Library Systems Landscape 2016:
All Systems Go
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Company Profiles
Auto-Graphics, Inc.
Ontario, CA; 800-776-6939
www4.auto-graphics.com
Auto-Graphics offers a suite of modular automation and resource-sharing products including the VERSO integrated library system (ILS); SHAREit interlibrary loan (ILL) and consortial borrowing solution; SEARCHit federated search tool; Digital Collections hosted, web-based digital assets solution; and MARCit cataloging resource. The latest version of VERSO includes a mobile application interface enabling library staff to use tablets and smartphones for tasks such as checkout and inventory management.
VERSO can be purchased and implemented on-premise using a library’s servers, hosted by Auto-Graphics in a software as a service (SaaS) subscription model, or deployed in a hybrid model, in which a library would license the platform and then pay a third-party service for hosting. In July 2015, Auto-Graphics and Recorded Books announced that the Zinio Digital Magazine ereader had been fully integrated with VERSO, enabling patrons to discover and read magazines directly from the library catalog.
Axiell Group
Lund, Sweden; (011) +46 46 270 04 00
www.axiell.com
Axiell Group is a global supplier of IT systems and services to libraries, schools, museums, and cultural institutions, offering a range of collection management systems under the Axiell, Adlib, Calm, EMu, and Mimsy XG brands, which are in use at more than 3,000 institutions in 36 countries, primarily in northern Europe. In North America, EMu and Mimsy XG systems are in operation in many major museums and archives, including the American Museum of Natural History, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, the Canadian Museum of History, and the National Gallery of Canada.
In November 2015, Axiell launched Spark, a hosted, cloud-based service for the Axiell Library Management System that enables library staff and volunteers to perform administration, circulation, acquisitions, cataloging, and cash management functions via tablets, smartphones, and Internet-connected computers. Last fall, the company also announced partnerships with OverDrive and OneClickDigital to enhance library and patron access to ebooks, audiobooks, and other digital content.
BiblioCommons
Toronto; 647-436-6381
www.bibliocommons.com
BiblioCore is the foundation of BiblioCommons’ suite of hosted SaaS patron interface tools. It integrates with a library’s ILS and replaces the traditional online public access catalog (PAC), adding features including discovery tools, faceted searching, and social media functions such as user commenting and tagging. Other tools include BiblioMobile apps, the BiblioDigital ebook platform, and BiblioReader, as well as integrated modules for events management, fine payment, patron request tracking, and more.
Following early adoption in 2014 by the Chicago Public Library, the Pima County Public Library, AZ, and the Calgary Public Library, Alta., BiblioCommons last year delivered the BiblioCMS website management platform for libraries. Built on the open source WordPress content management system, BiblioCMS integrates with a library’s collections and patron account management, regardless of the ILS used by a library, and allows library staff to update and highlight on a library’s website patron-facing content, including online resources, events, services, and branch information.
Biblionix
Austin, TX; 877-800-5625
www.biblionix.com
Austin, TX–based Biblionix has offered the Apollo ILS since its debut in 2006. Available exclusively as a hosted, multitenant SaaS for public libraries, the proprietary system has attracted a growing number of small and medium-sized libraries with features that include responsive catalog design for tablets and smartphones; HTTPS encryption; integrated self-checkout; text, email, and phone notification systems; online payments; single login for e-resources; integration with many vendors and digital content providers including OverDrive; and more. New features include click-through access to premium resources via links on a library’s website for authenticated patrons and “Gabbie,” a console that enables library staff to have two-way texting conversations with individual patrons.
According to Biblionix officials, eschewing the K–12 and academic markets and offering only the hosted deployment model enable the company to streamline the updating process and take a more focused approach toward the development of new features. Biblionix customers recently voted Apollo the 2016 Modern Library Awards Product of the Year.
ByWater Solutions
West Haven, CT; 888-900-8944
www.bywatersolutions.com
ByWater Solutions supports the open source Koha ILS, offering installation and data migration, hosting solutions, feature development, 24-7 tech support, and comprehensive library staff training services.
Koha originally debuted in 2000 as an ILS solution for small, single-site libraries, but 16 years of community-led development have made Koha a viable option for larger libraries, and the growth of development houses such as ByWater has positioned the open source ILS as an alternative to commercial systems for public and academic libraries that need a support infrastructure in place without an in-house IT department scaled to work on the system.
In 2015, the company integrated Koha with the EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS), enabling Koha libraries to use EDS as either a back-end discovery solution or front-end search interface for patrons. And in October, the company launched its Koha Klassmates program, which offers free, hosted Koha installations to any MLIS programs interested in offering in-school training and instruction on the ILS.
EBSCO Information Services
Ipswich, MA; 800-653-2726
www.ebscohost.com
EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) indexes content from more than 20,000 journal publishers and 70,000 book publishers and enables patrons to search their library’s entire catalog alongside EDS content via a single search box. New content is regularly added to the index in order to improve searches. Recent additions include the Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE), the European Union Open Data Portal, the Biodiversity Heritage Library’s digitized content, and PsychiatryOnline.
