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Information Technology for Libraries

Sirsi: New UK sites

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1999 Issues

[October 99]
[
Summer 1999]
[
May 99]
[
April 99]
[
March 99]
[
February 99]
[
January 99]


This month’s stories

[DRA results]
[
Amlibs Summer '98]
[
Talis win C. Lancs]
[
VTLS new sites]
[
CARL Singapore]
[
Sirsi UK sites]
[
Turkish delight]
[
Amlibs sold]
[
Celtic Voyager]
[
Aleph continues]
[
Software Supermarket]

A round up of Sirsi’s latest UK sites

Contents

Economist Intelligence Unit, Swindon College, Royal Veterinary College, Cheltenham College, Royal College of Nursing.

Press release: June 1999
THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT SELECTS UNICORN

The Research Department at the Economist Intelligence Unit has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to provide an Integrated Library Management System to replace their existing Soutron library system.

The Unicorn system will be installed under the Solaris operating system on a Sun Ultra 5 and will provide access via a Graphical User Interface (WorkFlows with Z39.50) to cataloguing, authority control, acquisitions and serials control.

The Research Department at the EIU provides a research and information service for in-house editors, as well as contributors and authors located throughout the world.  The Economist Intelligence Unit is the business arm of The Economist Group. It serves the needs of companies establishing and managing operations across national borders. For over 50 years it has been a source of information on business developments, economic and political trends, government regulations and corporate practice worldwide.

Paul Pedley, Head of Research, said: "Our main requirement was for a system which could deal with over 2,500 journal subscriptions many of which are in foreign languages and paid for in foreign currencies. We chose Unicorn because there were other customers of Unicorn who have for some time been using the system to manage similar quantities of journals."

Press release: June 1999
SWINDON COLLEGE SELECTS UNICORN

The Library at Swindon College has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to provide an Integrated Library Management System to replace their existing Dolphin library system.

The Unicorn system will be installed under the NT operating system on an Intel Pentium and will provide access via a Graphical User Interface (WorkFlows with Z39.50) to OPAC services, cataloguing, circulation, together with an information gateway to external services over the Internet. Access to the OPAC will also be available through the World Wide Web via WebCat.

The library at Swindon College serves two sites in the town with a wide range of further and higher education courses.

As David Stelling, Site Librarian, said: "Unicorn emerged as our choice after a number of visits to Unicorn installations who all gave very favourable accounts of the system and the support provided."

Press release: June 1999
ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE SELECTS UNICORN

The Library at the Royal Veterinary College has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to provide an Integrated Library Management System to replace their existing Libertas library system.

The Unicorn system will be installed on a Windows NT server and will provide access via a Graphical User Interface (WorkFlows with Z39.50) to OPAC services, cataloguing, authority control, circulation, inter-library loans and acquisitions, together with an information gateway to external services over the Internet. Access to the OPAC will also be available through the World Wide Web via WebCat. SmartPORT will be used to capture data from Z39.50 sources worldwide.

The Royal Veterinary College, London, is the oldest veterinary school in the English-speaking world, having been founded in 1791. Today the College is located on two sites: the original 1791 site in Camden Town and a 600 acre campus in rural Hertfordshire near Potters Bar. Nearly 600 students follow the demanding 5 year course leading to the Degree of Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and the College is a major centre for veterinary research. The library is a vital resource supporting the College's mission in teaching, research and clinical work.

Simon Jackson, College Librarian, commented: "We have chosen to migrate to Unicorn for several reasons; foremost of which is our confidence that we will get the innovative functionality we need to continue to develop our library services as we move into the next century. Library staff are looking forward to working closely with SIRSI staff and will be seeking to harness Unicorn's full potential to the benefit of all our users."

Press release: June 1999
CHELTENHAM & GLOUCESTER COLLEGE  SELECTS UNICORN AND HYPERION

The Learning Resources Centre at Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education has become the first UK library to select the Hyperion Digital Media Archive to sit alongside the Unicorn library automation system.

The Unicorn and Hyperion systems will be installed under the Solaris operating system on a Sun Enterprise 250 and will provide access via the Unicorn WebCat OPAC to both the library catalogue and a collection of 90,000 slides and teaching materials. Once scanned, Hyperion will give desk top access to a unique collection of archive materials, image databases, learning materials and College documents which will support students in the on-line electronic learning environment being developed by the College. Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education will be using the Unicorn WorkFlows staff client for cataloguing, authority control, circulation, academic reserves, acquisitions (with EDI) serials control and materials booking.

The Faculty of Learning and Information Services at the College has provided a learner-focused integrated service since 1993. The Learning Centres currently operate on three sites providing library, media and IT services for over 10,000 users with nearly 400,000 transactions a year, and a database of over 350,000 items including books, journals, electronic resources, audio and visual material, archives and special collections.

Ann Mathie, Head of Learning Centres, explained: "Unicorn was chosen because we needed a system that will enable us to develop a learning infrastructure for our users which provides direct access to information resources. Cheltenham & Gloucester is a multi-site college with a growing number of on-line courses. Unicorn is a flexible system which provides us with the current functionality we require and supports the operational and strategic changes planned here at the College. Hyperion in particular will help us to achieve aspects of the Faculty's strategic plan which includes the provision of systems and services that operate across organisational boundaries and the development of an electronic learning environment providing information resources, student tracking, assessment and opportunities for on-line dialogue. SIRSI has a good reputation for customer support, innovation and training and consequently we are confident that we will be able to work closely with the company to develop the systems to meet our specific needs."

Press release:May 1999
ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING SELECT UNICORN

The Library at the Royal College of Nursing has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to provide an Integrated Library Management System to replace their existing BookshelF library system.

The Unicorn system will be installed under the Solaris operating system on a Sun Ultra 10S and will provide access via a Graphical User Interface (WorkFlows with Z39.50) to OPAC services, Cataloguing, Authority Control, Circulation, Acquisitions and Serials Control, together with an Information Gateway 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 Library and Information Services at the Royal College of Nursing are the largest specialist nursing library service in the UK with a stock of more than 60,000 volumes, 500 videos and 400 journals available. Special collections include the RCN Steinberg Collection of Nursing Research which consists 0f 750 theses at PhD and Masters level. The UK-wide Library is based in London, and there are also libraries based in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh. The Library and Information Services serve over 315,000 RCN members UK-wide and abroad and students studying at the RCN Institute.

Unicorn was chosen because of ease of use, its flexibility, the large number of UK health clients, value for money, and the excellent reputation of the UK support team.