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Linnea Network Selects Voyager for 22 Libraries including the National Library
DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS, USA Feb. 9, 2000 - Endeavor Information Systems announced today
the Linnea National Library Network of Finland has chosen the Voyager integrated library system for 22 academic libraries, including the National Library of Finland. The Finnish libraries are
essential in the country, where over half the population borrows a library book each week.
The Linnea Network includes all Finnish university libraries, the Library of Parliament, the National
Repository Library, and six union catalogue and national bibliographic databases hosted by the Helsinki University Library, which is the National Library of Finland. These databases include the
union catalogue database for all Finnish academic libraries, a database of bibliographic records for all regional public libraries, the national database for articles, the union catalogue database for
music materials, the database for all new entries in the Swedish national bibliography, and the Finnish national bibliography database. The Voyager agreement involves over 16 million volumes and about 1,000 staff.
Endeavor will partner with the Linnea Network to develop several new features for the Voyager
system. Z39.50 capabilities will be expanded, with future Z39.50 support for both FINMARC and MARC21 in the same simultaneous search. Endeavor will also partner with the Linnea Network
on support for FINMARC, the Finnish version of MARC, including:
internal support for 245/248 linking fields support for ISBD punctuation conversion of other elements during record transfer.
Voyager's parallel search capability will enable Linnea library users to easily search a wide
variety of sources in Finland and abroad, including the local catalogues, local networks, remote databases, national and union catalogues, and Internet resources from a single workstation.
Endeavor's Citation Server will be implemented to integrate Linnea's growing collection of digital resources in the national citation databases. Voyager replaces VTLS in the Linnea libraries. All of
the Linnea libraries will come up on the Voyager 2000 release by early 2001.
"The Voyager system fulfils the goal of the Linnea libraries, which was to find the most economic
and functionally suitable system for the local databases and union catalogue databases," explained Annu Jauhiainen, Project Manager, Helsinki University Library. "We wanted a system
that not only quickly adapts to changing technology, but also is flexible and less demanding on our staff than our current system. We have found this with Voyager."
"We are pleased that Voyager is the automation solution for the Linnea National Library Network.
Linnea asked for a next generation library system that is functionally complete, yet responsive to new requirements," commented Jane Burke, Endeavor's President and CEO. "We are delighted
that our first entire country of libraries is Finland, where the libraries have a rich history of tradition and academic excellence."
The Linnea Network convened in 1997 to select a next generation library system for the local
databases and union catalogue databases of all Finnish university libraries, the Library of Parliament and the National Repository Library. The Linnea Network can be accessed at
http://hul.helsinki.fi/tilke/finnlib.html#1
Two prestigious Scottish libraries launch Voyager |
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National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh University Library are first Scottish Sites
DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS, USA Jan. 31, 2000: Endeavor Information Systems celebrates the
Voyager integrated information management system moving into production at the National Library of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh.
The official launch ceremony included the Scottish Parliament's Deputy Minister for Culture and
Sport, the Principal of the University of Edinburgh, the Librarians of both the National Library of Scotland and the Edinburgh University Library, and Jane Burke, President and CEO of Endeavor
Information Systems. Held in the Signet Library, noted as one of Edinburgh's finest buildings, the celebration brought together the history of Scotland's library past and present with the future of
Voyager library information research.
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Enjoying the exhibits at the Signet Library during the Voyager launch ceremony for the National Library of Scotland and the
University of Edinburgh are (l-r) Ian McGowan, Librarian, National Library of Scotland, Jane Burke, President & CEO, Endeavor Information Systems, Rhona Brankin MSP,
Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport. Photographed by Moira Leggatt. |
Voyager's Web OPAC provides users at each library easy access to both catalogues and Internet resources. With
Voyager's smart design and distributed architecture, both libraries are developing common services to maximise the staff resources and physical capabilities of each facility. Both
run from one set of hardware based at the University of Edinburgh, with a Sun Enterprise 4500 server that was manufactured in Linlithgow, Scotland.
"In our decision process, we involved staff who would be using the system rather than managers, to be more
democratic. Voyager was the choice in all functional areas -- it is a new state of the art system, not something evolved out of an old system," commented Fred Guy, Director of
Information and Communications Technology at the National Library of Scotland. "The Oracle database and the Sun hardware were important determining factors, but we also
considered the unique functionality Voyager provided. Our staff felt comfortable with Voyager and Endeavor -- we wanted to work with a company that had a vision for the
future, and that came across to us very clearly."
"Voyager was a very good choice for our consortium compared to other systems; we largely felt we would be able
to save money for our institutions. We haven't found any problems in working with an American system, either. A number of systems didn't provide software that would be
stable for consortiums, but Voyager is a solid, forward -looking system," explained Sheila Cannell, Deputy Librarian
of the Edinburgh University Library. "We are looking for more ways to economise, like joint Cataloguing; we haven't really scratched the surface yet in what we can do with the system and
the consortium. Both libraries find important benefits in using the same system – they know they're speaking the same language when they talk about Web customisation and Z39.50 links."
"For our users, the Voyager to Voyager links are invaluable, bringing together the holdings of the
two libraries. It is interesting for our users and other libraries as well," Cannell continued. "As the two largest academic libraries in Scotland, we find the result of the two libraries working together
is attracting the attention of other smaller research libraries around Edinburgh who are interested in participating in our consortium."
The National Library of Scotland/ Edinburgh University Library consortium also hosts the Signet
Library and the Scottish College of Agriculture, with plans to expand the consortium by adding the Royal Observatory, a new Voyager customer, and other library organisations around Scotland.
Voyager replaces the VTLS system at the National Library of Scotland and two Geac systems (ADVANCE and Libs 100+) at the Edinburgh University Library.
"I congratulate the National Library of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh for accepting
these challenges so readily," commented Rhona Brankin MSP, Scottish Deputy Minister for Culture and Sports, at the official Voyager launch in November. "In employing the Voyager
system, they have clearly demonstrated their determination to enhance their own services and capabilities significantly. The common services they will develop will be good news for all who rely
on them, and particularly for those in the wider research and learning community."
"I am happy to have been a part of the official ceremony to launch Voyager at these two
prestigious Scottish libraries. At Endeavor, we are delighted to be a part of the future of research at the National Library of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh," commented Burke. "With
partnerships like these, we can provide continued access to a wealth of world-wide information."
National Library of Scotland |
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Founded in the 1600s as the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, the National Library of Scotland www.nls.uk became a repository library in 1710. In 1925, the collections were given to the nation
and the National Library of Scotland came into being. It is Scotland's foremost general research library and the world's leading repository for material on Scotland's history and culture. Its
collections include 7 million printed books, 120,000 volumes of manuscripts, 1.6 million maps and over 20,000 newspaper and magazine titles.
Enjoying the exhibits at the Signet Library during the Voyager launch ceremony for the National
Library of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh are (l-r) Ian McGowan, Librarian, National Library of Scotland, Jane Burke, President & CEO, Endeavor Information Systems, Rhona
Brankin MSP, Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport, and Professor Sir Stewart Sutherland, Principal of the University of Edinburgh. Photographed by Moira Leggatt.
Edinburgh University Library |
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The Edinburgh University Library www.lib.ed.ac.uk holds over 2.5 million printed and new media items; 197,000 metres of manuscripts; 106,000 maps; 9,600 printed periodical titles and over
500 electronic journals. Serving a decentralised University of 21,000 students, it operates on 22 separate sites in the City of Edinburgh. Established in 1580, the Edinburgh University Library is
one of the major libraries in Scotland. By first establishing an automated library system in 1984, Edinburgh University Library was one of the first UK libraries with a networked online catalogue. |
