Each year Library Systems Newsletter surveys the library automation industry to get an overview of the market and to facilitate comparison among vendors. This extra-long double issue is devoted to the responses of vendors offering integrated, multi-user, multi-function systems-those running on mainframes and minis, or supermicros using a multi-user operating system. The May issue will summarize survey results for PC- and Mac-based systems. Those vendors with both types of systems are included in this issue if sales of their multi-user operating system product exceeded $1 million in the past year.
As in previous years, this survey included a number of vendors based outside North America. The most recent examples of firms based outside North America entering the North American market after establishing offices or distributorships in several countries are Ex Libris of Israel, Fretwell-Downing of the United Kingdom, and CONTEC of New Zealand.
The survey is limited to products that integrate several modules into a single system. Almost all of the products include what generally are considered the core modules of an integrated system: acquisitions, serials control, cataloging, circulation, and patron access catalog. Most have additional modules: inventorying, information & referral (I&R), interlibrary loan (ILL), journal citation files, materials booking, imaging, etc. Almost all offer graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for all modules and a Web-based user interface for the patron access catalog. Most also support Z39.50-based linkages to other systems. EDIFACT online ordering and claiming is becoming available, but a majority of companies are still offering BISAC online ordering and EDI x.12 online claiming- which have been superseded by EDIFACT.
METHODOLOGY
This survey uses the same methodology employed in previous years. Vendors were contacted by mail and fax, with follow-up by telephone, fax, and e-mail, as necessary. Queries focused on the major hardware platform(s); database management system (DBMS), operating system and programming language(s); "new name" sales during the past calendar year; total number of installations; number of sites discontinued during the past calendar year; gross sales for the past calendar year; profitability; percentage of customers using each module or major function; number of users for which the systems are licensed; and the number of staff devoted to software maintenance and development, sales and marketing, and other customer support. Major software enhancements reported by the vendors also are included.
A number of companies are actively selling two or more significantly different products, among them Ameritech Library Services (Dynix and Horizon), EQS International ("T" and "Q" Series), Gaylord Information Systems (Galaxy and Polaris), and Geac Computers, Inc. (Advance, Plus, and VUBIS). Information about the products has been separated as much as possible, but most respondents did not break out revenues and development, sales, and support staff figures for their separate products.
The 24 companies included in this survey are believed to comprise 98% of sales in North America and over 65% of sales in the rest of the world, Of these 24, 21 offer both turnkey systems and software-only; three offer software-only.
For 1998, it is estimated that a total of 1,525 systems were sold; up from last year's estimate of 991 and comparable to the estimate for 1996. The total number of multi-user system installations-those using UNIX, NT server, VMS, or another multi-user operating system-at the end of 1998 is estimated to be approximately 15,000.
SUMMARY
After adding estimates for vendors who did not respond, the total revenues of vendors offering integrated multi-user, multi-function automated library systems were approximately $480 million in 1998-up from approximately $435 million in 1997. Ameritech had revenues of more than $75 million (est.J; Innovative Interfaces, Inc., $60-$70 million; Open Text (formerly Information Dimensions) had revenues of $35-$40 million; Geac, well in excess of $30 million [est.]; DRA had $30-$35 million; Sirsi over $30 million [eat.]; and Endeavor $15-$20 million. CARL, EOS International [eat.], Ex Libris, Gaylord, TALIS, and TLC reported revenues of $10-$15 million each; International, SISIS, and VTLS reported revenues of $5-$10 million each.
There appear to be three distinct, but closely related reasons for steady sales in 1998:
Replacement of Aging Systems. The most widely installed multi-user systems in the industry in 1998 were hierarchical systems which had been introduced up to a decade earlier. Many were static--i.e., new releases were no longer being loaded; some were not Year 2000 compliant. Libraries were increasingly reluctant to invest in upgrades, especially hardware upgrades, because the components were expensive relative to the cost of new hardware. Most important of all, libraries were reluctant to invest in a hierarchical system when vendors were clearly focusing their new development efforts on client/server technology.
The Maturing of Client/Server Products. By 1997, a number of client/server products had become available, but they were functionally less rich than the older hierarchical systems. A year later, there were a number of mature client/server products available, and those still in development were sufficiently complete for libraries to evaluate them.
Completion of Infrastructure Development. The expectation that client/server technology with graphical user interfaces would require replacement of "dumb" terminals and low-end PCs, and upgrading of networks, led many libraries to focus their 1997 purchases on the building of the necessary infrastructure for the next generation of automated library systems. By 1998, much of that infrastructure development had been completed, thus freeing funds for the purchase of new automated library Systems.
Table 1 is a list of the vendors arranged by the number of reported "new name" system sales during 1998 (sales to other than existing customers).
Vendors were asked to report the number of central sites, rather than the number of contracts signed or the number of libraries served. Each of the other vendors had reported or estimated revenues of under $5 million. Table 2 shows the installed and accepted systems of the vendors reporting at least 35 installations to date. Table 3 ranks vendors by the number of systems supporting at least 200 concurrent users; Table 4 ranks the vendors by the number of staff devoted to software maintenance and development; and Table 5 by the number devoted to customer support.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMPANY REPORTS
The following vendor reports are arranged alphabetically and are based on information furnished by the respondents.
Advanced computer concepts, Inc., the vendor of FLEXLIB, offers both turnkey systems and software packages. There are several hardware platforms, including Sun. Both UNIX and NT are offered as the operating system. MUMPS/CACHE is used as the DBMS and programming language.The company sells primarily to academic and special libraries. It had no new name sales in 1998 and three customers discontinued use of their systems, reducing its total number of sites to five-four in North America and one in Asia/Oceania. Two of the systems supported more than 400 users and three supported 100-199 users.
In addition to the core modules, inventorying, I&R, materials booking, ILL, and imaging are available. GUI is available for staff modules; both GUI and Web-based user interfaces are available for the patron access catalog. An OCLC interface is offered. Z39.50 client/server linkages are supported. EDIFACT online orderings and claiming are not available. All customers are licensed to use all modules.
The firm realized a profit on sales of approximately $1 million in 1998. It had two staff committed to software development, none to marketing and sales, and two to customer support.
The major software enhancement in 1998 was the provision of direct access to Web-based electronic journals through the system.
[Advanced Computer Concepts, Inc., 46 Hillvale, St. Louis, MO 63105; (314) 862-1898; fax (314) 721-1898; www.hillvale.com]
AMERITECH LIBRARY SERVICES offers two products, Dynix and Horizon. The company has discontinued sales of NOTIS, a mainframe-based system still installed at 108 sites, but it is still actively supporting it, including a software release in 1998.
Dynix is a hierarchical system which is evolving toward client/server. It is sold both as a turnkey system and as software-only, but the vast majority of customers in 1998 opted for the turnkey system. The operating systems available for the host are UNIX and NT; for the desktops they are Windows 95, NT, and text-based terminals. The programming languages are C++, PIC, Basic, Java, Visual Basic and Perl; and the DBMS is Universe. Available hardware platforms are HP, IBM, Sun, Compaq, and Dell.
The company targets all types of libraries. It made 55 new name Dynix sales in 1998 (down from 90 in 1997 and 117 in 1996), bringing its total installed base to 2,933 worldwide, including 2,302 in North America, 503 in Asia/ Oceania, 126 in Europe, and two in Africa/Middle East. Fifty-one libraries discontinued using Dynix in 1998. The customer base included 31% public, 10% academic, 3% special, and 56% school libraries at the end of 1998. Recent sales to school libraries have been at the district level, rather than at the individual school level, therefore, the reported percentage of sites which are school libraries is dropping, and will continue to drop.
