Each year LSN surveys the library automation industry to get an overview of the market and to facilitate comparison among vendors. This issue is devoted to the vendors of PC- and Mac-based systems (systems using DOS and Macintosh operating systems). Most of the vendors included herein offer only software packages but this report also includes vendors of turnkey systems.
INTRODUCTION
Unlike the multi-user systems covered in the combined March-April issue, many vendors of PC-based systems do not offer integrated, multi-function systems with a wide range of functionality. Circulation is offered by nearly all of the PC-based system vendors; serials control usually is not. Very few of the vendors offer functionality beyond the four core modules: acquisitions, serials control, circulation, and online patron access catalog modules.
This survey uses the same methodology employed in previous years. Vendors were contacted by mail, with follow-up by phone and fax. Our queries focused on whether the product was available as a turnkey system, a software package, or both; the hardware platform, operating system, and programming language; sales for 1992 (both total sales and "new name" sales--with the latter representing sales to new customers); the number awaiting installation and/or acceptance; the total number of installations; profitability; the percentage of customers using each module or major function; the sizes of the installed systems; and the number of staff devoted to software maintenance and development and to other customer support. Major enhancements reported by the vendors also are included.
SUMMARY
The 18 respondents to this year's survey reported having sold over 10,417 systems (at least 5,452 of which were new name sales). We estimate that these sales comprise approximately 90% of all sales of PC-based library applications software. This compares with 12,922 system sales (8,109 new name in 1991) and 6,761 in 1990, with 17 and 16 vendors respectively reporting. Based upon vendor responses to these annual surveys, we estimate that there is an installed base of over 53,000 PC-based library systems in North America. Of those vendors who reported gross sales figures for 1992 that could be identified as being from PC-based system sales, Follett reported gross sales of $15-$20 million; The Library Corp. reported $10-$15 million. Chancery Software and Winnebago reported $5-$10 million. Inmagic reported $2.5-$5 million; and CASPR, CTB Macmillan/ McGraw-Hill, General Research Corp., Media Flex, and Nichols Advanced Technologies each reported sales of $1- $2.5 million. All others for which sales figures were available reported sales of $1 million or less.
Table 1 is a list of the vendors ranked by total number of systems sold during 1992, as reported by the vendors themselves. Table 2 is a ranking by total number of installed and accepted systems, of the vendors reporting at least 400 installations to date.
Table 1. PC-based system vendors with more than 30 sales in 1992 Vendor Sales Follett 4,776 Winnebago 1,500+ Inmagic 900 Library Corporation 666 CTB/Columbia 590 Data Trek 563 CASPR 555 Media Flex 281 Nichols ca200 Utlas 143 TKM Software Ltd. 130 Inlex 71
Table 2. PC-based system vendors with more than 400 installed systems at the end of 1992 Vendor Total installed systems Follett 21,406 Winnebago 10,000+ Inmagic 5,300+ Library Corporation 3,918 Chancery Software 2,500 Data Trek 2,103 CTB/Columbia 1,840 Nichols 1,158 Utlas 900 CASPR 845 Media Flex 781
The following reports are arranged alphabetically and are based on information furnished by the vendors. Libraries seeking more information on the PC-based library systems may wish to consult Library Technology Reports, March-April and May/June 1990 and May/June 1991. (A new series of evaluations is scheduled for publication in the March/April and May/June 1993 issues).
CASPR, Inc. offers software-only systems--known as LibraryWorks and LibraryBrowser--for Apple Macintosh, IBM XT, AT and compatibles, PS/2 with Windows, Apple lie and Apple GS hardware. The operating systems are Macintosh 6.04 or later, MS-DOS 5.0 or later, Windows 3.0 or later, and the programming language is C/C++. The vendor reported 555 new name systems for 1992, bringing the total number of systems installed and accepted to 845-- 832 in North America. A breakdown of the sites by library-type consisted of 370 school libraries, 345 special libraries, 90 academic, and 40 public libraries. The company reported gross sales of between $1-$2.5 million, and claimed to have an after-tax profit. All sites were using local cataloging and the online OPAC, 90% were using circulation, 75% were using acquisitions, and 50% were using serials control. The capacity exists in the software for the sites to utilize OCLC, RLIN, Utlas, WLN, BiblioFile and LaserCat interfaces but actual use by customers is unknown. Any MARC records can be imported and exported. The company estimated that 400 sites were supporting 8-15 devices; and 425 had 2-7 devices. Five staff were devoted to software maintenance and development, four to sales and marketing, and four to other customer support. Major enhancements in 1992 included: cross-platform availability for LibraryBrowser (OPAC). LibraryDisc family of CD-ROM products integrated fully into the library management and information access systems. The CD-ROMs are networkable and can be accessed on the file server by LibraryBrowser.
