DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS, June 6, 2002: Endeavor Information Systems and Cornell University Libraries announced today the first live URL of the ENCompass digital collection management, organization and linking system at Cornell University Libraries, Ithaca, NY. The first ENCompass development partner involved with defining functional requirements, contributing to the system design, and suggesting and testing improvements, the Cornell Libraries are active in the continuing progress of the ENCompass system and are advocates for digital technology in today's academic and research libraries.
The first collection available via ENCompass at Cornell is the Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection, available at www.library.cornell.edu/mayantislavery.
Made possible through a grant from the "Saving America's Treasures" program, the collection features over 10,000 digitized pamphlets from May, a prominent abolitionist, pacifist, education reformer and Harvard and Cambridge-educated pastor. One of the most prominent and in-depth collections of Civil War and anti-slavery materials in the world, the Samuel J. May Collection already achieved significance in 1870when it was first added to the Cornell collections. Since then, the collection has expanded with relevant anti-slavery information from around the world.
H. Thomas Hickerson, Associate University Librarian, Information Technologies and Special Collections and Director, Division of Digital Library and Information Technologies, explained the 24-hour "anyplace, any time" availability of the May collection in ENCompass provides worldwide access for researchers. Plus, once the items are digital, additional searching is convenient. "ENCompass allows searching of full text, not just access to it, so a very sophisticated analysis of this huge body of work allows some in-depth research to take place that previously had not been easy," Hickerson explained. He noted even if a researcher had access to the physical documents in Cornell's secure locations, there is still no way to search them like there is with ENCompass and the digital collections.
The current implementation is only a small portion of the May collection, with more items integrated into the collection throughout the summer in preparation for the next semester's courses. "There are many classes in the special collections area in the fall; ENCompass is a fantastic resource to use the collection as a significant reference source," Hickerson said. "It will be useful for graduate level research and at the same time addressing the popular consumption of information about slavery and abolition, even something high school students can use in a more selective fashion."
"This collection is a real national resource, not just an academic resource," he said. "We expect substantial international use of the collection. It is the kind of resource American History courses taught over the world can use—giving researchers a body of materials to include in the curriculum that they previously did not have access to, or that their library may not own." He noted the May collection is not limited to American topics, but includes anti-slavery-related material from the British Empire, African nations and the Caribbean. "As this collection is discovered, we feel positive about making this collection available to people that are receptive to incorporating these resources into their teaching."
"By using ENCompass, Cornell has a powerful technology to share the rich resources of this collection with researchers around the world," commented Jane Burke, Endeavor President and CEO. "Cornell has a rich tradition of scholarly content, plus an equally powerful role as a knowledge management and organization leader eager to employ the latest technology for sharing their valuable treasures. We're very proud to announce Cornell's ENCompass implementation and to debut their collections and hard work."
About ENCompass and ENCompass Solutions
ENCompass is a comprehensive solution for single-search access to commercial content, digital collections and the local OPAC—plus linking via LinkFinderPlus, the solution for providing seamless access to all library information and relevant services across platforms, journals and publishers, including the latest abstracts, full text of print, links to internet search engines, links to online booksellers and links to review information.
ENCompass is the most comprehensive of Endeavor's ENCompass Solutions offerings, which includes ENCompass for Resource Access and ENCompass for Digital Collections, specific system offerings that address concentrated e-content or digital content needs. LinkFinderPlus is available as an additional system to accompany either ENCompass for Resource Access or ENCompass for Digital Collections.
About Endeavor Information Systems
Endeavor Information Systems, based in Des Plaines, IL, was founded in September of 1994. Over 950 academic and research libraries of every size have chosen Endeavor's high performance Voyager integrated library system and 24 libraries have selected ENCompass. Endeavor offers a complete line of library solutions for traditional and digital collections. Visit Endeavor at www.endinfosys.com for more information about Voyager, ENCompass Solutions, LinkFinderPlus, or careers at Endeavor.