All of the core modules are in general release. In addition, the company offers inventorying, ILL, materials booking, journal citation files, information & referral, and imaging. GUI is available for staff modules; both GUI and Web-based user interfaces are available for the patron access catalog. There are OCLC, RLIN, and WLN interfaces available. EDIFACT online ordering and claiming are not available, although they are in development. While almost all sites were using cataloging, circulation, and patron access catalog at the end of 1998; only 60% were using acquisitions, 55% were using inventorying, 35% were using serials control, and 20% were using information & referral. Interlibrary loan and imaging were in use by only 1% each. Some 40% had a Z39.50 server. Many of the libraries were still using character-based interface for the patron access catalog, but 30% were using the GUI and 30% the Web-based user interface at the end of the year-the latter triple the percentage of a year earlier.
At the end of 1998 there were 31 sites with systems supporting over 400 users and another 59 supporting 200-399 users. At the other extreme, there were 1,290 sites which had systems supporting 1-5 users-mostly school libraries.
There were two software releases during the year. Serials binding, EDIFACT online ordering, cataloging for Windows, and a new patron notification system were among the major new features.
The company did not provide financial information or break down staffing levels by product. Therefore, the information is given at the end of the company description.
Horizon is offered as a turnkey or software only product on Hewlett-Packard, IBM RS/6000, Sun, or Compaq platforms. It is available both as a UNIX or NT product. It is a true client/server product, therefore, the clients must use Windows 95 or NT-there is no character-based user interface. The DBMS is Sybase, SQL Server, or Microsoft SQL Server. The programming languages are Modula and C++.
Until recently, the product was targeted at academic and special libraries, but in 1998 over 1/4 of new name customers were public libraries. There were 72 new name sales in 1998 (down from 76 in 1997 and 126 in 1996), and two sites discontinued use of the product. The total installed base was 481 at the end of the year, including 39% in academic libraries, 46% in special libraries, 13% in public libraries, and 2% in school libraries. The size of sites is not known as the licensing is not based on the number of user licenses, but on the database size. There may be as many as 100 sites supporting over 200 concurrent users.
The core modules are all in general release. Journal citation files, materials booking, ILL, and imaging are also available, but not I&R. GUI is available for all modules, and there is a Web-based user interface available for the patron access catalog. There are OCLC, RLIN, and WLN interfaces. Z39.50 is supported, as is EDIFACT online ordering and claiming. Almost all sites were using cataloging, circulation, and patron access catalog at the end of 1998, but only half were using acquisitions and only 75% were using serials control. Journal citation files were in use at 75% of the sites, and imaging by 25%. Some 38% of the sites were using the Web-based patron access catalog.
There were two major Horizon software releases in 1998. Among the new features were Unicode support, materials booking, remote patron authentication, bookmobile support, homebound, debt collect, binding, and an improved patron notification system. During the year, the company began working on broadening the functionality of Horizon to include all of the Dynix features which have made that product popular with public libraries. When completed in late 1999 or early 2000, the product may be renamed "Horizon with Sunrise."
Although it declined to provide financial data, based on the size of the customer base, number of sales, and number of staff, the revenues are estimated at $75 million. The total number of staff in software development and maintenance for all products was 125 at the end of 1998. There also were 87 in marketing and sales and 359 in customer support.
The company maintains offices in Provo, and Evanston, IL in the U.S., Waterloo in Canada, and in France, Ireland, The Netherlands, England, Germany, Australia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia.
[Ameritech Library Services, 400 Dynix Drive, Provo, UT 84604-5650; (801) 223- 5200 or (800) 223-5413; fax (801) 223- 5202; www.amlibs.com.]
BLCMP see TALIS.
CAIRS LTD. offers its Total Library as both turnkey and software-only. The hardware is any Intel-based product. Both UNIX and Windows NT are offered as the operating system, but 85% of recent sales have been NT. The DBMS is proprietary and the programming languages are C++ and Assembler.
CAIRS reported 47 sales in 1998, including 38 new name sales, 60% of which were special libraries, 30% academic, and the rest evenly divided between school and public libraries. No geographic breakdown was provided, but the vast majority of the 540 sites are in the U.K.
All of the core modules are available, as are inventorying, journal citation files, information & referral, and imaging, but not materials booking. All sites use cataloging, but only 80% use circulation, 60% acquisitions, 40% the patron access catalog. Other modules are used by fewer than one-third of customers. There are GUI and Web-based patron access catalog options, but no GUI-based products for other modules. Z39.50 and EDIFACT are not supported.
The systems tend to be small, with over 500 systems supporting 15 or fewer users, and only five supporting more than 100.
CAIRS' revenues were $2.5-$5 million in 1998, with an after-tax profit. There were 20 staff committed to software maintenance and development at the end of 1998, three to sales, and five to customer support.
[CAIRS Ltd., 18-19 Oaklands Park, Wokingham, RG41-2FD, U.K.; (44) 118-978-6880; fax (44) 118-978-6664; www.cairs.co.uk].
CARL CORPORATION offers The CARL System as both turnkey and software-only. The hardware is Tandem; the operating system is Tandem's Non-Stop Kernel; and the DBMS is Tandem's Enscribe. Applications are written in C, C++, and Pascal for GUI products and TAL (Tandem Application Language) for character-based applications. An associated gateway server uses the Sun Solaris operating system and runs on Sun computers.
CARL reported 12 sales in 1998, including three new name sales-up from one in 1997. The company's total installed base at the end of 1998 was 36-all in North America. Consortia are the company's specialty as 44% of the installations are consortia. Public libraries are more common (36%) than academic (13%). School libraries make up the remaining 8%.
All of the core modules are available, as is ILL, inventorying, materials booking (in testing), I&R, imaging, and journal citation files. Z39.50 client/ server is also available. GUI technical services and patron access catalog, and Web-based patron access catalog options are also available; as are QCLC and BiblioFile interfaces. EDIFACT will be supported when a customer requests a migration from EDI x.12. All of the sites were using local cataloging, circulation, patron access catalog, and journal citation files at the end of 1998. Some 80% each were using acquisitions and serials control. I&R was in use by 41% of sites, and Z39.50 by 48%. While 80% were using the GUI patron access catalog, only 33% were using GUI technical services. Over 83% were using the Web-based patron access catalog interface, up from 50% the year before.
CARL systems tend to be large, with 15 supporting over 400 users, 12 from 200-399, and six from 100-199 at the end of 1998. There were only three systems supporting 30-59 users, and none smaller.
CARL's revenues were between $10 and $15 million, exclusive of the income from Uncover, a sister company, and there was no after-tax profit. The company had 53 staff devoted to software maintenance and development at the end of 1998, 10 to sales and marketing, and 36 to customer support.
The major software developments in 1998 were the initial implementation of Unicode support, photo imaging, and the beginning of a Web-based version of Kid's catalog.
The company has established an office in Singapore, its second.
[CARL Corporation, 3801 E. Florida Ave., Suite 300, Denver, CO 80210; (303) 758-3030; fax (303) 758-0606; www.carl.org].
CONTEC GROUP INTERNATIONAL offers its C2 product as software only for Digital Alpha and PC-compatible hardware platforms. The architecture is client/ server, the operating systems are NT and Windows 95, the DBMS is Faircom, and the programming language is C++.
