POMONA, CA., January 9, 2003 - Auto-Graphics, Inc., a software provider of search systems for libraries, announced that its subsidiary A-G Canada Ltd. has been awarded a contract by the Toronto Public Library (TPL) to provide a Single Search Library Portal System to service TPL's 98 branches and over one million patrons.
The project will involve the implementation of the Company's AGent™ software by the Toronto Public Library. AGent provides a highly effective, web-enabled single search interface designed to simplify broadcast searching and navigation of a wide variety of electronic databases and other resources. The software is highly configurable and addresses the requirement to provide remote customer authentication and authorized access to designated library resources.
Primary requirements for this electronic service include access to TPL's online catalogue, access to a variety of electronic information, digital resources and services, and access to 134 other electronic database resources. In addition, the AGent system will provide TPL with sophisticated mechanisms for customer authentication. The AGent software system will be installed locally and include two advanced management modules: advanced administration to allow local configuration of the software and interface, and advanced statistics to support simplified tracking of usage of an array of electronic resources using standard categories.
"We are looking forward to the significant service improvement that a single search will bring for our customers. Use of our databases and other digital resources is rising dramatically and this will provide our users with better results," said Jane Pyper, TPL's Director of Service Planning & Support.
Toronto Public Library is Canada's largest public library and serves a population of 2.5 million through 98 branches. "As North America's busiest library, with circulation twice that of the New York or Los Angeles Public Library, we are pleased to provide TPL with an intuitive information discovery system, which can handle the capacity expected," said Albert Flores, VP of Library Sales at Auto-Graphics. The library provides access to a collection of twelve million items in a variety of formats and to a growing collection of electronic products. Every week, over 300,000 people visit its branches, and borrow more than half a million items. The library's web site is located at www.tpl.toronto.on.ca.
A-G Canada Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Auto-Graphics, Inc. (OTC: AUGR) with headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. It is a supplier of library resource sharing technology to hundreds of Canadian Libraries. Visit A-G Canada's web site at www.ag-canada.com.
Auto-Graphics, Inc. provides resource sharing and portal software services to clients who create, manage, publish and access information using the internet. The Company's systems are used by more than 10,000 libraries in the United States and Canada. For more information regarding Auto-Graphics' library services and products, please visit our web site at www.auto-graphics.com.