[CASPR, Inc., 20111 Stevens Creek Boulevard, Suite 270, Cupertino, CA 95014; (800) 852-2777 or (408) 446-3075; fax (408) 446-1574.]
Chancery Software, Ltd. offers a software package, Macschool Library, for use on Apple Macintosh hardware with the Mac OS, written in PASCAL. The company did not report the number of sales in 1992, but did report that 99.9% of its new name sales were to school libraries. All systems had been installed and/or accepted at the end of the year. The company reported that 2,500 systems were installed and accepted in North America by the end of 1992--worldwide information was not available. The company reported gross sales figures of between $5 and $10 million, and claimed to have an after-tax profit. No percentages were given, but at least some of the sites were using local cataloging, circulation, OPAC, materials booking, report generator, and inventorying modules. BiblioFile and LAN interfaces were also in use. All of the sites supported 8-15 devices. A staff of 62 was devoted to software maintenance and development, sales and marketing, and other customer support. The company maintains offices in Denver, St. Louis, Houston, Hilton Head, and Atlanta.
[Chancery Software Ltd., 450 - 4170 Still Creek Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5C 6C6 Canada; (604) 294-1233; fax (604) 294-2225.]
CTB Macmillan/McGraw-Hill sells software packages--Columbia Library Systems--for IBM or compatible PCs-- 286, 386, or 486. It runs on Novell NetWare, allowing multiple users. The operating system is MS-DOS 3.3 or later. It uses the Ocelet database, and C programming languages. The company reported sales of 590 packages in 1992--90% were new name sales. The total number of installations at the end of 1992 was 1,840--1,780 in North America, consisting of 77% school libraries, 11% academic, 8% public, and 4% special libraries. Approximately 80 systems were awaiting installation or acceptance at the end of the year. Revenues were between $1 and $2.5 million with an after-tax profit. All of the sites had a report generator module, 98% were using circulation and inventory, 95% each were using local cataloging and authority control, and 80% were using OPAC. Half of the sites were using ILL, 10% serials control, and 5% acquisitions. Some 95% were using the MARC Record Interface module, which includes the OCLC interface, RLIN interface, Utlas interface, WLN interface, BiblioFile interface, and LaserCat interface, and 20% can interface to other systems from the same vendor. A LAN interface is used in 67% of the sites, and 10% had remote database searching. Three of the sites had 100-199 devices; 10 had 60-99 devices; 32 had 30-60; 90 had 16-29; 105 had 8-15; 1,000 had 2-7; and 600 had only 1 device. The company had seven programmers devoted to software maintenance and development, 32 sales staff (for all products) and two marketing staff, and eight staff (not including trainers) devoted to customer support. The company wrote: "Because the development and support operations were moved from Vancouver to Monterey in 1992, new development was minimized. A major 2-year development project for all CTB software products was funded at $22.7 million and design work was started on a complete new version for release in 1994. A toll-free computer bulletin board system was established for technical support and to serve as a Customer forum. A public bulletin function was added to the OPAC." In addition to the home office in Monterey, the company maintains offices in Denver, Santa Fe Springs (CA), St. Louis, Norcross (GA), Burlington (NJ), and Vancouver. [CTB Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, 20 Ryan Ranch, Monterey, CA 93940-9703; (800) 538-9547 X7781; fax (408) 393-7462.]