The company targets special libraries. It made 15 sales in 1998, including 10 new name sales. All 10 used the NT operating system. The total number of sites at the end of 1998 was 68, including 6 in North America, 45 in Asia/Oceania, and 17 in Europe. Over 90% were in special libraries.
All of the core modules are available, but not inventorying, journal citation files, information & referral, ILL, and media booking. Imaging is available. There are GUI and Web-based patron access catalog options, but no technical services GUI5. There are QCLC and WLN interfaces. Z39.50 is supported, as is EDIFACT online ordering. All of the customers were using cataloging, circulation, patron access catalog, and report generator modules at the end of 1998, and 90% were using acquisitions and serials control. Only 10% each were using the imaging module, Z39.50, and the Web-based patron access catalog.
The systems tend to be small, with 90 installation supporting 16-29 users, and the rest fewer than nine users.
The company reported sales of $2.5 to $5 million in 1998, and realized an after-tax profit. There were 17 staff devoted to software maintenance and development, 10 to marketing and sales, and five to customer support.
The company has several offices in New Zealand and Australia, and also in Washington, D.C., Singapore, and Nottingham, England.
[Contec, 25 Sir William Pickering Drive, Technology Park, Christchurch, New Zealand; (64) 3-3580060; fax (64) 3-3588045; www.contecds.com].
COBIT (Council for Bibliographic and Information Technologies) offers its TLM product both as a turnkey system and software only for Data General and HP hardware products. Both hierarchical and client/server architectures are offered. The operating systems are AOS/VSII and HP/UX, the DBMS are INFQSII on DG and TBAM on HP. The programming language for the DG platform is PL/1 and C for HP.
The company made one sale in 1998 to two customers which combined their system. There were no new name sales. All of the 7 sites are in North American public libraries.
Not all of the core modules are available. Information & referral and materials booking are available, as are GUI and Web-based patron access catalogs. Lacking are acquisitions and serials control. Z39.50 and EDIFACT are not supported. All of the sites were using cataloging, circulation, inventorying, patron access catalog, and materials booking. Half were using information & referral. All were using GUI-PAC, and 85% were using Web-PAC.
The systems tend to be mid-sized, with all supporting from 60-199 concurrent users.
The company had revenues of under $1 million. Although it is not-for-profit, it did finish in the black. There were two staff committed to software development and maintenance, one to marketing, and two to customer support at the end of 1998. The major software development in 1998 was the introduction of a UNIX option on Hewlett-Packard platforms.
[COBIT, 3380 Tremont Road, Columbus, OH 43221; (614) 538-1222; fax (614) 538-0630; www.cobit.org].
DRA (Data Research Associates) offers both turnkey system and software-only options. The company has four products: DRA Classic, MultiLIS, Inlex, and Taos. Inlex, which uses HP MPE, is no longer being sold, but is supported. The company did not provide separate reports for the products.
DRA Classic and MultiLIS utilize the OpenVMS and UNIX operating systems and Taos-a new client/server product-uses Windows NT and Unix. There also is a UNIX version of MultiLIS All of the products use C, C++ or Visual C++ as the programming language. DRA Classic uses a proprietary database manager, but Taos uses Object Store. The Taos clients are NT-based, except any CGI-compliant Web browser can be used with the patron access catalog.
Taos sales began in the latter part of the year. There were 150 sales of all products in 1998 (down from 187 in 1997), including 141 new name sales (down from 155 in 1997), nearly 100 of them MultiLIS systems for school libraries participating in the InfOhio Project. The number of new name Taos sales appears to be seven. The sales brought the total installed customer base to 1,265 at the end of 1998, including 1,170 in North America, 59 in Asia/Oceania, 35 in Europe, and 1 in South America. Thirteen sites were discontinued in 1998. The installed base at the year-end comprised 45% academic, 35% public, 11% school, and 4% special libraries.
All of the core modules are available in all products except Taos, which includes only cataloging, circulation, and patron access catalog in general release, with the rest scheduled for 1999. Other available modules are inventorying, ILL, materials booking, journal citation files, and information & referral. GUI is available for all modules, and there is a Web-based patron access catalog interface. OCLC, RLIN, and BiblioFile interfaces are available. Z39.50 client/server and EDIFACT online ordering and claiming are available. Almost all DRA Classic and MultiLIS sites were using the core modules at the end of 1998. Almost all were using inventorying and ILL; but acquisitions was in use by only 80% and serials control by 70%. Information & referral was being used by 25%, journal citation files by 20%, and materials booking by 13%. GUI for staff and patrons was in use by approximately 17%, and the Web-based patron access catalog interface by 85%. Over 40% were using Z39.50 linkages and 17% were using EDIFACT online ordering and claiming.
The company did not name individual products in its statistics about system size, but there were 20 systems supporting over 400 users and 360 supporting 200-399 users, making DRA the undisputed leader in large systems. There also were nearly 250 systems supporting fewer than nine users each-most of them MultiLIS.
The vendor had revenue of just under $35 million in 1997, down slightly from the previous year; but its profits were $3.7 million. There were 103 staff committed to software maintenance and development at the end of 1998, 39 to sales and marketing, and 78 to customer support.
There were software releases for DRA Classic and MultiLIS in 1998, but the major development effort was on Taos. The first installation was made during the year. The major new functionality- which is usable with each of the systems- was Web2, a Web-based PAC client capable of searching multiple databases concurrently and merging and deduping the results.
DRA maintains offices in St. Louis, Monterey, CA, Montreal, Melbourne, Paris, and Singapore.
[Data Research Associates, Inc., 1276 N. Warson Road, St. Louis, MO 63132-1806; (800) 325-0888 or (314) 432-1100; fax (314) 993-8927; www.dra.com].
ELiAS, N.V. offers its product, AMICUS, as a software-only product for IBM RS/6000 and other UNIX-based IBM hardware. Distributors offer the system as a turnkey product. The operating system is AIX and the DBMS is Oracle. Most of the code is written in C, C++, and CA OpenRoad.
The company sold three systems in 1998, all new name-two to special and one to an academic library. It is not clear how many installed and accepted systems there are, but it is at least eight. The company also continues to support 49 DQBIS/LIBIS sites, a mainframe-based product which serves primarily large academic and special libraries.
The core modules are all available. Also available are inventorying and materials booking. GUI is available for all modules, and there is a Web-based interface for the patron access catalog. Z39.50 is supported. Patron access catalog and materials booking were being used by most of the sites at the end of 1998 but only 60% were using acquisitions, circulation, and inventorying. All were using Z39.50.
The systems tend to be large, with three supporting over 400 users and three supporting 100-199.
The company had sales of $2.5 to $5 million in 1998, and realized an after-tax profit. There were 13 staff committed to software maintenance and enhancement at the end of 1988, five to sales and marketing, and four to customer support.
The major software development in 1998 were the completion of the serials control module and the incorporation of Z39.50 into the patron access catalog.
The company, which is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, also has an office in Dublin, Ireland.
[ELiAS N.V., 60 Kapeldreef, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium; (32) 16 298-390; fax (32) 16 298-0319; www.elias.be].
ENDEAVOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS offers the Voyager Library Series product both as a turnkey system and as a software-only package. It makes a substantial number of software-only sales. The major hardware platforms are Sun and IBM RS/6000. The operating systems are Sun Solaris and AIX (IBM's UNIX) for the server and Windows 3.1, Windows95, Windows NT, and Windows for Workgroups for the clients. NT has recently been introduced as an optional server operating system. The DBMS is Oracle. The programming languages for the server are C and C++. The client presentation and application code are Microsoft Visual BASIC and C++.
