Biblio Tech
Review
Information Technology for Libraries

Main Sections

[Biblio Tech Review]
[Directory]

This month’s stories

[Ultimate Integration]
[Ex-Libris SFX]
[Endeavor - Elsevier]
[Ex-Libris update]
[Sirsi China]
[Endeavor sales]
[Dialog sale]
[Libtech 2000]

Versatile Sirsi continues across all markets

March 2000

Sirsi continues to be successful with academics large and small, specials and publics - a trick not many other suppliers can emulate.  Another library in China underlines the importance of that market for the major US vendors. 

Other sales: US Air Force, Anchorage schools, and in Europe: Wurzburg military hospital,  Leeds Metropolitan University, Special libraries at CABI and the Planning Inspectorate.

Sirsi continues into China

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (March 31, 2000) Nankai University, a multi-disciplinary comprehensive institution located in mainland China's city of Tianjin, has selected Sirsi Corporation's Unicorn™ Library Management System to provide a state-of-the-art automation system for its library. This is the third Unicorn installation at a major Chinese university since SIRSI opened its Beijing office in fall 1998. Peking University and Renmin University, both located in Beijing, are already using Chinese Unicorn in their libraries, providing easy Web access to their distinctive collections through SIRSI's WebCat® Online Public Access Catalog.

The Nankai University Library has a collection of approximately 2.5 million items, including 1.5 million Chinese materials and 600,000 materials in languages other than Chinese. Completed in 1990, its 11,150-square-meter building includes specialized reading rooms for social studies, international studies, natural sciences and periodicals, a BiblioFile Retrieval Room and a Multimedia Electronic Information Services Section. There are also more than 20 branch libraries in various departments and colleges throughout the campus.

According to Lamar Jackson, SIRSI's director of business development, approximately 100 Chinese universities are taking part in a government-led initiative to upgrade the computer technology at higher education institutions. "Many of these universities are looking for a library automation system that is as sophisticated and mature as their library collections. In the near future, we expect many more Chinese institutions will choose to install a SIRSI system in their libraries."

U.S. Air Force Academy Library choose Unicorn

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (March 3, 2000) The U.S. Air Force (USAF) Academy Library System will use Sirsi Corporation's UnicornÔ Library Management System at the Academy's six libraries and the Grant Library at the Fort Carson Army Post in Fort Carson, Colo.

Since hosting its first group of freshmen in 1955, the USAF Academy has graduated more than 30,000 cadets. Its 18,500-acre campus in Colorado Springs houses six separate libraries, including the Academic "Cadet" Library, the Community Center Library, the Hospital Library (for professional medical staff), the Audio-Visual Library, the Center for Education Excellence and the Map Depository. The Academy Libraries provide reference/research and reading collections on a collegiate and professional level to support the curricular and mission needs of the USAF Academy. They also provide professional and recreational reading materials for the USAF Academy community.

The USAF Academy Library System will use SIRSI's WebCat® Online Public Access Catalog to provide a Web-based catalog for local and remote searching. From a single location, users will be able to search the holdings of all libraries. Library staff will use SIRSI's WorkFlows® staff client to manage a variety of administrative tasks.

Anchorage Schools Select SIRSI

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (April  7, 2000) The Anchorage School District (ASD) has chosen Sirsi Corporation's Unicorn™ Library Management System to automate its 75 school libraries. According to Ruth Jean Shaw, manager of ASD Library Resources Department, "With the system's completion, the entire community will be able to access the district's library online public access catalog (OPAC) via the Internet on SIRSI's WebCat." Replacing the previous Follett system, SIRSI's Unicorn was one of six systems considered, Shaw commented. SIRSI came out on top because it scored highest technically and offered the best value.

The new common Unicorn system contains information on 1.3 million unique items from the combined Anchorage School District libraries. With Unicorn installed, Shaw affirmed, "We have been empowered to make the information retrieval capability of the school program first class. Equal opportunity now exists in our schools for all seeking knowledge. I don't think it is overly optimistic to believe that the 21st century will see the ASD library program as an undisputed leader among school library systems in America!"