Data Trek, Inc. offers both turnkey systems and software only for PCs (known as Professional Series 1.1 and Manager Series 6.2). Both products are available either PC-based or multi-user, but the company emphasizes PC- based systems. All of the software automatically supports single-user and network versions. Both systems run on DOS, as well as IBM and compatible computers, Novell 2.0A and higher, Banyan ver 4.x and higher, and LANtastic networks. The programming languages are: C with vBase for Professional Series 1.1, and dBase III and Clipper for Manager Series 6.2. The company sold 83 Professional Series 1.1 systems (51 new name sales)--seven were awaiting installation and/or acceptance at year's end; and 480 Manager Series 6.2 for PC-based (223 new name sales)-- 10 awaiting installation and/or acceptance at the end of the year. Its installed base was 153 Professional Series 1.1 systems--151 in North America; and 1,950 Manager Series 6.2 systems--1,679 in North America. The total number of installations at the end of 1992 was 2,103--l,830 in North America. Of the Professional Series 1.1 sites, 99% each were using local cataloging and authority control, 65% were using circulation, and 25% were using the OPAC. All of the sites had a LAN interface; and 72% each had OCLC, RLIN, WLN, BiblioFile, and LaserCat interfaces. Two Professional Series 1.1 sites supported 30-60 devices; two had 16-29; 11 had 8-15; 31 had 2-7; and 107 had just 1 device. Of the Manager Series 6.2 sites, 72% each were using local cataloging and authority control; 50% had circulation; 40% each had serials control and inventorying; 30% OPAC; 10% acquisitions; 7% materials booking; and 5% had report generator. All of the sites had a LAN interface, and 31% each had OCLC, RLIN, WLN, BiblioFile, and LaserCat interfaces. Of the Manager Series 6.2 sites, one supported 100-199 devices; another supported 30-60; seven had 16-29; 17 had 8-15; 188 had 2-7; and 1,541 had just 1 device. The Company reported its financial status as "confidential." For both products, the company reported six persons devoted to software maintenance and development; 17 to sales and marketing; and four to other customer support. The major enhancements in 1992 for the Professional Series 1.1 system included; release of graphical OPAC; all modules can access extended memory; and users may search and sort on ISBN/ISSN. Major enhancements for the Manager Series 6.2 included: release of graphical OPAC; available disk space checked during startup; global updating and deleting of subject information in Serials Module; and additional error correction added to user definable disk file names. In addition to its headquarters in Carlsbad, the company maintains offices in Douglastown (NY), Boston, Bend (OR), France, England, Canada, and Australia, and has distributors in Columbus (OH), Mountain View (CA), Port Angeles (WA), Italy, Spain, and Poland.
[Data Trek, Inc., 5838 Edison Place, Carlsbad, CA 92008; (619) 431-8400 or (800) 876-5484; fax (619) 431-8448.]
Dynix Marquis, Inc. markets the Marquis Library System which is normally bid as a software-only product. The operating system for the server is OS/2, Unix, VAX VMA; the workstation uses OS/2, Macintosh, or Windows. The database management system is Sybase SQL Server, and the programming languages are Modula-2 and C. The company sold eight new name systems in 1992 (six to special libraries and two to academic libraries). Four systems (two academic and two special libraries) were installed and accepted at year-end--all in North America. Five systems were awaiting installation and/or acceptance at the end of the year. The company reported gross sales of <$1 million, with an after-tax profit. All of the sites were using report generator and electronic mail modules; 75% each were using local cataloging, authority control, and OPAC; and 25% each were using acquisitions, circulation, and serials control modules. All of the sites had a LAN interface; and half of the sites could interface to other systems from the same vendor. Half of the sites had an OCLC interface; and 25% each had a BiblioFile and RLIN interface. Two sites supported 400+ devices, one supported 8-15; and one supported 2-7 devices. The company reported a staff of nine committed to software development and maintenance, four to sales and marketing; and five to other customer support. The major enhancements in 1992 were serials and acquisitions modules. In addition to its offices in Provo, the company maintains offices in Durham (NC), as well as offices in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the U.K.
[Dynix Marquis, Inc., 151 East 1700 South, Provo, UT 84606; (801) 484-0348 or (801) 226-5508; fax (801) 225-8377.]
Follett Software Company offers seven software only products--Alliance Plus, Catalog Plus, CardMaster Plus, Circulation Plus, Macsearch Plus Station, Textbook Plus, and Union CD Plus. Except for MacSearch whose operating system is System 6 and System 7 for Macintosh, the operating system is DOS. BASIC, C, and some Assembler are the programming languages.
