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Alliance enables seamless eBook purchasing and access
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Press release: HUNTSVILLE, ALA. - Sept. 20, 2000
Sirsi Corporation, the leader in library technology, and netLibrary, the leading provider of eBooks and
Internet-based content management services, today announced an alliance to integrate netLibrary's eBook
infrastructure into SIRSI's new iBistro Internet Access Center for public, academic, corporate, government, and other special libraries.
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Sirsi’s alliance with netLibrary follows a similar deal netLibrary did with Innovative back in March. epixtech have also
incorporated netLibrary systems into their products. For netLibrary, these deals offer a fast, low cost way in to a large number of libraries and their customers. For the integrated
system vendor, they provide a competitive edge and more experience with integration and management of electronic services.
Library users will gain as electronic resources are available for low (zero?) cost. Librarians will be able to offer digital access to another publishing sector via the loan model they understand. For everybody, the choice, the technology and the pricing permutations get more complicated and uncertain.
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The integrated netLibrary and SIRSI system will enable libraries to seamlessly incorporate netLibrary's eBook management architecture into
collection development functions. In addition, patrons in libraries served by the integrated technology will be able to preview and check out netLibrary eBooks through SIRSI's iBistro.
"As more libraries see the value of offering netLibrary eBooks, it is increasingly important to provide opportunities to search, preview, and
buy eBooks through a proven client/server system such as SIRSI's," said Larry Smith, SIRSI COO. "From a patron's standpoint, the ability to discover and access eBooks directly
from iBistro is a powerful benefit of the alliance between SIRSI and netLibrary."
By interacting with netLibrary's digital content management infrastructure,
SIRSI's library system will be able to notify librarians as new netLibrary eBooks become available. Libraries and corporations will be able to purchase netLibrary eBooks electronically
and provide patrons the ability to search for and access those eBooks through iBistro, which enables libraries to deliver personalized information from the library or the Web directly to users.
"netLibrary has long recognized SIRSI as a leading innovator in the library automation system
field," said Rob Kaufman, netLibrary president and CEO. "We are pleased to work with SIRSI to provide the best possible eBook architecture and service to our public, academic, corporate,
and other special library customers."
netLibrary's digital rights management infrastructure has been adopted by hundreds of publishers
of academic, reference, scholarly, and trade books. netLibrary develops, archives, hosts, and securely distributes eBooks through a variety of channels, including universities, K-12 schools,
and public and corporate libraries. netLibrary eBooks are full-text searchable and readable on a variety of platforms.
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Kings Inn, Dublin choose Unicorn
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The Society of Kings Inns, Dublin, has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to
provide an Integrated Library Management System for their library.
The Unicorn system will be installed under the Windows NT operating system and will provide a
Graphical User Interface (WorkFlows) to Cataloguing, Authority Control, and Serials. Members and students will have access over an lntranet and the Internet to an extended range of OPAC
facilities provided by WebCat. In addition, a Knowledge Portal and SmartPORT will provide quick online cataloguing via a Z39.50 link to external bibliographic databases.
The Kings Inns library serves the members of the Society; including students, barristers and
judges. Its primary function, however, is to provide legal research facilities to the 300 students studying for the degree of Barrister-at-Law.
Amongst the library's 96,000 volumes are important historical legal and general collections as
well as a modern collection of Irish legal material, together with English, European Communities, British Commonwealth and United States resources.
Jonathan Armstrong, Chief Librarian, explained that: "Unicorn was chosen because of the
system's flexibility, particularly with regard to customisation and links to outside sources. In addition, the system has a proven track record of effectiveness in several other Irish law libraries."
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Inland Revenue (UK) choose Sirsi
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The Inland Revenue has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to provide an Integrated Library Management System.
The Unicorn system will be installed on an NT server and provide access via a Graphical User
Interface (WorkFlows with Z39.50) to OPAC services via WebCat, Cataloguing, Circulation, Authority Control and Acquisitions.
The library at the Inland Revenue has recently been updated, and included in that overhaul was the introduction of Unicorn.
Paul Woods, Librarian at the Inland Revenue, commented: "We chose Unicorn because it is the
library automated system of choice of more than two thirds of government departments, including Customs & Excise and the DSS. Its software is tried and tested and flexible enough to
accommodate all library needs."
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Royal Military College to implement Hyperion
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The Library at the Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) has chosen the Hyperion Digital
Media Archive sub-system to add to its Unicorn Collection Management System.
The Hyperion Digital Media Archive (DMA) sub-system will be installed under the Solaris
operating system on the library's Sun Enterprise 450 which currently runs the Unicorn system. Unicorn's WebCat OPAC currently provides access to the library catalogue, a rapidly growing
number of electronic journals, and a range of scientific and technical electronic information resources. The addition of Hyperion will give desktop access to a unique collection of archive
materials, image databases, learning materials and College documents. The RMCS will be using the Hyperion staff client for metadata, hierarchy, text indexing (Natural Language
Processing based retrieval of Acrobat & text documents) and batch importing.
The Library (Information Services) at RMCS supports the College's educational and research
activities in the fields of Defence Science, Technology and Management, and has unique specialist collections in these areas. The Library is operated by Cranfield University through a
contract for teaching and associated activities. Hyperion was selected as the best way to offer these collections in digital form, and to provide the basis for managing and organising a range of
learning materials. Stephen Town, Director of Information Services at RMCS, says: "Hyperion is the critical element in our strategy to create and populate a virtual learning environment."
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