Emeryville, CA. Innovative Interfaces, a leading provider of integrated library systems (ILS) that empowers libraries globally, has launched Sierra Release 2.4 with significant new capabilities across multiple functional areas.
The wide-reaching enhancements in Sierra Release 2.4 include:
- Improved user experience with Sierra Web Application style and design updates;
- Greater feature parity between Sierra Web Application and Sierra Desktop Application, with the ability to search across MARC tags in Create Lists;
- Expanded SIP2 support for patron-initiated activities – enables, for example, offline mode for checking materials in and out at self-check machines;
- Enhanced support for wildcard certificates using Web Access Management, so libraries can simplify workflows by managing proxied access to secure websites using a single static wildcard certificate.
"The Web Access Management component of Sierra has provided our students, faculty, and staff with seamless access to our subscribed resources for years, but staff time required to maintain that access had become problematic," said Maurine McCourry, Technical Services Librarian at Hillsdale College. "We are thrilled with the enhancements provided in Sierra Release 2.4. They will allow us to continue to provide the intuitive off-campus access we've come to expect from Sierra Web Access Management, but with greatly reduced staff time and cost."
Sierra Release 2.4 also demonstrates Innovative's ongoing commitment to open systems for libraries, introducing new APIs to improve integrations with external systems. These include enhancements to the:
- Search API—Enables the ability to perform keyword searches using the Encore index;
- Enhanced Patron API—Allows library staff to access reading history through patron profiles who have opted-in. Additionally, a patron's barcode and PIN can be verified using the API;
- Acquisitions API—Converts dates and orders placed in a foreign currency with a vendor to the library's native date and currency formats.
"Continuing to enhance our APIs within Sierra ensures our library partners have access to solutions that streamline workflows and increase library engagement," said Leif Pedersen, Executive Vice President, Product at Innovative. "Refining the information available through our APIs in Sierra Release 2.4 allows us to better serve our entire library community, as discovery solution providers can now provide a seamless end-to-end experience that benefit Innovative libraries worldwide."
For more information on Sierra's integrated approach to library management automation, visit the Innovative website.
About Innovative
Innovative (www.iii.com) partners with thousands of libraries of all types to help them achieve success. Serving libraries in 66 countries, the company provides complete library automation solutions that include mobile access, digital asset management, resource sharing, discovery, and reporting tools. Innovative's staff includes nearly 350 library and technology experts, with more than 100 degreed librarians, who stay in close contact with customers through formal development partnerships and conversations at Innovative User Group meetings on four continents. The company is headquartered in Emeryville, California with offices in Syracuse, NY; Blacksburg, VA; Dublin, Ireland and beyond.