The following sales figures were reported for the seven systems:
System1992
SalesNew
NameTotal
installationsInstallations in
North AmericaAlliance Plus 1,014 ca300 1,744 1,726 CardMaster Plus 998 998 1,472 1,465 Circulation/Catalog Plus 1,025 N/A 4,630 4,586 Circulation Plus 1,648 N/A 13,144 13,094 Macsearch Plus Station 44 44 44 44 Textbook Plus 32 N/A 350 350 UnionCD Plus 15 15 22 22 Total 4,776 N/A 21,406 21,287
Of the Alliance Plus sites, all were using local cataloging, circulation and inventorying and 80% were using OPAC. All had the LC authorities CD-ROM interface and can interface with other systems from the same vendor and 50% have a LAN interface. Of the CardMaster Plus sites, all had local cataloging, 60% had online patron access catalog, and half each had inventorying and circulation. All Could interface to other systems from the same vendor and 40% had the LC authorities CD-ROM interface, Of the Circulation/Catalog Plus sites, all were using local cataloging, circulation, OPAC, report generator, and inventorying modules. All could interface with other systems from the same vendor and had a LAN interface; and 20% each had BiblioFile and LaserCat interfaces. Of the Circulation Plus sites, all had local cataloging, circulation, report generator, and inventorying modules; and half had the OPAC. All had a LAN interface; 75% could interface to other systems from the same vendor; and 20% each had BiblioFile and LaserCat interfaces. Of the Macsearch Plus Station sites, all could interface with other systems from the same vendor and had remote database searching. Of the Textbook Plus sites, all had Circulation, report generator, and inventorying modules; and they could all interface to other systems from the same vendor. Of the Union CD Plus sites, all had the online patron access catalog module; and all had remote database searching capabilities.
No installation size data was provided in this year's survey. However, in 1991, of the Alliance Plus installations, 24% had 8-15 devices; 75% had 2- 7; and 1% had only 1 device. Of the CardMaster Plus installations, 10% had 8-15 devices; 30% had 2-7; and 60% had only 1 device. Of the Circulation/ Catalog Plus installations, 25% had 8-15 devices; 74% had 2-7; and 1% had only 1 device. Of the Circulation Plus installations, 20% had 8-15 devices; 35% had 2-7; and 45% had only 1 device. (Note: Macsearch, Textbook, and Union CD were not reported last year.)
For all products, the company reported gross sales of $15-$20 million (up from $10-$15 million in 1991) with an after-tax profit for the year. The company reported a staff of 30 Committed to software development and maintenance, 47 to sales and marketing, and 132 to other customer support.
The company reported the following major enhancements in 1992: for CardMaster Plus--support for use of 14 character barcodes, preparing Customers for future expansion and the ability to use data along with upcoming versions of Circulation Plus and Catalog Plus. Macsearch Plus Stations--released in September 1992--is a software package which allows customers to use Mac Computers as search stations on their OPAC (Circulation/Catalog Plus). Union CD Plus--released in February, 1992-- application software is designed to search a CD-ROM which contains a database of multiple libraries' holdings. A district or group of participating libraries will submit their individual records to Follett to be merged, deduplicated, indexed, and pressed to a CD-ROM. Each of the libraries will then receive a copy of the CD-ROM to search for items in their collection within their district or participating group of libraries.
[Follett Software Company, 809 North Front Street, McHenry, IL 60050; (815) 344-8700 or (800) 323-3397; fax (815) 344-8774.]
Gaylord Information Systems markets SuperCAT Cataloging System, either as a turnkey system or software only for IBM compatibles. The operating system is MS-DOS, and the programming language is C. The company reported 23 new name sales in 1992, and reported its world-wide customer base is 317--309 in North America. A breakdown consisted of 62% public libraries, 18% academic, and 10% each special and school libraries. It had three systems awaiting installation and/or acceptance at the end of the year. Total sales were under $1 million, with an after-tax profit. All of the sites were using the cataloging module. Three sites supported 8-15 devices; six had 2-7; and 308 had only 1 device. One person was committed to software maintenance and development, one to sales and marketing, and two to customer support. The major enhancements in 1992 included the addition of an online ordering interface (via BISAC) and LC Name and Subject CD-ROM interface. The company maintains offices in Syracuse, Salt Lake City, Charleston (SC), Cleveland, Kansas City, and Philadelphia.