The company reported 98 new name sales in 1998, up from 66 in the previous year. Over 88% were to academic libraries, with the remainder to special libraries. The total installed base at the end of 1998 was 106 systems, 104 in North American and two in Europe.
All of the core modules are available. Journal citation files support, I&R, materials booking, and imaging are also available. Inventorying and ILL are not available. GUI is available for all modules, and a Web-based patron access catalog is also available. OCLC and RLIN interfaces are available, and Z39.50 client/server is supported. All sites were using all core modules at the end of 1998, but only 25% were using journal citation files, 17% were using materials booking, 10% I&R, and 5% imaging. All were using Z39.50. EDIFACT online ordering and claiming were in Beta testing.
The sizes of installed systems ranged from 19 supporting fewer than 15 concurrent users to 18 supporting over 200. With 52 sites, the mode was 16-59 users.
The company had revenues of $15-$20 million with an after-tax profit. There were 37 staff committed to software maintenance and development, 21 to sales and marketing, and 33 to customer support.
There were two software releases in 1998. Major enhancements included release of an NT version, EDIFACT completion, and patron initiated renewals.
[Endeavor Information Systems, Inc., 2200 East Devon Ave., Suite 382, Des Plaines, IL 60018; (800) 762-6300; fax (847) 296-5636; www.endinfosys.com.
EOS INTERNATIONAL which was created by the merger of Data Trek and IME-offers several product lines, most of them for use on PCs. This report is limited to the company's T Series and Q Series-the former a hierarchical system which is evolving toward client/server and the latter a new client/server product. Each is available as a turnkey system or as software-only.
The T Series is available for Sun, Digital Alpha, IBM RS/6000 and other UNIX platforms. E-R Database is used as the database management system. The primary programming languages are C+ and C++.
There were 120 sales of the T Series in 1998, including 25 new name sales. Over 32% of the sales were to academic libraries, 40% to special libraries, and 28% to public libraries. The total customer base at the end of 1998 was 531: 377 in Europe, 102 in North America, 12 in Africa/Middle East, 10 in South America, and 30 in Asia/Oceania.
All of the core modules are available. There are OCLC, RLIN, WLN, and BiblioFile interfaces. There is a GUI-based patron access catalog. Z39.50 is available. The most widely implemented modules were cataloging, circulation, and the patron access catalog, but none by more than 95% of the sites. Acquisitions was implemented by 36% and serials control by 42% of the sites. Fewer than 1% used Z39.50.
The system tends to be configured for small libraries; all but one of the sites supports fewer than 29 concurrent users, and one supports 60-99 concurrent users.
There were six staff committed to "T" series product development at the end of 1998, four to sales, and five to customer support.
The Q Series was introduced in 1997. It is available as a turnkey system or software only for Sun and NT hardware platforms. The operating systems are Sun UNIX and NT. Client applications are available for Windows95 and NT. The DBMS is Oracle and the programming language is Power Builder.
The company sold 75 of the Q Series in 1998 (up from 18 in 1997), including 20 new name accounts (up from five in 1997). Eighty-five percent of the new name sales were to special libraries, and 15% were to academic libraries. Of the 63 installed systems at the end of 1998, 55 were in North America, five in Europe, two in Asia/Oceania, and one in South America.
All of the core modules are available plus inventorying, journal citation files, information & referral, imaging, and materials booking. GUI is available for all modules, and a Web- based patron access catalog is available. Z39.50 is supported. All of the sites were using local cataloging, circulation, and the patron access catalog and 80% were using serials control. None was using acquisitions. All were using the GUI patron access catalog, and 80% were using the Web-based patron access catalog interface.
The installed systems tend to be small, with only two supporting 30 or more users at the end of 1998.
The company declined to release financial information. It probably had revenues of approximately $15 million. It had 9 staff committed to software maintenance and development for the "Q" series, 24 to marketing and sales, and 18 to customer support at the end of 1998.
The company's headquarters is in Carlsbad with offices in London, Paris, and Singapore. It also has distributors.
[EOS International, 5838 Edison Place, Carlsbad, CA 92008, (800) 876-5484; fax (760) 431-8448; www.eosintl.com].
EX LIBRIS offers its multi-user ALEPH product as both turnkey and software-only for the major hardware platforms of Compaq Digital, IBM, HP, and Sun; however, the majority of sales are software only. The operating system is UNIX and the DBMS is Oracle, but an NT version is in testing. The programming languages are C, C++, and Microfocus COBOL.
While the company continues to enhance its Aleph 300 product, the focus of new sales is on the Aleph 500 product. The company made 100 sales in 1997, including 95 new name sales (up from 54 in 1997). Some 82% of the sales were to academic libraries, 15% to special and 3% to public libraries. The total number of sites at the end of 1997 was 397-292 in Europe, 61 in Africa/Middle East, six in North America, and 37 in South America.
All of the core modules are available. Also available are inventorying, ILL, materials booking (completing development), information & referral, and imaging. GUI is available for all modules, and a Web-based patron access catalog is available. There are QCLC and RLIN interfaces, and interfaces to various other bibliographic utilities. Z39.50 client/server is supported, and EDIFACT online ordering and claiming are in development. All libraries were using cataloging, circulation and patron access catalog at the end of 1998. Acquisitions and serials control were in use by 70%. ILL was in use at 20% of sites, inventorying at 15%, and information & referral and imaging at 10% each. GUI technical services were in use at 15% of sites, and the GUI and Web-based patron access catalog at all sites. Fewer than 25% had implemented Z39.50 client/server.
There were four sites with 400+ users in 1998, 8 with 200-399, and 21 with 100-199. Some 71 sites supported fewer than 9 users. The rest were in the middle.
Revenues in 1998 were between $10 and $15 million, with an after-tax profit. Distributors retained approximately $3 million from their sales. There were 26 staff committed to software maintenance and development, 15 to sales and marketing, and 62 to customer support (up from 33 in 1997).
The major software developments in 1998 were undertaken to meet the needs of consortiä sharing a system.
In addition to its headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, the company maintains sales offices in the U.S. (Chicago, Boston, and Salt Lake City), Austria, Brazil, Argentina, Luxembourg, and Germany. There are distributors in several other countries.
[Ex Libris (USA) Inc., 1653 N. Wells Street, Chicago, IL 60614; (312) 397- 1590; fax (312) 397-0837; www.exlibris-usa.com].
GATEWAY SOFTWARE CORPORATION offers both turnkey systems and software-only for the IBM AS/400 series of minicomputers. The operating system is OS/400, the DBMS is DB2/400, and the programming language is RPG/400.
In 1998, the company sold a total of 35 systems, including 13 new name systems. Some 86% of the sales were to school libraries, and 14% were to special libraries. The total number of installations at the end of 1998 was 137-all in North America.
The product does not have a serials control module, but it does have acquisitions, local cataloging, circulation, and patron access catalog. Inventorying, ILL, and materials booking also are available. There is a GUI for each module, and a Web-based user interface is available for the patron access catalog. There is a BiblioFile interface. Cataloging, circulation, inventorying, and patron access catalog were in use at all sites, but acquisitions was used by only 1%, ILL by 60%, and materials booking by just 15%. Only 35% were using GUI PAC, and only 15% were using the Web-based patron access catalog interface. While there were 10 sites with fewer than five users and 10 with more than 200 users at the end of 1998, the vast majority of the systems supported 16-199 users.
