Messina (Italy), July 2, 1999. Atlantis Srl, ALEPH distributor in Italy, announced today that the University of Messina has signed a contract for the installation of an ALEPH500 system.
Founded in 1596 by Pope Paul III, this university had a troubled history. It was closed in 1678, due to the Sicilian uprisings against Spanish rule. It was reopened in 1838 by King Ferdinand II Borbone, only to be closed again in 1849, when Messina rose against the Borbone (Burgundy) kingdom. In 1908, a dramatic earthquake completely destroyed the institution. It reopened the following year with the Faculty of Law and gradually expanded to the present 11 faculties (Law, Letters, Science, Medicine, Pharmacy, Economics, Engineering, Statistics). Currently, it has a collection of about 1 million volumes. Initially, ALEPH 500 will support 70 concurrent users.
Dr. Femminò, head of the information system department, commented: "We chose ALEPH500 because it proved the best suited to successfully implement our idea of an automated Library System, with a shared catalog and an efficient OPAC to serve our students and researchers. ALEPH clearly is the best suited to meet the needs of a complex institution such as the University of Messinas.
Erwin Linthout, sales manager of Atlantis Srl, added: This is the 19th Italian University to join the steadily-growing group of ALEPH users. Once again we have been selected by an Institution characterized by its sophisticated reality, making it clear that ALEPH has become the best suited to meet the needs of flexibility and complexity expressed by libraries all over the world.