[Gaylord Information Systems, P.O. Box 4901, Syracuse, NY 13221-4901; (800) 962-9580; fax (315) 451-4760.)
General Research Corporation Library Systems offers two software-only products, known as LaserGuide and LaserQuest, as well as CD-ROM players (Hitachi and Pioneer). Both run on PC-based, LAN supported, or IBM compatible computers. They run on a proprietary DBMS; the operating system is DOS; and the programming language is FORTRAN. The vendor reported 1992 sales information as "proprietary." However, it did report the total number of installed LaserGuide systems at 15--all in North America--consisting of 6 public, 6 academic, 2 special, and 1 "multi" library; and the total number of installed LaserQuest systems at 214 in North America--224 worldwide--consisting of 94 public, 65 school, 40 academic, 12 special, and 3 "multi" libraries. Gross sales were in the $1- $2.5 million range, and the company claims it realized an after-tax profit. All of the LaserGuide sites were using the OPAC module. All of the LaserQuest sites were using the local cataloging module. One of its LaserGuide clients supported 60-99 devices; one had 30-60; four had 16-29; three had 8-15; five had 2-7; and one had just 1 device. Of its LaserQuest clients, 14 supported 2-7 devices; and 200 had only 1 device. The company reported that three-and-one-half staff were assigned to software maintenance and development, one to sales and marketing, and one-half to customer support. Major enhancements during 1992 for LaserGuide included customized screens; the major enhancement for LaserQuest was numeric access.
[General Research Corporation Library Systems; 5383 Hollister Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA 93111; (805) 964-7724 ext. 272 or (800) 933-5383; fax (805) 967- 7094.]
Inlex, Inc., a vendor of multi-user systems, purchased a PC-based product in late 1991 known as The Assistant. Most sales were for software and ongoing support. However, training and peripheral products and supplies such as barcode readers, barcode labels, etc. are also available. The product runs on any IBM PC/AT, PS/2 or compatible PC using DOS operating systems. The programming languages are C and Btrieve. The company reported sales of 71 modules with 51 new name sales during in 1992, 80% of which were to special libraries. One system awaiting installation and/or acceptance at the end of the year. The total number of installations at the end of 1992 was 207--202 in North America. The installations consisted of 88% special libraries, 10% academic, and 1% each public and school libraries. Revenues for this product line were reported at less than $1 million and profitability was not disclosed. Local cataloging, authority control, and OPAC were each in use at 70% of the sites, serials control at 64%, circulation at 34%, and acquisitions at 32%. The Assistant uses a universal interface compatible with each of the following utilities: OCLC, RLIN, Utlas, and WLN as well as BiblioFile, and LaserCat. Some 40% of the sites had a LAN interface. The company reported three sites supported 400+ devices; five had 100-199; 11 had 30-60; 17 had 16-29; 34 had 8-15; 16 had 2-7 devices; and 122 supported only 1 device. The company had two persons devoted to software maintenance and development, 3.5 to sales and marketing, and 7.5 committed to customer support. The major enhancements in 1992 included the following: Serials Control Version 4.0 was completed and released; and Acquisitions version 4.0 was designed and coding was initiated. This version will fully integrate the module with cataloging, serials, and circulation. The MARC Export Utility was enhanced to allow bibliographic records to be identified and exported based on their "date modified" and "location" fields. The company maintains offices in New York, Monterey, San Diego, and North Olmstead (OH). (The purchase of Inlex by Data Research Associates was announced in 1993. The effects of the purchase cannot yet be ascertained.)
[Inlex, Inc., P.O. Box 1349, Monterey, CA 93942; (408) 646-8600; fax (408) 646-0651.]
