Friday, February 1, 2008

NEW LIBRARY SYSTEM

Many of you may have heard about the much-discussed and long-awaited launch of a new integrated library system. We anticipate that the system will be up and running on or about February 28, when we will finally say goodbye to our current, somewhat antiquated system. What will this mean for library users?

The first change you will notice is appearance. Some of the libraries’ web pages, in particular the pages for the catalog, will have an entirely different look. Those members of the Samford community who are users of Birmingham Public Library/Jefferson County Library Cooperative system will notice similarities between that system and our new system. Many libraries, in fact, utilize the software platform that we are acquiring, which is produced by Innovative Interfaces (http://www.iii.com). For a list of libraries using Innovative Interfaces, see http://www.libdex.com/vendor/Innovative_Interfaces,_Inc.html.

It may interest you to know that Virginia Tech., which developed our current and soon-to-be replaced system (VTLS, or Virginia Tech. Library System), migrated its libraries to the Innovative Interfaces system in 2005.

The other changes will center on a greatly enhanced and enriched search process. The new system has many capabilities that the current system does not. We are very excited about these enhancements to the searching process and the much-improved visual experience for users. We think you will be pleased.