DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS, Jan. 13, 2005: Endeavor Information Systems reported today a successful initial beta test of the first release of its ENCompass for Journals OnSite (EJOS). The Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CISTI) tested the advanced EJOS system, which is designed to manage, search and link locally hosted journal collections. An unmatched resource management tool, EJOS is the next generation system replacing the ScienceServer platform currently in place at hundreds of libraries worldwide.
“As a user, CISTI appreciated being selected as the beta test site for EJOS,” said Bernard Dumouchel, Director General, CISTI.
The first library to experience the power of EJOS, CISTI locally loaded over 2.3-million articles during the three-month beta testing process. CISTI's implementation of EJOS delivers high-powered search and retrieval of full-text journal content to 22 institutes and 5,000 employees of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).
EJOS provides local control of licensed journal content, enabling large research institutions or consortia to create a permanent repository of electronic journal content. Through a unique architecture based on the ENCompass technology, EJOS enables libraries to load journal content from almost any commercial publisher in the world. The initial CISTI EJOS implementation includes content from six publishers: Elsevier, Kluwer, Karger, IOS Press, Springer and NRC Research Press. Additionally, locally produced content can be included in EJOS repositories.
This first release of EJOS is a strong example of Endeavor's focus on interface design and usability testing for optimal end-user comprehension. Created with input from the Elsevier User Centered Design group, experts in the field of interface design, the new EJOS interface offers a clear end-user experience, through options to search content from all licensed publishers, or browse through content from the journal title, author, category or article levels.
“The software exceeded our expectations. It uses low-cost hardware by running on the Linux platform, and its performance in loading, indexing and searching is dramatically quick,” explained Mary VanBuskirk, CISTI's project manager. “As part of the Government of Canada, CISTI must develop custom interfaces in both English and French. The single EJOS text file greatly simplifies any modification of the interfaces. Moreover, its sound architecture is promising for future development.”
“EJOS is a scalable solution for large institutions and consortia who need to provide access to locally held journal content,” said J. Michael Visser, Endeavor Product Manager, Digital Asset Management Systems. “While CISTI has already loaded 2.3-million articles, we are confident that number will increase with the completion of the beta testing. Other EJOS libraries are already looking to load upwards of 7-million articles into the system, a boon for researchers who want to comprehensively access journal content.”
“This first release of EJOS soundly demonstrates two of Endeavor's core competencies: an intelligent extension of the proven ENCompass architecture and our first successful venture into the new focus of clear interface usability,” said Roland Dietz, Endeavor President and CEO. “The other strengths of EJOS are also powerful: a verified methodology for data loading, metadata storage in Oracle™ for easy use, the solid ENCompass architecture for data management, searching through the FAST Data Search™ engine, and an end-user tested interface for information retrieval. EJOS is a key tool for the next generation of local journal content management.”
About ENCompass for Journals OnSite (EJOS)
An advanced system to provide a single point of access for the storage, searching and browsing of locally-held journal content from multiple publishers, ENCompass for Journals OnSite (EJOS) gives libraries the ability to locally load and store electronic journal content from a variety of publishers. EJOS empowers users with a single point of access for searching and browsing across journal content from diverse publishers. For more information about EJOS, contact Endeavor at info@endinfosys.com.
About Endeavor Information Systems
Endeavor Information Systems, based in Des Plaines, IL, was founded in September of 1994. A wholly owned subsidiary of Elsevier, Endeavor offers a complete line of library solutions for traditional and digital collections. Visit Endeavor at www.endinfosys.com , for more information about Endeavor Meridian, Voyager, ENCompass or LinkFinderPlus.
About the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CISTI)
As an institute of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CISTI) is one of the world's leading sources for information in all areas of science, technology, medicine and engineering. It is also Canada's foremost publisher of scientific journals and books, through the NRC Research Press, its publishing arm. With the ever-growing knowledge-based economy, CISTI is also increasingly considered a key strategic component of Canada's science and technology infrastructure. Visit CISTI at cisti.nrc.gc.ca.