Inmagic, Inc. offers a software only product known as INMAGIC Plus for Libraries. It is a PC-based product which also runs on networks and on multi-user platforms. The hardware platform is IBM PCs and compatibles or DEC VAX/MicroVAX, running on DOS and VMS operating systems. The product is written in C and Fortran. The company reported 900 sales in 1992, of which 400 were new name sales. The number of systems awaiting installation and/or acceptance at the year's end was not available. More than 5,300 packages have been sold worldwide--3,000 in North America. A breakdown by library type consisted of 80% special libraries, 10% school libraries, and 5% each academic and public libraries. The company reported gross revenues in the $2.5-$5 million range (up from $1 to 2.5 million in 1991), and an after-tax profit. The product is not sold by module. However, the company reported that all sites had the following capabilities: acquisitions, local cataloging, authority control, circulation, serials control, OPAC, ILL, materials booking, report generator, journal citation, inventorying, and community information, as well as a LAN interface and interface to other systems from the same vendor. Five sites supported 100-199 devices; three supported 60-99; 20 had 30-60; 50 had 16-29; 175 had 8-15; 1,500 had 2-7; and 4,900 had only 1 device. The company reported a staff of four was committed to software maintenance and development, five to sales and marketing, and three to other customer support. The major enhancements during 1992 included: data validation and authority lists, completely updated user interface, fill-in-the-blank searching, deferred indexing (enabling multi-user maintenance), proximity searching. In addition to their headquarters in Cambridge, the company reported authorized dealers "all over" the U.S., and in Canada, Australia, and Europe.
[Inmagic, Inc., 2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140; (617) 661-8124; fax (617) 661-6901.)
The Library Corporation offers both turnkey and software only for stand-alone and network applications run in a PC environment. The product is known as BiblioFile. The hardware is IBM PC compatibles with CD-ROM and hard disk drive, and the operating system is MS-DOS. It runs on a proprietary and Paradox DBMS, and the programming language is C. The company reported 666 sales in 1992 (560 were new name sales)--almost double that of last year--and reported a worldwide customer base of 3,918--3,536 in North America. It had 85 systems awaiting installation and/or acceptance at the end of the year. Total sales were between $10 and $15 million, with an after-tax profit. Almost half of the sites were using the report generator module; 88% were using local cataloging; and 21% were using community information. The OPAC module was in use at 28% of the sites and 16% had authority control. Three percent had circulation, 2% each had acquisitions and inventorying, and 1% had journal citation files. All of the sites were using the BiblioFile cataloging support system interface; 9% were using an OCLC interface; 2% each were using the RLIN interface and WLN interface; and 1% each were using Utlas and Internet interfaces, and a LC authorities CD-ROM interface. Approximately 6% had a LAN interface; 5% had remote database searching; and 5% Could interface with other library systems from the same vendor. Three sites supported 200-399 devices; one had 100-199; three had 60-99; one had 30-60; four had 16-29; 53 had 8-15; 253 had 2-7; and 3,600 had a single terminal. A staff of 26 was committed to software maintenance and development, 12 to sales and marketing, and 19 to other customer support. Major enhancements in 1992 included: complete rewrite of circulation module including transfer to the Paradox engine; rewrite and expansion of PAC module to allow up to 1,024 holding codes, color, up to 32 languages (selectable by library) and increased indexing; introduction of Ready Reference module incorporating access to multiple databases, gateways to other systems, and improved networking capabilities; enhanced BiblioFile Cataloging systems with dial-in capability for remote use of central processing sites. The company maintains offices in Atlanta and Toronto in addition to its headquarters in Inwood, WV.
[The Library Corporation, Research Park, Inwood, WV 25428-9733; (304) 229-0100 or (800) 624-0559; fax (304) 229-0295.]
Media Flex, Inc. markets the Mandarin Library/Information Management System, which is a software only product; the company also provides training, consulting, and support. Mandarin runs on an IBM P5/2/286 or greater processor with 4 MB RAM server and Novell LAN. The system runs on MS-DOS 3.1 or greater, a proprietary database; the programming language is Microsoft C. In 1992, the company sold 281 systems (193 new name systems)--almost double it's 1991 sales--bringing the total number of installed systems to 781--708 in North America. A breakdown by library type is: 91% school libraries, 4% public, 3% academic, and 2% special libraries. There were 38 systems awaiting installation and/or acceptance at the end of the year. The company reported gross sales from $1-$2.5 million, with an after-tax profit. All sites were using local cataloging, OPAC, and report generator modules; 89% each were using the circulation and inventorying modules; and 5% each were using journal, citation files and community information. A BiblioFile interface was used at 25% of the site; 20% had OCLC and 10% had Utlas interfaces; and 5% had a LaserCat interface. All sites had a LAN interface, 20% had remote database searching, and 15% had remote database searching. One site supported 400+ devices; 20 had 200-399; 20 had 100-199; 20 had 60-99; 20 had 30-60; 200 had 16-29; 300 had 8-15; and 200 had 2-7; all other sites had just 1 device. The company reported a staff of eight was committed to software development and maintenance, five to sales and marketing, and nine to other customer support. The major enhancements in 1992 included: enlarged record size to allow tapeloading of full-text databases; expanded indexing; and performance enhancements to allow searching full-text as well as changes to OPAC to allow for easier selection and printing. The company maintains offices in Montreal, Calgary, metropolitan New York, and Stafford (UK).