Students in the Anchorage system are particularly suited to accessing information through the Internet. With frequent heavy snow in winter months in addition to high winds and even avalanches, the majority of schools, and even some classrooms, have their own Web pages. Previously, each school library maintained its own decentralized local area network. Students could connect to their school library, but not to other Anchorage libraries.

European US Military Medical library chooses Unicorn

Press release: March 2000

The Medical Library of the 67th Combat Support Hospital (Würzburg) has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to provide an Integrated Library Management System to replace their existing Datatrek library system.

The Unicorn system will be installed under the NT operating system on a Pentium server and will provide access via a Graphical User Interface (WorkFlows with Z39.50) to OPAC services, Cataloguing, Authority Control, Circulation and Serials Control. Access to the OPAC will also be available through the World Wide Web via WebCat.

The Medical Library of the 67th Combat Support Hospital (Würzburg) is a medical facility which will afford the outlying clinics the opportunity to receive information via the new software system provided by SIRSI's Unicorn system.

Planning Inspectorate - UK chooses Unicorn

Press release: March 2000

The Library at the Planning Inspectorate has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to provide an Integrated Library Management System.

The Unicorn system will be installed under the NT operating system and will provide access via a Graphical User Interface (WorkFlows with Z39.50) to Cataloguing, Authority Control and Circulation together with a Knowledge Portal to external services over the Internet. Access to the OPAC will also be available through the World Wide Web via WebCat.

The Library and Information Centre is managed by the Planning Inspectorate and operates for Tollgate House staff and also the home-based Inspectors. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions staff also use Tollgate House Library. Unicorn will be used initially to build up a library collection management system.

Unicorn has been widely used in The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Planning Inspectorate Library wanted to build on that success.

Leeds Metropolitan University chooses Unicorn

Press release: March 2000

Leeds Metropolitan University has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to provide an Integrated Library Management System to replace their existing Libertas library system.

Unicorn will provide access via a Graphical User Interface (WorkFlows with Z39.50) to OPAC services, Cataloguing, Authority Control, Circulation, Inter-Library Loans, Academic Reserves, Acquisitions (with EDI) and Serials Control together with a Knowledge Portal to external services over the Internet. Access to the OPAC will also be available over the Internet via WebCat. The Unicorn system will be installed under the Solaris operating system on a Sun Enterprise 450 server.

Leeds Metropolitan University has Learning Centres on three sites, which support students on FE and HE undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Considerable emphasis is being placed on access to information and a wide range of electronic information sources are available to around 30,000 library users, including networked databases, CD-ROMs and electronic journals. Printed resources include 330,000 volumes, 15,000 audio-visual items and 1,800 current journal titles.

Philip Payne, Head of Learning Support Services commented: "We chose Unicorn - from a strong field of library management systems - because it is a flexible, forward-looking product that can be integrated with other systems to create our vision of an Online Learning Centre."

Cabi Bioscience chooses Unicorn

Press release: February 2000

The Library at CABI Bioscience has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to provide an Integrated Library Management System to replace their existing Techlib library system.

The Unicorn system will be installed under the Solaris operating system on a Sun server and will provide access via a Graphical User Interface (WorkFlows with Z39.50) to OPAC services, Cataloguing, Authority Control, Circulation, Serials Control, Inter-Library Loans, together with a Knowledge Portal to external services over the Internet. SmartPORT will be used to capture data from Z39.50 sources worldwide. Access to the OPAC will also be available through the World Wide Web via WebCat.

The Bioscience Library near Ascot supports two distinct user groups: the scientists and staff of CABI Bioscience, and academic staff and students from the Life Science Departments of Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. CABI Bioscience is a multidisciplinary scientific research and training capability meeting international challenges in food security, poverty alleviation and environmental change and conservation.

Liz Wheater, Senior Librarian, said: "We chose Unicorn because of its reputation as a first rate system which was borne out during system demonstrations at our sites. An added advantage is complete compatibility with Imperial College library systems, a bonus for users from both of our organisations."