News from Sirsi

Citation

(2002), "News from Sirsi", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 36 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/prog.2002.28036cab.004

News from Sirsi

News from Sirsi

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek choose Unicorn

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System for its three libraries in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Unicorn is being used for monographs, journals and in-house Know-How documents.

The Unicorn system will provide access to intranet OPAC services, cataloguing, authority control, circulation, acquisitions, serials control and secure user accountability which will control which users have access to which subsets of their Know-How documents.

The libraries at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek provide all the information needs for more than 400 lawyers, notaries and tax specialists. The libraries offer the largest private juridical collection within The Netherlands, with both current and historical value.

Eric van der Klugt, Head of Library Services, explained "We looked at different library automation systems and chose Unicorn because we found its Web interface and the integration of full-text documents to be excellent. With the Unicorn facilities for knowledge management we will be able to extend our provision of Know-How. Also, we found the different WorkFlows modules are easy to navigate, to maintain and to generate reports from. In addition, Sirsi has a good reputation for user support."

The Royal School of Library and Information Science in Denmark chooses Unicorn library system and Hyperion Digital Media Archive from Sirsi

The Royal School of Library and Information Science in Denmark has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System together with Hyperion Digital Media Archive from Sirsi Corporation. The systems, which are being delivered from Sirsi's office in Copenhagen, include the following Unicorn modules: cataloguing, authority control, circulation, acquisitions, serials control, interlibrary loans and SmartPORT which 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 iBistro.

Chief Librarian Ivar A.L. Hoel commented "The main reason for us choosing Unicorn and Hyperion with Sirsi as the supplier is because of the excellent integration between the library system and the document server. To me there is no doubt that the future of library systems lies in such an integration. Today it is not sufficient that the library system can activate simple links to Web documents. With this library system we can keep track of the physical documents we have on the shelves – and circulate. With the digital media archive we can structure our electronic document collection, which we are currently establishing, with assistance from the School's teachers. In addition to this Sirsi is the supplier that actively forms, and not just follows, international developments."

The Royal School of Library and Information Science is an educational and research institution responsible to the Danish Ministry of Cultural Affairs for education, research and development in the field of library and information science (LIS). The Royal School of Library and Information Science is also a member of Oresund University. The School offers courses leading to the degrees of Bachelor, Librarian, Master and PhD in Library and Information Science, as well as to qualifications as Library Assistant and Research Librarian. The Royal School of Library and Information Science provides continuing professional education for librarians, information specialists and other categories of library staff. Every year more than 5,000 members of the LIS workforce attend short courses, seminars or one-day events held by the School. The total number of students enrolled at The Royal School of Library and Information Science in Copenhagen and Aalborg is about 1,000.

Sirsi announces alliance with Book Data to supply content for UK iBistro sites

Sirsi Corporation and Book Data Ltd, a leading supplier of bibliographic information about English-language books and published media to libraries and booksellers in the UK and worldwide announced an alliance to integrate enhanced bibliographic information with Sirsi's iBistro Electronic Library at Sirsi sites in the UK. Book Data will initially provide iBistro with 800,000 book summaries, 400,000 tables of contents, and 265,000 book jacket images, to be updated on a regular basis.

The alliance enables iBistro users at UK libraries to access a full range of online information about books in the library's catalogue, without having to retrieve the book from the stacks or sort through multiple print resources. Through Sirsi's iBistro, UK library users can view in the online bibliographic record, not only a book's title, author and class mark, but also its jacket cover, table of contents, and a summary. Users can also personalise iBistro to create a "MyBistro" resource, where they can receive information about new titles of interest just to them.

In addition to Book Data, Sirsi also partners with H.W. Wilson Company, Cahner's Syndetics Solutions and The Children's Literature Comprehensive Database Company to integrate a wide range of content into the iBistro e-Library. Sirsi takes care of maintaining and updating all content for each iBistro e-Library.

Peter Gethin, Sirsi's Managing Director said "We're very excited to reach this agreement with Book Data. Because of this alliance, users of iBistro e-Libraries in the UK will have at their fingertips online access to complete information about books of particular interest to them."

Pam Roud, Book Data's Key Accounts Director, commented "It is a delight to us that Book Data information will be made available through the iBistro system. Sirsi is a most impressive company that delivers cutting-edge services to the library environment and we are pleased to be working with them."

Book Data (www.bookdata.co.uk) was founded in the UK in April 1987, with the principal aim of providing high quality, enriched information about English-language books published internationally. Today, Book Data has associations with companies around the world and its customer base extends to more than 100 countries worldwide and its services stretch beyond the provision of data.

English Nature chooses Unicorn

The Library at English Nature has chosen the Unicorn Collection Management System to provide an integrated library management system to replace its existing STATUS library system.

The Unicorn system has been installed on Oracle under the NT operating system. It will provide access via a Graphical User Interface (WorkFlows with Z39.50) to OPAC services, cataloguing, authority control, circulation, acquisitions, serials control, interlibrary loans and outreach services, 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 iBistro.

English Nature is the government agency that champions the conservation of wildlife and natural features in England. Library and information services provide information to over 900 scientific and specialist support staff based both at its offices in Peterborough and in 26 local teams using a wide variety of resources in hard copy and electronic format. Unicorn was chosen because it mirrors the strengths of the existing library management system, has a good track record of support and development, and a user-friendly desktop interface.

Caroline Wood, Resources and Communications Director, commented "As a science-based organisation, information is of vital importance to English Nature's work and we are looking forward to using the Unicorn system to help us deliver our contribution to information age government."

Sirsi, with headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, USA, delivers software and services to libraries worldwide. Technology supplied by Sirsi is used to establish electronic libraries, digital media archives and for complete automation of libraries. Services offered by Sirsi include systems installation, systems configuration, data conversion, training, support and Web related activities and support. Sirsi's library systems are extensively used worldwide with more than 10,000 installations. Sirsi has European headquarters in London and Nordic headquarters in Copenhagen.

For further information please contact: Sales Department, Sirsi, Unicorn House, Station Close, Potters Bar, Herts, EN6 3JW, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1707 858000; Fax: +44 (0) 1707 858111; E-mail: sales@sirsi.co.uk URL: www.sirsi.co.uk