The company had sales of $1 to $2.5 million in 1998, with an after-tax profit. There were three staff committed to software maintenance and development at the end of 1998, three to sales and marketing, and five to customer support.
Major software developments were a rewrite of acquisitions and release of the Web-based patron access catalog.
The company is headquartered in Montana and has several distributors in North America.
[Gateway Software Corporation, 10 South Montana Avenue, Fromberg, MT 59029; (406) 668-7661; fax (406) 668-7665; www.gscweb.com].
GAYLORD INFORMATION SYSTEMS offers two products: GALAXY and POLARIS, as turnkey systems and software-only.
GALAXY is offered on Compaq Digital VAX and Alpha and uses the Open VMS operating system. The DBMS is proprietary and the programming language is C++. The system is hierarchical, but is evolving toward client/server.
There were 19 sales in 1998 (down from 28 1997 and 74 in 1996), including seven new name sales. All of the new name sales were to public libraries. Thirteen sites were discontinued. The total number of Galaxy installations was 308-all in North America, including 75% public, 15% academic, 4% special and 6% school libraries.
All core modules are available. Other available modules are inventorying, interlibrary loan, journal citation files, and information & referral. GUI is available for all modules, and a Web- based user interface for the patron access catalog. OCLC, RLIN, and WLN interfaces are supported, as is an interface to SuperCAT, Gaylord's own CD-ROM-based cataloging support system. Z39.50 client/server is supported. While nearly all sites were using local cataloging, circulation, and the patron access catalog at the end of 1998, only 10% used acquisitions and 12% used serials control. The level of use for all other modules was about 10% each. The vast majority of installed systems supported 15-99 users at the end of 1998. There were over 100 sites supporting fewer than 15 users however, and one supporting over 200.
The company issued one Galaxy maintenance release in 1998.
The company did not break down financial and staffing information between its two products.
POLARIS, a client/server-based product, was introduced in 1997. It runs under the Windows NT operating system on Digital Alpha and Intel platforms. The DBMS is Microsoft SQL. The programming languages are C++ and Visual C++.
There were 12 new name sales in 1998 (up from three in 1997). Two-thirds of the sales were to public libraries; the rest were divided between academic and special libraries. A total of eight sites were installed by the end of 1998.
All of the core modules are available and were in use at all sites at the end of 1998. Also available and in-use were inventorying and GUI for all modules. A Web-based user interface to the patron access catalog is available and in use at all sites. Interfaces were available to OCLC, RLIN, BiblioFile, and SuperCat. Z39.50 client/server was installed on all systems.
Two of the systems support 200-300 users; six support 100-199 users; and the rest support as few as 30 users.
There were two product releases during the year, with a number of features added to all modules, including the ability to place holds on on-order items, automatic prediction of expected issues, and invoice payments.
The company reported sales of $10-$15 million and an after-tax profit. There were 27 staff committed to software maintenance and development for both products, 38 to sales and marketing, and 44 to customer support.
In addition to its headquarters offices in Syracuse, Gaylord maintains offices in Salt Lake City, Williamsport (PA), Highland Heights (OH), Brandon (FL), Houston, and Beaconsfield, QC.
[Gaylord Information Systems, P.O. Box 4901, Syracuse, NY 13221-4901; (315) 457-5070 or (800) 272-3414; fax (315) 457-5883; www.gaylord.com.]
GEAC COMPUTERS INC. offers both turnkey and software-only systems for two products worldwide: ADVANCE Integrated Library Systems (which replaced the GLIS System) and PLUS Integrated Library System (formerly CLSI LIBS 100Plus). It also offers its European customers the VUBIS Integrated Library System. All three products are available as turnkey systems and as software only. Geac continues to maintain and support (but not actively sell or develop) the GLIS and LIBS100 systems. Geac purchased Stowe Computing of Australia in late 1998. Its figures are included herein.
ADVANCE, a client/server product, uses UNIX and is capable of running on a variety of hardware platforms, Sun, Motorola Power PC, and IBM. The DBMS is UniVerse. BASIC, SQL, C and C++ are the programming languages.
The company reported 33 ADVANCE system sales in 1998, 10 of which were new name sales (down from 16 in 1997 and 34 in 1996). Forty percent of the new name sales were to public libraries, and 30% each to academic and special libraries. The total installed base at the end of 1998 was 227. No geographic breakdown was given. The distribution by type of library of the entire customer base is significantly different from recent sales, with 41% in academic libraries, 26% in public, 30% in special, and 3% in school libraries.
All of the core modules are available, plus materials booking, journal citation files, information & referral, imaging, and ILL. GUI is available for all modules, and a Web-based user interface is available for the patron access catalog. OCLC, RLIN, and BiblioFile interfaces are also available. Z39.50 client/server and EDIFACT online ordering and claiming are supported. All customers were using local cataloging, circulation, and the patron access catalog at the end of 1998, and 80% were using acquisitions and serials control. Sixty percent were using inventorying, 30% had interlibrary loan, 25% had journal citation files, 10% had I&R, and 5% had materials booking. Thirty percent each had GUI for technical services and the patron access catalog. Another 40% had the Web-based patron access catalog. Sixty percent had EDIFACT, and 80% were using Z39.50.
Most of the systems were supporting 10-99 users at the end of 1998, but there was one system with over 400 users, six with 200-399, and 15 with 100-199 users.
Major software enhancements for 1998 included support for MARC holdings and MARC community information, multiple subject thesauri in cataloging, improved sorting of such results, multilingual support, and ability to print using the standard Windows dialog box.
Financial and staffing information was not broken out among the products.
PLUS, which is a hierarchical product evolving toward client/server, is offered on Sun, IBM, and Motorola PowerPC hardware platforms using the UNIX operating system, the Informix DBMS, and it is written in ANSI-standard C and SQL.
There were 28 system sales in 1998, including seven new name sales (down from 14 in 1997). The total installed base was 111 worldwide as eight sites discontinued use of the system. No geographical breakdown was reported. The breakdown by type of library for the new name sales was 86% public and 14% school; but the total customer base was 65% public, 20% academic, 5% special, and 10% school at the end of 1998.
The core modules are all available. Also available are interlibrary loan, journal citation files, and information & referral. Inventorying, imaging, and materials booking are not available. GUI is available for all modules, and a Web-based user interface is available for the patron access catalog. There are interfaces for OCLC and BiblioFile. Z39.50 client/server is supported, as is EDIFACT online ordering. While all sites were using cataloging, circulation, and patron access catalog at the end of 1998, only 45% were using acquisitions and only 10% were using serials control. ILL was being used by 30%, I&R by 20%, and journal citation files by 10%. Twenty-five percent were using the GUI patron access catalog and 40% were using the Web-based patron access catalog. Twenty-five percent were using the technical services GUIs. Z39.50 client/server was implemented on 80% of systems, but EDIFACT online ordering on only 10%.
The vast majority of installations supported 30-199 users at the end of 1997. Only four supported 29 or fewer, and 27 supported more than 200 users- including 10 sites supporting 400+ users.
Major software developments were the same as those for the ADVANCE product, plus enhancements to the self-charging interface, block rotation of materials, and support for item pseudo-barcodes.