EBSCO integrates EDS with products from about 30 ILS providers including SirsiDynix, Innovative Interfaces Inc., and OCLC (WorldShare Management Services), as well as the open source and community source Koha, Evergreen, and Kuali OLE platforms.
EBSCO has announced a major collaboration with the Kuali Open Library Environment and developer Index Data to fund the development of a modular open source library services platform designed for academic and research libraries of any size. Initial code will be posted on Github later this year.
Equinox Software
Duluth, GA; 877-673-6457
www.esilibrary.com
Founded by the original developers of the open source Evergreen ILS, Equinox Software offers data migration, hosting, training, and development support primarily for Evergreen, as well as the open source Koha ILS. Evergreen was originally developed to support a large consortium of Georgia libraries, and many Equinox customers are consortial systems.
In 2015, the company doubled the capacity of its Sequoia Services Platform, a cloud-based environment that enables Equinox to host instances of Evergreen, Koha, and FulfILLment interlibrary loan product with an SaaS model. More than 60 libraries and consortia were migrated to Sequoia last year, and Equinox officials told LJ that all but a handful of the company’s customers have migrated to the platform since its launch in mid-2014.
Last year Equinox was also responsible for adding several enhancements to Evergreen, including Message Center, Copy Alerts, and the cataloging and admin/reports modules of the new web-based, tablet-ready staff client.
Follett Software Company
McHenry, IL; 815-344-8700
www.follettsoftware.com
A division of the Follett School and Library Group, the Follett Software Company (FSC) offers the Destiny family of resource management products for K–12 schools, including the Destiny Library Manager ILS. The system is designed to provide seamless integration with other Follett solutions—including those outside the Destiny family—such as the TitleWave and BryteWave procurement platforms, the WebPath Express Internet search and filtering tool, and Follett’s State Standards Service.
Last spring, Follett announced the integration of EasyBib with the Destiny Library manager, enabling students to create bibliographies with properly formatted citations in MLA, APA, Chicago, and other styles when using Destiny’s “Universal Search” discovery tool. Other new features include the ability for students to limit searches using a favorites list and for school library staff and enhanced capabilities for ILL transactions.
Infor Library & Information Solutions
New York; 800-260-2640
go.infor.com/libraries
Although international enterprise software conglomerate Infor is headquartered in New York, the company’s V-Smart ILS, V-Insight analysis tools, and Iguana platform are most widely implemented in Europe, where the system originated in the late 1970s as the Vrije Universiteit Brussel Information Systeem (VUBIS) at the Free University of Brussels library in Belgium. Launched in 2010, the Iguana platform melds a library’s website and catalog and integrates social media sharing tools and personal interest profiles in an effort to enhance online browsing while encouraging visitors to promote their library to friends.
Current V-Smart and Iguana libraries include the City of Paris Library Network, the Public Library Centre for the Brussels Capital Region, and the Vatican Library in Rome. The company also has been making recent inroads into Canada, with the Department of Canadian Heritage launching Iguana in February, and the Westmount Public Library in Montreal debuting Iguana last November.
Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
Emeryville, CA; 510-655-6200
www.iii.com
Following acquisitions in 2014, Innovative Interfaces currently offers the Sierra Library Services Platform (LSP), the Polaris ILS, the VTLS Virtua ILS, Chamo Discovery (catalog with integrated social media functions), and Vital digital asset management solution, along with Innovative’s Encore Discovery Services Platform, SkyRiver cataloging utility, Decision Center collection management solution, and Content Pro digital asset management system, among other products.
Last spring, the company debuted its new multitenant, cloud-based “Open Library Stack” (OLS) infrastructure, designed to facilitate the launch, modification, and updating of products that will work across the company’s multiple platforms. And in August, the company released its second set of REST APIs (REpresentational State Transfer application programming interfaces) for Sierra, designed to make it easier for libraries and third-party developers to extract data from and write data to a Sierra system.
Kim Massana, who became CEO of Innovative in 2012 and led the acquisitions of Polaris and VTLS in 2014, resigned from the company in August. James Tallman was named CEO in January.
LibLime, a division of PTFS
North Bethesda, MD; 301-654-8088
www.liblime.com
LibLime provides services, training, and development support for the LibLime Koha and LibLime Academic Koha forks of the open source Koha ILS. They are used in more than 700 libraries globally, with most of the company’s customers in the United States. Since 2010, LibLime’s variants of Koha have proceeded down a different development path from the broader Koha community, and updates, patches, and new functionality developed for LibLime versions are not compatible with general Koha. However, LibLime has continued to publish its version of Koha as open source. All instances of LibLime Koha are installed as SaaS in LibLime’s distributed computing cloud platform, eliminating the need for local servers.
