A contract between the University of Utrecht and Ex Libris was signed today during a ceremony at our IFLA booth in Amsterdam. It provides for the licensing of ALEPH500 and associated services to equip the University library (ULU), with the latest version of our software. The decision of the ULU in favour of ALEPH and Ex Libris came at the conclusion of a very thorough evaluation process, during which various alternatives for a cost-effective modernization of the library automation and management system were examined by the ULU staff.
Utrecht University, one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the Netherlands, was founded in 1636 in the heart of Utrecht, a historic city itself in the heart of Holland. Its curricula address a full range of disciplines in science (including information science), law, medicine, pharmacology, literature and languages. The library holdings comprise over 2.5 million monographs, some 15,000 subscriptions, as well as many manuscripts and old books from before 1800.
Under the contract signed today, Ex Libris undertakes to convert all bibliographic and administrative data from the existing GEAC system to ALEPH. To start, close to 350 concurrent staff and OPAC users will connect to ALEPH. Online operation of the new system is scheduled for September 1999.
This is the second major university in The Netherlands to select ALEPH500. The first ALEPH500 site is at the Technical University of Delft, which went into full production two months ago at their resplendent new library. ALEPH has also been in use for a number of years at Solvay-Duphar in Weesp, near Amsterdam.
Commenting on the decision in favour of ALEPH500, Dr. Mastenbroek, head of the IT-department of ULU, said: "We are confident the Aleph500 system will live up to our expectations of its performance for the coming years and will be a sound basis for future developments within our library."
For more information about the ULU, its collections and services, see: http://www.library.uu.nl
