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Sydney, Jan. 24, 2001
Ex Libris (Australia) Pty, Ltd., is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a major contract with UNILINC Ltd., for the license and
implementation of ALEPH 500.
UNILINC is a not-for-profit organisation originally formed in 1978 to co-ordinate the provision of sophisticated library technologies in the higher
education sector with the aim of saving costs and facilitating resource sharing. The following institutions are serviced by UNILINC and will soon be part of the ALEPH-based UNILINC Shared System:
Australian Catholic University, Australian Institute of Music, Avondale College Board of Studies, NSW Charles Stuart University, College of Law,
Jansen Newman Institute, National Gallery of Australia, NSW Department of Corrective Services, NSW Police Academy, Sydney Church of England Grammar School,
Southern Cross University, Study Group Australia, The University of Sydney: Conservatorium of Music
The UNILINC has provided a Shared System since 1984.
The Ex Libris ALEPH 500 system will replace DRA software, which has been in use for several years.
Ex Libris will assume responsibility for the full implementation of the project, including data conversion and staff training.
Contributing its considerable experience in the areas of library automation and services, UNILINC will also play an active role.
Rona Wade, Executive Director and CEO of UNILINC, commented upon the occasion of the signing of the contract, "UNILINC sees the implementation
of the new Shared-System software as being our most important strategic initiative.
We have selected ALEPH 500 because the system architecture provides the necessary infrastructure for future development and the software meets the current needs of the progressive and electronically advanced libraries that comprise UNILINC membership. With Ex Libris, we also believe that we have found a company that values library collaboration and understands consortia and as such will be able to partner UNILINC into the new century. I look forward to working with Ex Libris."
Azriel Morag, Chairman of Ex Libris, added, "This is a landmark for our company, as it marks the 43rd country and sixth continent to which the
rapidly growing community of ALEPH users has spread. We are particularly proud to welcome UNILINC and its membership to the international ALEPH family, which will benefit from this new and valued cultural and
geographic dimension. I am confident that the collaboration between UNILINC and Ex Libris will make this project a complete success."
Michael McLellan, managing director of Ex Libris (Australia) sees this contract as the "forerunner to a wider ALEPH 500 penetration into
Australia.
For more information on UNILINC, please link to www.unilinc.edu.au
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University of California, Santa Barbara selects ALEPH 500
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January 11, 2001 - Chicago, IL.
Ex Libris announced today that the University of California, Santa Barbara's Davidson
Library has selected ALEPH 500 as their next generation library system.
The University of California, Santa Barbara has become an internationally renowned center
for teaching and research, distinguished for its interdisciplinary programs and commitment to excellence and innovation. An elected member of the prestigious Association of
American Universities, the campus ranks with Harvard, Stanford, and UC Berkeley among the leading institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada. The Library
consists of the Davidson Library and one branch library, the Arts Library. It ranks approximately 60th in size among the nation's largest research libraries with a collection of
about 2.5 million volumes. The library adds about 72,000 bound volumes annually. In addition to the book collections, the Library has major holdings of satellite imagery,
phonograph records, maps, microforms, and archival collections and also is a selective government documents depository with over 400,000 documents in its collection.
The University has an enrollment of 18,670 students and 1200 faculty. The total registered
user population is in excess of 23,000. Annual library circulation exceeds 500,000.
"The University of California selection of ALEPH 500 is a true milestone for Ex Libris (USA) "
said Carl Grant, President, "we can now say that our product offerings have been extensively evaluated by research libraries from coast-to-coast, resulting in an ever growing
customer base of prestigious libraries partnering with us to provide solutions for their future needs."
The ALEPH 500 system will run on a SUN 6500, supporting 500 users and will replace the currently installed NOTIS system.
January 11, 2001 - Chicago, IL.
Ex Libris announced today that the University of Maryland Libraries, in cooperation with 16
University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) Libraries, signed a contract for an advanced "next generation" shared Library Information Management System (LIMS).
The ALEPH 500 system will provide students, faculty, researchers and other users at the
participating libraries with a state-of-the-art Internet based catalog of both electronic and library housed resources and direct access to published knowledge on a scale far greater
than what is available at the present time. The system will also integrate well with other automated services currently available or under development, including services developed
as part of the various libraries' digital initiatives. At the time of its implementation, ALEPH 500 will replace a shared and rapidly aging library system in use by a number of USMAI
libraries as well as library systems at the University of Maryland Health Sciences and Human Services Library and the Library of St. Mary's College of Maryland.
The selection of Ex Libris and its ALEPH 500 library management system resulted from a
rigorous vendor evaluation process involving all participating institutions and libraries. The University and Ex Libris (USA) entered into an agreement for systems and services at the
end of last year at McKeldin Library on the College Park campus.
Implementation of the new library automation system, ALEPH 500, has already begun,
under the direction of the LIMS Executive Committee. The University of Maryland Libraries Information Technology Division will implement, operate, and support the ALEPH system on
behalf of the USMAI libraries. Based on current projections, the changeover to full operation is expected to occur as early as January 2002.
Over the last ten years, through customization of the system currently in place, the USMAI
Libraries have implemented a system, which exhibits unusually strong capabilities for resource sharing, allowing users to utilize consortium library resources almost as easily as
those of a single library, while preserving institutional prerogatives with respect to data integrity and policies affecting material use.
Charles Lowry, Dean of Libraries at the University of Maryland and Chair of the USMAI
Council of Library Directors, remarking on the choice of the ALEPH system said, "Ex Libris' capability to accommodate the resource sharing that USMAI currently has in place and to
advance the state of the art for our users with respect to access to library housed resources, external electronic resources, and locally hosted digital library content
represented a powerful basis for our selection of ALEPH and Ex Libris." Carl Grant, President of Ex Libris (USA), stated that "Implementation of the new ALEPH 500 system
will greatly improve the quality of education, research, and economic development in Maryland by connecting people, libraries, and information in a network of unparalleled
sophistication and efficiency. When the new system is fully implemented, according to Grant, "library patrons will readily notice the improved functionality and access to external
databases that ALEPH 500 provides." The 16 USMAI libraries, located at 14 institutions, include the following Bowie State University, Coppin State College, Frostburg State
University, Salisbury State University, Towson University, University of Baltimore, University of Maryland, Baltimore including the Health Sciences and Human Services Library,
University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; University of Maryland University College; University of Maryland
Center for Environmental Science, Morgan State University, and St. Mary's College of Maryland.
Datinfor, Ex Libris's distributor in Portugal, has announced that, together with IBM-Portugal,
it has been awarded a contract to license and implement ALEPH500 at the University of Lisbon. This will be the fourth Portuguese university to use ALEPH500.
The University of Lisbon has a long tradition, being one of the oldest in Europe. King
D.Dinis is generally credited with its foundation in 1288. It was transferred twice to the city of Coimbra. In 1911, after the proclamation of the Republic, the University was repatriated
to Lisbon. Today, it possesses eight faculties, including the schools of Humanities, Medicine, Pharmacy and Sciences, as well as several research institutes and museums. It
counts about 20,000 students and a faculty of 2,000.
The 20 university libraries will operate as a consortium around a central ALEPH500 system.
The central catalog will initially comprise 320,000 records, 68,000 of which are periodicals.
IBM will be responsible for overall project management. Datinfor will handle all other
implementation tasks, including system installation and staff training. The system is scheduled to go into full production by early 2002.
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