An annual subscription fee based on a library’s total bibliographic record count includes hosting, maintenance, and tech support. LibLime also offers sponsored development, enabling libraries to pay for customization and enhancements to the ILS, which later become available to other LibLime Koha users.
The Library Corporation (TLC)
Inwood, WV; 304-229-0100
www.TLCdelivers.com
The Library Corporation (TLC) offers the Library.Solution ILS for public, academic, and special libraries; Carl.X for consortia and large library systems such as the Los Angeles Public Library; and Library.Solutions for Schools for the K–12 market, each of which can be installed on local servers or hosted by TLC. Each platform includes web-based, touch screen–friendly staff clients designed to work on tablets, laptops, and desktops. Optional modules include the E.Commerce online fine and fee payment solution and Online Selection & Acquisitions (OSA), a direct portal that consolidates staff access to the databases of vendors including Baker & Taylor, Brodart, BWI, Ingram, Midwest Tape, and Perma-Bound.
TLC also offers several services that can be used with any ILS, including RDAExpress for automatic conversion of MARC records to RDA, eBiblioFile for obtaining RDA-enabled MARC records for ebooks and other downloadable titles, and SocialFlow, for optimizing a library’s social media outreach and marketing via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Mandarin Library Automation
Boca Raton, FL; 800-426-7477
www.mlasolutions.com
Mandarin Library Automation offers M3, a traditional local server-based ILS solution, as well as the M5 web-based, hosted ILS service, both of which are used primarily by K–12 schools. The core package for M3 and M5 both include cataloging, OPAC, circulation, reporting, inventory, and group editor features. Additional modules are available at additional cost, including a Web OPAC for M3 (not needed for M5), the mobile-optimized mOPAC, SIP 2 authenticator, textbook inventory and management tool, MARC 21 authority control, a Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF)–compliant agent enabling communication between the ILS and instructional and administrative software, and more. Mandarin also has hardware such as handheld scanners for inventory management, printers, servers, and workstations.
Recent developments include the launch of an OPAC for children, which incorporates reading-level-range search functions to help align materials with Common Core standards. Oasis is also integrated with TABvue, an online content platform with 3,000 titles curated for grades K–8.
OCLC
Dublin, OH; 614-764-6000
www.oclc.org
OCLC launched its WorldShare Management Services (WMS) next-generation LSP in 2011 and has been steadily growing a global base of customers. The cloud-based system leverages WorldCat data, drawn from the collections of more than 74,000 libraries in 170 countries, to streamline tasks ranging from acquisitions and cataloging to resource sharing.
All WMS subscriptions include Worldcat Discovery Services as well as serials management, course reserves, OpenURL resolver, and A to Z list services. Integrated reporting and collection evaluation tools are available as add-ons.
OCLC describes WMS as “vendor neutral,” and the multitenant SaaS LSP features an open infrastructure intended to encourage integration of applications from third-party developers. Development of applications and extensions is facilitated by the OCLC Developer Network, which includes extensive documentation for OCLC products, Listservs and forums, an API explorer, and more.
ProQuest
Ann Arbor, MI; 800-521-0600
www.proquest.com
In October 2015, ProQuest acquired Ex Libris Group from private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. The existing product portfolios of the two companies mostly complement each other, with ProQuest primarily focused on content, and Ex Libris offering the next-generation library management system (LMS) Alma, its traditional ILS Aleph and Voyager, its web-scale discovery solution Primo, its digital asset preservation solution Rosetta, its usage analytics platform bX, the OpenURL link resolver SFX, the newly launched Leganto reading list solution, and the recently acquired campusM mobile app solution.
In January, ProQuest CEO Kurt Sanford and Ex Libris president and CEO Matti Shem Tov confirmed to LJ plans to continue to support and develop all of the combined company’s products, with the exception of ProQuest Intota, which will be integrated into Alma. Both Primo and ProQuest’s Summon discovery service will leverage the ProQuest Knowledgebase going forward, and development on these two solutions will continue for a long time to come, they said.
SirsiDynix
Lehi, UT; 800-288-8020
www.sirsidynix.com
SirsiDynix offers the Horizon and Symphony ILS platforms and the BLUEcloud and BLUEcloud Campus LSP—modular suites of scalable, cloud-based features for Horizon and Symphony that include the eResource Central electronic content integration tool, MobileCirc mobile staff client, BLUEcloud Commerce online fine and fee payment solution, BLUEcloud Analytics, BookMyne mobile app, and much more.
SirsiDynix has one of the largest customer bases in the field, supporting more than 23,000 library systems in over 70 countries. In 2013, the company acquired EOS International and continues to develop the EOS suite of ILS and automation services, primarily to legal, medical, corporate, government, and small public and academic libraries worldwide.
In January, SirsiDynix launched BLUEcloud Visibility. Developed in partnership with Zepheira, Visibility extracts a library’s MARC catalog records and transforms them into BIBFRAME linked data resources, enabling patrons to discover library content via Google, Bing, and other search engines.