The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) has decided to computerise the Commonwealth Universities Yearbook using CAIRS--TMS.
ACU is not new to CAIRS, having automated its Library using CAIRS-IMS five years ago. Following the successful implementation of these databases, ACU then applied the experience gained to directory production. 1990 saw the computerisation of the four ACU Awards Series directories, where CAIRS--TMS was again used to produce over 1,000 pages of text in files suitable for phototypesetting. DTP mark-up and codes for typesetting were incorporated automatically on output.
The latest ACU project lent itself well to the text storage and retrieval capabilities of CAIRS-TMS. The hard copy of the Commonwealth Universities Yearbook currently consists of over 3,500 pages of text which is published annually as a four-volume set. When the database is fully operational, ACU will be able to produce a number of publications from the one data set, to provide mailing labels and, in the longer term, to publish in different electronic formats. Efficient on-line searching will allow information requests to be met more effectively.
The core of information for the database has been converted from photo-typesetting files that were used to generate the previous year's Yearbook. Approximately 230,000 academic staff entries are being converted into batch format for import into TMS using a program written by LIT. The general information [covering history, facilities, admissions, research units and related institutions] is being restructured and edited from the typesetter's files for loading into TMS.
These data will be held in 10 databases in CAIRS-IMS, each with a hierarchical structure of University, Campus, College, Faculty, Department and Sub-department. Details of academic staff will be presented department by department. CAIRS--TMS links the entries in the various databases, allowing the CAIRS report generator to collate all the information for publication.
When the Yearbook data has been loaded, the IMS databases will be integrated into TMS to create one unified source of information on higher education in the Commonwealth.
ACU will be accessing its CAIRS-TMS system through the existing Novell menus using Novell LAN Workgroup. The PC network is bridged to a SCO UNIX operating system running on a DX2 66 MHz Compaq fileserver. The porting of TMS to SCO UNIX brings the product within reach of many CAIRS customers wishing to follow an upgrade path to TMS and still run on a PC network.
For further information, please contact:
Julia Richards
Leatherhead Information Technology Ltd
Randalls Road
Leatherhead, Surrey
KT22 7RY
Tel: ++44 (0) 1372361101
Fax: ++44 (0] 1372 363732
Elaine Robinson
Association of Commonwealth Universities
John Foster House
36 Gordon Square
London WC1H OPF
Tel: ++44 [0) 171 387 8572
Fax: ++44 [0] 171 387 2655