PROVO, Utah. Ameritech Library Services (ALS) and CPS Systems Inc. are combining their resource-sharing technologies. ALS will re-license CPS's Universal Resource Sharing Application (URSA) software and will employ CPS's URSA support and development staff to ensure a complete integration of URSA with ALS's Resource Sharing System (RSS). ALS will continue to sell RSS and URSA and will support both products.
Both RSS and URSA are functionally robust products that lead the market in serving library and consortia resource-sharing needs throughout North America. RSS and URSA have been installed in large, statewide academic consortia in California and Pennsylvania, as well as statewide systems that serve public libraries and multi-type consortia in New Jersey, Maryland and other states. RSS and URSA have been installed in libraries that use automation systems from most of the major library automation vendors.
The combined product will incorporate the strengths of each product, including support of the ISO 10160/10161 messaging protocol and a browser interface, and mediated or unmediated, patron-initiated resource sharing and extended circulation.
"Trends in the library automation industry support the growth of virtual catalogs, regional and statewide resource sharing, and extended circulation among regional groups," said Lana Porter, president of ALS. "Ameritech Library Services will continue to sell RSS and URSA and will support both products, but this relationship will enable us to further enhance these resource-sharing products as we combine technologies. It also will enable us to deliver the next generation of interlibrary loan technology."
"We're excited about joining forces with Ameritech Library Services," said Ian Campbell, managing director of CPS Systems Pty. Ltd. "We've established an excellent base of clients in the United States who have been pioneers with CPS in this exciting new area. The combination of Ameritech's presence and experience in the library market with CPS's knowledge in integrating multi-vendor applications will allow us to offer the most comprehensive solution to libraries and consortia."
This relationship is the first step in a long-term plan for ALS and CPS to become the world's leading supplier of resource-sharing technology. It will allow ALS and CPS to promote emerging standards and seek more partnerships to allow libraries a fully integrated resource-sharing solution, regardless of which company supplies their local automation system.
CPS Systems Inc. is a U.S. subsidiary of an Australian-based company, CPS Systems Pty. Ltd., which specializes in technologies used in projects worldwide that link computer systems and databases. CPS has applied this integration expertise to connect library systems and improve interlibrary resource sharing. CPS Systems Inc. can be reached by phone at 651 731-8993 or by e-mail at info@cps-us.com.
Ameritech Library Services (www.amlibs.com), a subsidiary of Ameritech, is the world leader in library automation systems with installations in more than 7,600 libraries worldwide. ALS's library information management systems meet the needs of research, public, corporate, medical and K-12 school libraries. Headquartered in Utah, Ameritech Library Services has offices in Illinois and Canada and throughout Europe and the Pacific Rim.
Ameritech is the premier provider of communications services in the Upper Midwest, with 13 million customers and more than 21 million access lines across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. It is a company of SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com), a global communications leader. Through its trusted brands, Southwestern Bell, Ameritech, Pacific Bell, SBC Telecom, Nevada Bell, SNET and Cellular One—and world-class network, SBC provides local and long-distance phone service, wireless and data communications, paging, high-speed Internet access and messaging, cable and satellite television, security services and telecommunications equipment, as well as directory advertising and publishing. In the United States, the company currently has 59 million access lines, 10.1 million wireless customers and is undertaking a national expansion program that will bring SBC service to an additional 30 markets. Internationally, SBC has telecommunications investments in 22 countries. With more than 200,000 employees, SBC is the 14th largest employer in the U.S., with annual revenues that rank it among the largest Fortune 500 companies.