Previous issues of Smart Libraries Newsletter have covered the intent of Serials Solutions to create Intota as a library services platform to extend its reach beyond its current products and services related to electronic resource management and Web-scale discovery. Serials Solutions describes its intent for Intota to address all aspects of a library's collection, including the print materials, ultimately allowing libraries to simplify and reduce the cost of their automation environment by giving them the ability to discontinue their integrated library system. Serials Solutions was earliest to jump into the Web-scale discovery arena, announcing Summon in January 2009. The company, by contrast, is a latecomer to the library services platform arena, with Intota not expected to be available until 2015.
Serials Solutions announced that it plans to provide Intota Assessment for use in 2013, prior to the entirety of the product. This strategy reinforces one of the key principles underlying the data-oriented design of Intota. To support more informed decision- making in areas such as collection development, Intota Assessment will use operational data and metrics from all aspects of the library's systems in addition to data drawn from the company's knowledgebases and bibliographic products. By providing this component of Intota in an earlier timeframe, the company finds an opportunity to give libraries a glimpse of what it aims to achieve in the complete product. With Intota on a later delivery time frame and other products now available, Serials Solutions seems motivated to provide evidence that libraries will find benefit by waiting for Intota.
Serials Solutions also continues to strengthen Summon. A new feature recently introduced, called Summon Spotlighting, enables libraries to highlight content from specialized collections within search results. Libraries will be able to feature images from local digital collections that may be of special significance. Image Spotlighting presents thumbnail views of images from a locally curated image repository, or from selected image-oriented subscription resources, within search results in order to guide patrons to explore these specialized collections. This feature provides an additional technique to help libraries balance access to local resources within the context of the vast amount of subscribed content indexed in Summon.
