the highly scalable, open-source library automation software. Equinox Software oversaw data migration and software configuration, and will provide ongoing technical support. <<more>>
June 22, 2009. ByWater Solutions Partners with Pacifica Graduate Institute for Koha Installation and Support. ByWater Solutions, an open source community supporter and official Koha support company, announced today that Pacifica Graduate Institute of Carpinteria, CA. has partnered with them for the implementation of the Koha integrated library system. The Pacifica Koha installation will be hosted off site at one of ByWater's secure data centers, and the institute has also contracted with ByWater for their data migration, support and training services. <<more>>
June 22, 2009. MuseGlobal and Specialty Systems, Inc. Form Partnership. MuseGlobal, the Smart Connector company and provider of award-winning content integration platforms worldwide, today announced a partnership with Specialty Systems, Inc., a company focusing on innovative information systems solutions to Federal, State and Local Government customers. Specialty Systems, Inc. is partnering with MuseGlobal to provide the systems integration expertise to engineer law enforcement and homeland security applications built on MuseGlobal’s MuseConnect, which provides federated search and harvesting technologies, with a growing library of more than 6,000 pre-built source connectors. <<more>>
June 22, 2009. Huntingburg (Ind.) Public Library Becomes 28th Evergreen Indiana Library . Huntingburg Public Library has gone live with Evergreen, the consortial-quality open-source library automation software. 28 libraries are now live on Evergreen Indiana, a shared-catalog project of the Indiana State Library. Equinox Software, Inc., the support and development company established by the original Evergreen developers, provided support for the migrations and is now providing ongoing technical support. Alpha-G Consulting also provided support for the migration. <<more>>
June 19, 2009. Emerald announces Shibboleth Compliance . Emerald Group Publishing announced that access to Emerald online products is Shibboleth compliant for members of the UK Access Management Federation. <<more>>
June 19, 2009. VTLS Repackages Virtua for Smaller Libraries, Installs System at Universiti Putra Malaysia. VTLS has repackaged its Virtua ILS software to make it attractive to smaller libraries. The package is easy to install and more convenient to use as there are many more defaults preconfigured into the software. VTLS is happy to report that Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Bintulu Sarawak campus becomes the first institution to select this package. The implementation went live in May 2009 and includes 8 user licenses and runs on Xeon XC hardware. This includes all the subsystems and Oracle. <<more>>
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GuidePosts
Perspective and commentary by Marshall Breeding | Blog Archive |
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Library automation in a Difficult Ecomomy
It’s no secret that libraries face incredibly difficult prospects in these lean economic times. In recent days, for example, American Libraries ran a story about a possible $227.3 million devastating cut proposed for Ohio libraries over the next two years. Libraries of all sorts are taking extraordinary measures to deal with shrinking budgets. Reduced hours, flat or reduced salaries, voluntary furloughs, layoffs. Not to mention reduced expenditures for collections. Not all libraries experience the same level of hardship—some find themselves fortunate and lightly touched, at least for now.
Do these economic times strike the death knell for technology projects? In my March 2009 column in Computers in Libraries, I suggest that at least in some cases, strategic technology projects may prove worthwhile investment. Well-conceived technology projects can help maintain or improve the position of a library forced to make cuts in other areas.
The downturn in the economy has taken its toll on libraries. Even in the best of times, most libraries have to work with budgets that are barely adequate to support their essential activities. In these recent months, the recession has subtracted significant funds from the parent organizations of many libraries: city, county, and state governments; public and private colleges and universities; schools; and corporations. In the sphere of libraries with which I've interacted, some have faced drastic budget cuts, including givebacks in their current fiscal cycle; others have been more lightly touched, facing only a year or so of zero-growth budgets. I've not heard from any libraries that expect increases in funding on the order of what they had a year ago.
I expect that this harsh economic climate will make an impact on the library automation industry and will likely force many libraries to reconsider the technology projects planned for the next year or so.
Most libraries that I've encountered routinely find ways to execute any given project with the lowest cost and the greatest impact possible. We're frugal organizations used to making every dollar count. Today's environment requires responses that go beyond even the strictest frugality, prompting a strategic reassessment of how a library allocates its resources. In this context, technology and automation may well be wise investments that help maintain the library's mission in times of diminishing resources.
In times like these with budgets constrained more than ever, it's necessary to take a step back to consider technology and automation issues. I don't think that tight budgets necessarily have to mean that all new technology projects should be set aside until brighter times. It's possible that innovative use of technology might provide the most effective way for a library to carry out its objectives with fewer overall resources. Nevertheless, routine technology projects will inevitably suffer. continue reading...
(The full text of my Systems Librarian columns are available on Library Technology Guides 90 days following thier original publication in Computers in Libraries magazine.)
Marshall Breeding Jun 24, 2009 21:33:43 Link to this thread
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