BOOKPlus, formerly a product of Stowe Computing, is available for IBM AS/400 hardware platforms as a turnkey system or as software only. Its operating system is OX/400, the DBMS is DB2/400, and the programming languages are RPG/400 and Uniface. An NT version, designated Strategy, is in development.
There were four sales in 1998, none of them new name sales. The total installed base was 100 systems, including 88% in public libraries, and 6% each in academic and special libraries.
All of the core modules were available, as were inventorying, I&R, and journal citation files. Imaging, GUI and Web-based user interfaces, and materials booking were not available. Z39.50 was Supported, but not EDIFACT. All of the sites were using cataloging, circulation, inventorying, and patron access catalog at the end of 1998. Approximately half each were using acquisitions, serials control, and journal citation files.
Only one system supported more than 200 users at the end of 1998. The vast majority supported 16-99 users.
VUBIS is available only in Europe. The hardware platforms are Sun, IBM, Compaq Digital Alpha, and System V. The operating systems include UNIX, NT, and VMS. The DBMS and programming language are both Cache'.
There were 43 sales in 1998, including 24 new name sales (down from 29 in 1997 and 39 in 1996), 63% of them to public libraries, 13% to academic, 16% to special, and 8% to school libraries. The total installed base was 405 systems at the end of the year-all in Europe. The total customer base included only 7% academic libraries.
All of the core modules are available. Also available are inventorying information & referral, interlibrary loan, and materials booking. Journal citation files and imaging are not available. Both GUI and Web-based patron access catalog are available, as are GUI interfaces for staff modules. The major bibliographic support interface is PICA-a European bibliographic utility. Z39.50 client/server is supported, but not EDIFACT. All of the sites were using cataloging, circulation, materials booking, and the patron access catalog, but only 50% were using acquisitions and 30% were using serials control. Approximately 30% were using the GUI-based modules, and 40% were using the Web-based patron access catalog; a comparable percentage were using Z39.50.
VUBIS systems tend to be small, with 340 of the sites supporting 29 or fewer users at the end of 1998. Only five sites had over 400 users, six from 200-399, and eight from 100-199. The rest were in the mid-range from 29-99 users.
The major software enhancement was the completion of GUI for all patron and staff modules, a product designated VUBIS 4 Windows.
The parent company does not disclose revenue figures for its divisions, but based on the percentage of the total company which the library division is said to be, revenues were in excess of $30 million in 1998. The library division did realize an after-tax profit. There were 70 persons committed to the maintenance and development of all of the software products at the end of 1998. There also were 50 staff committed to sales and marketing and 130 to customer support (down from 180 at the end of 1997).
In addition to its world headquarters in Markham, Ontario, Geac has offices in Westborough (MA), and in Australia, France, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
[Geac Computers Inc., P.O. Box 5150, 9 Technology Drive, Westborough, MA 01581-5150; 800-825-2574 or 508871-6800; fax: 508-871-6850 or 800-759-0126; www.geac.com; or Geac Computers Ltd., Suite 300, 11 Allstate Parkway, Markham, ON, L3R 1B3 Canada; (416) 475-0525; fax (416) 475- 3847.]
Information Dimensions see OpenText.
INNOVATIVE INTERFACES, INC. offers both turnkey systems and software-only packages. The product, known as Innopac, is evolving into Innopac Millennium, a product which uses Java to support "thin clients" or diskless PCs. The hardware is Compaq Digital, IBM, HP, or Sun; the operating system is UNIX, and the programming language is C. The DBMS has been proprietary, but is changing to full SQL-access in 1999.
The company made 83 new name sales in 1998 (down from 87 in 1997), however 76% of the sales were to consortia, another 15% to academic, 8% to public, and 1% to special libraries. The total number of installed systems at the end of the year was 707, including 600 in North America, 26 in Europe, 68 in Asia/ Oceania, and 13 in Africa/Middle East. The installed base does not include a number of SLS sites in Europe, which purchased III in 1996.
All of the core modules are available, as are inventorying, ILL, materials booking, journal citation files, information & referral, and imaging. GUI is available for all modules, as is a Web- based patron access catalog. Interfaces to OCLC, RLIN, WLN, and BiblioFile are offered. Z39.50 client/server is supported. EDIFACT online ordering and claiming are not available, but BISAC online ordering and EDI x.12 online claiming are. Almost all sites were using the core modules at the end of 1998, including acquisitions and serials control-modules which are used by a minority of most libraries using other systems. Over 15% were using GUI for staff modules, and 50% each were using GUI patron access catalog and Web-based patron access catalog. Thirty percent had implemented Z39.50 client/server. Over 15% each had implemented ILL and materials booking; and 5% each imaging and information & referral.
The majority of the systems are mid-size. There were 448 sites which had from 15 to 99 users at the end of 1998. There were 11 sites which supported over 400 users, 53 with 200 to 399 users, and 102 with 100 to 199 users.
The company had revenues of $60-$70 million in 1998, with an after-tax profit. There were 58 staff committed to software maintenance and development at the end of 1998, 34 to sales and marketing, and 113 to customer support.
The major software development in 1998 was the continued evolution of the product to client/server architecture using Java, with the emphasis on the acquisitions module.
The company maintains offices in Brisbane, Australia; Bristol, England; Taipei; Stockholm, Madrid, Lisbon, and Bangkok in addition to its California office in Emeryville.
[Innovative Interfaces, Inc., 5850 Shellmound Street, Emeryville, CA 94608; (800) 444-2344 or (510) 655-6200; fax (510) 450-6350; www.iii.com].
INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEMS, CORP. (ILS) offers its product known as SydneyPlus Library Management System as software-only for both PC-based and multi-user systems. The hardware platforms for which the product has most often been sold are IBM PCs and compatibles, Compaq DEC Alpha, Sun, and Hewlett-Packard. The operating systems are NT, Novell, MAC/OS, and several versions of UNIX. The DBMS options are Faircom, C-tree, and Oracle. Programs are written in C and C++.
The company reported 164 sales in 1998, 161 of which were new name sales- all to special libraries. The total number of installed systems at the end of 1997 was 662, including 512 in North America, 147 in Europe, and three in the rest of the world. Five sites were discontinued in 1998.
All core modules are available, plus ILL, materials booking, and imaging. GUI and Web-based patron access catalog are offered, but no GUI for staff modules. OCLC, RLIN, and Marcive interfaces are available. Z39.50 client/ server is not supported, nor is EDIFACT online ordering and claiming. Almost all site were using cataloging, circulation, and patron access catalog at the end of 1998. Some 60% were using acquisitions and 70% were using serials control. Imaging was used by 60%, interlibrary loan by 30%, and materials booking by 50%. Eighty percent were using the GUI patron access catalog, and 60% had Web-based patron access catalog interfaces.
The company did not provide data about the number of users its systems supported as the licenses are all unlimited. (At the end of 1996, the vast majority of sites were reportedly sup porting 6-99 users.)
Revenues were in the $5-$10 million range in 1998, and the company realized an after-tax profit. Twenty staff were committed to software maintenance and development, 16 to sales and marketing, and 15 to customer support.
The major software development in 1998 was the redesign of the Web-based patron access catalog.
The company maintains its headquarters offices in Richmond, BC, with sales offices in Los Angeles and the United Kingdom.