[Media Flex, Inc., P.O. Box l107,Champlain, NY 12919; (518) 298-2970; fax (514) 336-8217.]
Nichols Advanced Technologies, Inc. offers a software-only product known as MOLLI, as well as barcode readers, peripherals, and retrospective conversion services. MOLLI runs on IBM compatible micros. The operating system is MS-DOS, and the programming languages are C and compiled dBase. The vendor reported sales of about 200 packages in 1992--185 of which were new name sales. The company supported 1,158 installed systems at the end of 1992, with 1,134 in North America. Gross sales were in the $1-$2.5 million range, and the company reported an after-tax profit. Because MOLLI is an integrated program, all sites had the same software capability for MARC record import. All sites were using local cataloging, authority control, circulation, OPAC, report generator, and inventorying. All sites had the OCLC interface, WLN interface, LaserCat interface, and BiblioFile interface. Remote database searching and interface with other library systems from the same vendor were also in use at 2% of the sites; and 38% had a LAN. One of the sites had 200-399 devices; three had 100-199; two had 60-99; two had 30-60; two had 16-29; 20 had 8-15; 320 had 2-7; and 790 had only 1 device. The company reported that five staff were assigned to software maintenance and development, 20 staff to sales and marketing, and four staff were assigned to other customer support. Major enhancements during 1992 included: new serials and acquisitions programs for use alongside the MOLLI catalog/ circulation system; A new version of MOLLI providing an easier-to-use Quick Search; and greatly enhanced item and borrower statistics. In addition to its headquarters in LaCrosse, the company maintains offices in Edmonton, Alberta.
[Nichols Advanced Technologies, Inc., 3452 Losey Blvd. South, LaCrosse, WI 54601; (800) 658-9453 or (608) 787- 8333; fax (608) 787-8337.]
On Point, Inc. offers a software only package, known as TLC (Total Library Computerization). The hardware is IBM or compatible PCs, (multi-user network is available). The operating system is DOS, and programming language is AskSam. The company reported that all information regarding number of systems sold, installed, profitability, etc., is "proprietary." The company did report that revenues were under $1 million. It did, however, report that all of its sites were special libraries and all of its sales were new name sales to special libraries. All of the sites were using report generator, 75% were using local cataloging, and 60% were using serials control. Half of the sites each had acquisitions, authority control, circulation, OPAC, and inventorying; and 30% each had ILL and journal citation files. Some 20% of the sites were supporting 2-7 devices; and 80% were supporting just 1 device. The company had a staff of two committed to software maintenance and development, one to sales and marketing; and one to other customer support. Its major enhancement during 1992 was the release of the Network version. In addition, there was a MARC interface and two companion modules: DOCUMENT for retrieval and searching in full-text and LOCATE for holdings of branch libraries.
[On Point, Inc., 2606 36th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007; (202) 338-8914.]
TKM Software Limited offers software packages. The products, known as InterLEND and MicroCAT, are PC-based. InterLEND is a protocol-based ILL product developed in conjunction with the Canadian National Library. It is a new product using IBM PC or compatible and Digital VAX hardware. (Note: the multi-user platform product--the VAX based VMS product was just released.) MicroCAT also uses IBM or compatible hardware. The operating systems are DOS and VMS for InterLEND and DOS and SCO Xenix for MicroCAT; and the programming language is C for both. For InterLEND, the company reported 30 sales during 1992, bringing its tOtal to 30 (half in academic and half in special libraries)--all in North America. For MicroCAT, the company reported 100 new sales (90 to school libraries and 10 to special libraries), bringing its total installed base to 185--170 in North America. The company reported gross sales of <$1 million, and did achieve an after-tax profit. The company reported all of its InterLEND sites were using ILL; and all 30 supported only one device. Of its MicroCAT sites, all were using local cataloging, authority control, and OPAC, and half were using circulation. All were using Utlas and BiblioFile interfaces; 30% had a LAN interface; and 10% had remote database searching. Some 85 of its sites were supporting 2-7 devices; and 100 were supporting just 1 device. The company reported having four people committed to software maintenance and development, one to sales and marketing; and two to other customer support. Major enhancements during 1992 included: a major new release with new documentation; the release of InterLEND. MicroCAT is marketed in the U.S. by The Highsmith Co., Inc.
