The Library at the Royal Institute of International Affairs has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to provide an Integrated Library Management System to replace their existing Tinlib library system.

The Unicorn system will be installed under the Windows NT operating system and will provide access via a Graphical User Interface (WorkFlows with Z39.50) to Cataloguing, Authority Control, Circulation, Acquisitions and Serials Control. Access to the OPAC will be available worldwide via WebCat running over the WWW.

Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, is one of the world's leading institutes for the analysis of international issues. The Institute is a membership organisation, incorporated under Royal Charter and independent of the Government. Its activities bring together people of all nationalities from government, politics, business, the academic world and the media. The Library is at the heart of the Institute. Head of the Library, Catherine Hume, explained that: "Unicorn will provide the much needed Internet access which will allow our collection and services to remain truly international."

Unicorn is distributed and supported by SIRSI, specialists in library and information systems. The software technology has been designed and developed over a 20 year period by SIRSI Corporation of Huntsville, Alabama, USA. With Unicorn installed in more than 900 sites worldwide, the company has established itself as a leading client/server library information systems supplier.