[International Library Systems, Corp., Suite 1135 - 13560 Maycrest Way, Richmond, B.C., Canada V6V 2J7; (604) 278-6717 fax (604) 278-9161; www.ils.ca]
KEYSTONE SYSTEMS, INC. offers KLAS as both a turnkey system and software-only. The primary hardware platforms are Sun, IBM and Compaq DEC Alpha using the UNIX, AIX, Solaris, and Windows NT operating systems. The DBMS and programming language are Progress, a fourth generation relational database manager.
The company sold six systems in 1998-all of them new name sales-five to special libraries and one to a public library. Total installations numbered 20, all in North America and 75% in special libraries.
All core modules are available, plus inventorying and materials booking. GUI is available for all modules, and a Web-based patron access catalog is also available. OCLC, RLIN, WLN, and BiblioFile interfaces are offered. Z39.50 client/server is not supported, nor is EDIFACT online ordering and claiming. Over two-thirds of the sites were using the cataloging, circulation, and patron access catalog modules at the end of 1998, but only 5% were using acquisitions. Serials control was in use by 65% of the sites, inventorying at all, and materials booking at 5%. Only 5% of the sites were using the GUI interfaces, but 30% were using the Web-based patron access catalog interface.
The company reported revenues under $1 million, with an after-tax profit. A staff of five was committed to software maintenance and development at the end of 1998; two to marketing and sales, and three to customer support.
The major software development in 1998 was the introduction of GUI for the serials control module, the Web-based patron access catalog, and implementation of the MARC holdings format.
[Keystone Systems, Inc., 4513 Creedmoor Road, Suite 301, Raleigh, NC 27612; (919) 782-1143 or (800) 222-9711; fax 919782-6835; www.klas.com].
OPEN TEXT, formerly Information Dimensions, offers a software-only product, known as BASIS TECHLIB, almost exclusively to special libraries. The product runs on IBM, HP, Sun, and NT hardware platforms. The operating systems are UNIX, NT, and OpenVMS. BASISplus is the database management software, and the applications are written in C, C++, Active-X, Visual BASIC, and Javascript.
The company sold 36 systems in 1998-including 15 new name sales, all to special libraries. During the year, nine sites discontinued use of the system. The total number of installations at the end of 1998 was 269 worldwide, including 107 in North America; 143 in Europe, 13 in Asia/Oceania; five in Africa/Middle East, and one in South America.
All of the core modules are available, also ILL, journal citation files, and imaging. Both GUI and Web-based patron access catalog interfaces are available; and Web-based interfaces to other modules, but not staff GUIs. OCLC, RLIN, BiblioFile, and Marcive interfaces are offered. There also is Z39.50 server support. EDIFACT is not supported. Almost all sites were using cataloging, circulation, and patron access catalog at the end of 1998, but only 50% were using acquisitions and 75% were using serials control. Interlibrary loan was used by 25%, journal citation files by 30%, and imaging by 15%. The GUI patron access catalog was used by 5%, and the Web-based patrOn access catalog interface was used by 80%. Only 1% were using the Z39.50 server.
Sites do not have to report the number of users, but the company estimated that 60 of the sites supported fewer than 15 users at the end of 1998. In contrast, 15 supported over 400, 30 supported 200-399, and 54 supported 100-199. The rest supported 15-99 users.
The company reported revenues of $35-$40 million in 1998. There were 15 staff committed to software maintenance and enhancement, 10 to sales and marketing, and 15 to customer support.
The major software enhancements in 1998 were completing a Web-based user interface for all modules and improving integration between the acquisitions and serials control modules.
The company maintains offices in Dublin (OH), Washington, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, London, Paris, and Frankfurt.
[Open Text, Inc., 8050 Tuttle Crossing Blvd., Dublin, OH 43016-3569; (614) 761- 7228; fax (614) 761-7290; www.opentext.com/basis].
OPSYS is a turnkey product for IBM, Siemens, and Bull platforms. The operating systems are UNIX and NT, the DBMS is UniVerse, and the programming language is Visual Basic 4.
The company's target market is public libraries in French-speaking areas. There were 67 sales in 1998, including 23 new name sales. Ninety percent of the customers opted for the NT operating system. The total number of sites at year-end was 406, including 390 in Europe and 16 in Africa/Middle East.
The company did not specify which modules are available. Its product is a bundled system. It did not break down the systems by size, but none is believed to support over 200 concurrent users.
The company had revenues of under $1 million in 1998, with an after-tax profit. There were 20 staff committed to software development and maintenance at the end of 1998, four to marketing and sales, and 11 to customer support.
[OPSYS, 3 Rue Paul Valerieu Perria - BP 50, F.38172, Seussinet-PARISET, France, (33) 7684-3420; fax (33) 7684-3421; www.obsys.fr].
SIRSI CORPORATION offers both turnkey systems and software-only packages with its Unicorn Collection Management System for IBM, HP, Sun, DEC, and Intel platforms. There is a slightly different version of the product marketed to federal libraries as STILAS. The operating system is UNIX or NT server; the DBMS is BRS/Search, Informix, or Oracle, and the programming languages are C and C++.
The company reported 178 system sales during 1997-132 new name sales, of which 12% were to public, 29% to academic, 52% to special, and 7% to school libraries. The total number of installed systems at the end of 1998 was 899, including 745 in North America, 119 in Europe, 20 in Asia/Oceania, 13 in South America, and two in Africa/Middle East. The installed base comprised 28% school libraries, 11% public, 25% academic, and 36% special libraries.
All of the core modules are available, plus inventorying, journal citation files, information & referral, materials booking, and imaging. Interlibrary loan is not yet available. GUI is available for all modules, and a Web-based patron access catalog is also available. There are interfaces for OCLC, RLIN, WLN, BiblioFile, and LaserCat. Z39.50 support is offered, as is EDIFACT online ordering and claiming. All sites had cataloging, circulation, inventorying, information & referral, and imaging at the end of 1998. Acquisitions was installed at 67% of sites, serials control at 75%. Materials booking and journal citation files at 20-25% each. Twenty-five percent were using GUI-based PAC and 60% had the Web-based patron access catalog interface. Over 85% had GUI technical services.
The majority of sites are small: 636 sites supported fewer than 30 users. However, there were 87 sites supporting over 100 users, including approximately 45 supporting more than 200 users.
The company did not report its 1998 revenues, but did claim a profit. We estimate revenues at $25-$30 million. A staff of 55 was committed to software development and maintenance; 49 to sales and marketing; and 103 to customer support.
Major software developments in 1998 included "WorkFlows," a staff interface designed to tailor a graphical client to specific staff tasks; online access to photographic and video collections, and EDI online claiming.
The company maintains offices in Huntsville, Salt Lake City, Provo, Ottawa, Mexico City, Melbourne, Riyadh, London, and Beijing.
[Sirsi Corporation, 101 Washington Street SR, Huntsville, AL 35801; (256) 704-7000; fax (256) 704-7007; www.sirsi.com].
SISIS INFORMATIONSSYSTEME, a company formed by combining the Siemens Nixdorf Library Division and SOFTCON, offers its Sisis integrated library system as both a turnkey system and as software-only. It is offered as a multi-user system on Siemens Nixdorf P34200, RM400 and RM600 (MIPS-RISC processors) platforms; using the SINIX 5.4 operating system (SINIX is the UNIX operating system of Siemens Nixdorf, based on UNIX V.4); the Informix, Oracle, and Sybase DBMS5; and the C++, Java, and HTML programming languages.
The company reported 30 system sales in 1998, including 12 new name sales (down from 29 in 1997). About half of the new name sales were to academic, and 25% each to public and special libraries. Seven sites discontinued use of the system during 1998. The total number of installed sites at the end of 1998 was 405, all in Europe.