[TKM Software Limited, P.O. Box 1525, 839-18th Street, Brandon, Manitoba R7A 588 Canada; (204) 727-3873; fax (204) 727-5219.]
Utlas International, a commercially-owned bibliographic utility, offers a software only product known as M/Series 10. The hardware is IBM compatible PCs running on DOS. The database management system is Ocelot, and programming languages are C and PASCAL. The company reported 143 systems sold in 1992 (all new name sales), bringing the total installed base to 900, all located in North America. A breakdown by library type consisted of 98% school libraries and 2% special libraries. UTLAS reported revenues in the $10-$15 million range, but noted that M/Series 10 is only one product in an extensive product line contributing to this sales figure. All of the sites were using authority control and online patron access catalog modules; and 65% each had circulation and inventorying. All of the sites had an Utlas interface. One or two of the sites were supporting 8-15 devices; 600 were supporting 2-7; and 300 were supporting just 1 device. The company had a staff of 12 committed to software maintenance and development, eight to sales and marketing; and 15 to other customer support. M/Series 10 was declared a "mature product" in 1992. Utlas will begin offering a replacement product in 1993.
[Utlas International, 3300 Bloor Street West, 16th floor, West Tower, Etobicoke, Ontario M8X 2X2 Canada; (416) 236-7171; fax (416) 236-7489.]
VTLS, Inc. has also been covered in he LSN survey of Multiuser Systems. The information in this survey applies to its PC-based system only. VTLS offers both turnkey systems and software packages using any hardware using DOS as the operating system. The PC-based multi-user system, known as MicroVTLS, uses dBase III Plus and Clipper. The company reported sales of 11 new name systems during 1992, bringing its total to 68 in North America and 76 world-wide. A breakdown by library type consisted of 54 public libraries, 12 special, nine academic, and one school library. Four systems were awaiting installation and/or acceptance at year's end. Separate financial information for MicroVTLS was not available but the company as a whole had sales of 55-10 million and reported a profit. The company reported that all MicroVTLS sites were using local cataloging, report generator, and authority control; 99% were using circulation and OPAC; 25% used community information (I&R); and 2% used acquisitions. Some 95% were using the OCLC interface, and 2% had the RLIN interface. A LAN interface was used by 85%; an interface to other systems by the same vendor by 95%; and 5% had LC authorities CD-ROM interface. (The company reported that all the above percentages were estimates and that which is not included is not available; they did not collect this information for MicroVTLS customers.) Eight sites were supporting 8-15 devices; and 68 had 2-7 devices. VTLS reported that a staff of four was committed to software maintenance and development, three to sales and marketing, and four to other Customer support at the end of 1992. The major enhancement during the year consisted of a re-write of all of MicroVTLS. The new software was beta tested by eight customers during 1992 and their suggestions for making the software more user-friendly were implemented during 1992. MicroVTLS 3.1 will be released to all customers in May 1993.
[VTLS, Inc., 1800 Kraft Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24060; (800) 468-8857 or (703) 231-3637; fax (703) 231-3648.]
Winnebago Software Company offers software only and peripherals that run on IBM PCs and compatibles and Apples. The operating systems are MS-DOS and Apple; the DBMS and programming language is Clipper. The company reported 1992 sales of "over 1,500 systems" (new name sales were not specified) and total installations of "over 10,000" (the number in North America not specified). The company reported gross revenues of between $5 and $10 million and realized an after-tax profit. It reported that the percentage of sites with each module/ submodule was not available.
Information regarding the number of devices supported at each site was also not available. A staff of 24 was committed to software maintenance and development, and 70 to other customer support in 1992.
[Winnebago Software Company, P.O. Box 430, 310 West Main Street, Caledonia, MN 55921; (507) 724-5411 or (800) 533- 5430; fax (507) 724-2301.]
