POMONA, Calif., April 20, 1999. Auto-Graphics Inc. (OTCBB:AUGR) today announced it has upgraded the Texas Library Connection (TLC) to include Z39.50 capabilities. TLC is one of the most progressive technology initiatives in U.S. state school library history and the new Z39.50 technology provides greater access to library resources for the over 3,500 school libraries in the state of Texas. Auto-Graphics is a leading provider of Web-based PAC, cataloging and interlibrary loan (ILL) services to libraries.
The company's Impact/ONLINE Web-based service combines the connectivity protocols of the World Wide Web with the Z39.50 interoperability standard. Impact/ONLINE provides a consolidated catalog of holdings by all participating libraries and manages the interlibrary loan process as students acquire books from anywhere in the state if they are not available locally.
"Impact/ONLINE offers libraries the speed and efficiency of a union catalog with the open ended access of Z39.50 interoperability. The Texas Z39.50 implementation is a true milestone for library resource sharing and represents Auto-Graphics' commitment to advancing library technology," said William J. Kliss, chief operating officer at Auto-Graphics.
Administered by the Instructional Technology Division of the Texas Education Agency (TEA), TLC brings equal library services to every public school student in Texas.
"Implementation of Z39.50 for Texas Library Connection users is timely and exciting, and lays the foundation for sharing online digital information resources," said Gloria McClanahan, director of library services at TEA. "Since many of the computer-based library automation systems used by our school libraries do not have Z39.50 capabilities, the Texas Library Connection provides these libraries with the same level of access to information and resources."
"TLC brings two converging trends in the library community to life-- the creation of resource-sharing library consortia and the widespread acceptance of the Z39.50 standard as an ad-hoc search and retrieval tool," Kliss said.
Auto-Graphics has offered a Z39.50 interface as a module in its Impact/ONLINE family since 1996 for locating holdings in libraries not necessarily represented in the consortium's union catalog. The intent of embedding a Z39.50 search capability into all Impact/ONLINE products is to make it easier for consortia customers to enter into resource sharing agreements and to provide patrons with seamless access to holdings represented in the union catalog and/or at Z39.50 targets. Z39.50 enhancements make the holdings of all member libraries completely accessible to the ILL services supported by Impact/ONLINE, and even enable non-member libraries to participate in a consortium's ILL.
With a $1.3 million authorization from the 73rd Texas State Legislature, TLC was launched in June 1995 with the awarding of a contract to Auto-Graphics to develop the library network using the Impact/ONLINETM product family. Since the 1995 launch, TLC has used Impact/ONLINE to merge nearly 30 million items into over three million unique records that today comprise the TLC database. When duplicate titles result from merging library catalogs, one unique record is created and the location of all titles in the network is attached. Database records include books, audiotapes, videotapes, computer software, filmstrips and other audio/visual materials.
Company Information
Founded in 1950, Auto-Graphics Inc. (OTCBB:AUGR) provides Web-based information publishing and database resource sharing systems to the publishing and library communities. The company's web site is located at www.auto-graphics.com.