All of the core modules are available, as are inventorying and ILL. Materials booking, journal citation files, information & referral, and imaging are not offered. GUI and Web-based patron access catalog interfaces are available, but not GUI for staff modules. The only cataloging support interface offered is MAB/MARC. Z39.50 support is offered, as is EDIFACT online ordering. Cataloging, circulation, and patron access catalog modules were in use by almost all of the sites at the end of 1998, but only 70% were using acquisitions and 60% were using serials control. Inventorying was used by 70% and ILL by 30%. The GUI patron access catalog was in use by 30% of the sites, and Web-based patron access catalog interfaces by 20%. Z39.50 server was used by fewer than 10% of the sites, but 75% were using the client.
The systems tend to be small to mid-size, with only nine supporting 30-99 concurrent users, and the rest fewer than 30 concurrent users.
The company had revenues of $5-$10 million in 1998, with an after-tax profit. There were 21 staff committed to software maintenance and development at the end of 1998, but the company participates in a strategic alliance with PICA of The Netherlands and ASLi of the United Kingdom to share technology. There were six staff committed to sales and marketing, and four to customer support.
The company maintains offices in Berlin, Hamburg, and Stuttgart.
[Sisis Informationssysteme GmbH, Grunwalder Weg, 82041 Oberhaching, Germany; (49) 89 67308-326; fax (49) 89 67308-399; www.sisis.de].
STOWE COMPUTING AUSTRALIA was purchased by Geac in 1998. Figures for Stowe are included in those reported by Geac.
TALIS (formerly BLCMP Library Services Ltd.) offers TALIS as both a turnkey system and software-only product on the Sun and Data General hardware platforms. The operating systems are UNIX and Solaris; Sybase is the DBMS. The programming languages are C and C++.
The company reported making 14 sales in 1998, including 10 new name sales-half each to public and academic libraries. The total number of sites at the end of 1998 was 90, all in Europe.
All of the core modules are in general release. Inventorying, I&R, interlibrary loan, and materials booking are also available. There is no support for journal citation files or imaging. Z39.50 and EDIFACT online ordering and claiming are available. Both GUI and Web-based patron access catalog interfaces are available. Almost all of the customers were using acquisitions, local cataloging, circulation, and the patron access catalog at the end of 1998. Some 75% had serials control. Half of the sites used inventorying and materials booking, information & referral by 30%, and ILL by 15%. While only 30% were using Z3.50; 70% were using EDIFACT online ordering and claiming.
The typical site is mid-sized (60-200 users), but there were five installations with over 200 users in 1998 and five with fewer than 15 users.
The company reported sales of $10- $15 million in 1998, with a small surplus. In April 1999, the company will become a for-profit organization. There were 40 staff committed to software maintenance and development, nine to sales and marketing, and 35 to customer support at the end of 1998.
The major software developments in 1998 were the interlibrary loan module, authority control, and EDIFACT support.
[TALIS c/o BLCMP, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Birmingham BlS 2SQ, England; (44) 121 471 1179; fax (44) 121 472 0298; www.blcmp.org.uk]
TLC (The Library Corporation) offers its Library.Solution product as a turnkey system or as software only for Intel Pentium quad or dual processors. The operating system is Oracle, the programming language is object oriented C++.
The company sold 92 systems in 1998, all new name accounts-43% to public libraries, 30% to academic, 15% to school, and 12% to special. The total number of installed systems at the end of 1998 was 102.
All core modules are available, plus materials booking. GUI is available for all modules except the patron access catalog, for which only a Web-based user interface is available. Z39.50 is supported, but not EDIFACT. All of the clients were using cataloging, circulation, inventorying, and patron access catalog at the end of 1998. Seventeen percent were using acquisitions, and 13% serials control. Eighty percent were using I&R, and 5% were using materials booking. All had Z39.50.
Systems tend to be small, with 73 supporting nine or fewer users, and only seven supporting more than 60 concurrent users.
The company reported revenues of $10-$15 million for 1998, with an after-tax profit. (The figure appears to include income from the sales of products other than Library.Solution.) There were 25 staff committed to software development and maintenance at the end of 1998, 14 to marketing and sales, and 25 to customer support.
The major software developments of 1998 were the release of the acquisitions, serials control, and materials booking modules.
In addition to its headquarters, the company maintains offices in Atlanta, Kansas City, and Singapore.
[TLC, Research Park, Inwood, WV 25428; (800) 624-0559; fax (304)-1229-1295; TLCdelivers.com].
VTLS, INC. offers both turnkey systems and software packages. There are two products, VTLS9x and Virtua, a client/server product introduced in 1997. The intent is to offer existing VTLS9x customers the opportunity to migrate to Virtua. New customers can purchase either product, but the latter is still in development, with only the cataloging and patron access catalog modules complete, serials substantially complete, and acquisitions control and circulation still in development.
Both products use Hewlett-Packard 3000 Series, RISC architecture computers under the MPE/IX operating system; HP 9000 Series RISC architecture, under the HP-UX operating system; IBM RS/6000 RISC architecture computers under the AIX operating system; the Compaq DEC Alpha RISC architecture computers under the Digital UNIX operating system; and the Sun Sparc series under the SunOS operating system. The software is written in C, C++, and COBOL; the DBMS is Oracle. The staff clients require a Windows 95 or NT platform.
The company reported 21 new name sales in 1998 (down from 24 in 1997), The distribution of the new name sales was 16% to public, 59% to academic, 25% to special, and 1% to school libraries. The total installed customer base was 326, including 117 in North America, 116 in Europe, 47 in Asia/Oceania, 23 in South America, and 23 in Africa/Middle East. No information was provided about the number of sites which discontinued use of the system in 1998.
All of the core modules are available in VTLS9x, plus inventorying, ILL, materials booking, journal citation files, information & referral, and imaging. GUI is available for all modules, as is a Web-based patron access catalog interface. Interfaces are offered to OCLC, RLIN, WLN, and BiblioFile. Z39.50 is supported, but not EDIFACT online ordering and claiming. All sites were using cataloging and the patron access catalog. Ninety-six percent were using circulation and inventorying, 84% had serials control, 43% had acquisitions, 12% had information & referral, 9% had materials booking, 8% had information & referral, and 2% had imaging. The GUI patron access catalog was in use at 52% of sites; the Web-based patron access catalog at 37% of sites. Approximately 36% had GUI technical services.
There were many large systems at the end of 1998, including 25 supporting 400+ users, 41 supporting 200-399 users, and 43 supporting 100-199 users. Only 37 supported 1-9 users. The rest supported from 10-99 users.
The company reported 1998 revenues in the range of $5-$10 million. It did not indicate whether there was an after- tax profit. A staff of 42 was committed to software maintenance and development for both products at the end of 1998, 55 to marketing and sales (including 31 employed by agents), and 29 to customer support.
The major software development effort in 1998 was directed to Virtua, the next-generation VTLS system. Acquisitions and circulation were nearing completion, with the intent to test them in early 1999. Full Unicode implementation for Virtua was also achieved.
In addition to its offices in Blacksburg (VA), VTLS maintains offices in Barcelona, Helsinki, Cracow, New Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, and Mendiscio, Switzerland.
(VTLS, Inc., 1701 Kraft Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24060; (800) 468-8857 or (540) 557-1200; fax (540) 557-1210; www.vtls.com].
