News from Ex Libris

Citation

(2002), "News from Ex Libris", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 36 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/prog.2002.28036bab.006

News from Ex Libris

News from Ex Libris

The University of York chooses ALEPH

The University of York has awarded a contract to Ex Libris for the licensing and implementation of the ALEPH 500 library management system, along with MetaLib, the Ex Libris universal gateway for extended hybrid searching and SFX, a context-sensitive reference linking tool. ALEPH is expected to go live in mid-2002, with MetaLib and SFX later in 2002.

The University of York, now in its thirty-ninth year, has more than 9,000 students in over 30 academic departments and associated research centres. In spite of its relatively small size, it is rated as one of the top ten universities in the UK.

The Ex Libris software products were chosen after a rigorous selection process. Guiding the library's decision was the recognition that the ALEPH system will offer library users a range of new features. An additional factor that influenced the decision was the company's impressive range of international customers, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and other UK universities such as Nottingham, Bristol, Loughborough, Lancaster, King's College London and University College London. Furthermore, the company's strong record of development coupled with the design of the system are evidence that Ex Libris is prepared to handle the current and future needs of the modern hybrid library.

ALEPH goes to Armenia

The ALAN network, which consists of the National Library of Armenia (NLA) and the National Book Chamber of Armenia, has awarded Ex Libris the contract for the licensing and implementation of the ALEPH 500 library management system. Armenia becomes the forty-seventh country on the ALEPH map and has a rich history. It is one of the oldest Christian nations and its language occupies an isolated Indo-European branch with a unique alphabet. Implementing ALEPH 500 will enable participating libraries to become automated and will also permit the creation of a national Armenian bibliographic database and a union catalogue of Armenian libraries.

A centre for scholarly information, library science and the study of language, culture and the history of Armenia, the NLA has a collection of over 6.2 million items and receives about 10,000 periodicals and 650 newspapers. Its annual circulation totals approximately 1.7 million items and there are more than 30,000 registered users. In addition to providing interlibrary loans within Armenia, the NLA manages loans with some 30 foreign countries. Over half of the 433 NLA staff members are professional librarians.

The National Book Chamber of Armenia serves as a centre for a national bibliography, national statistics and sociological research and, as such, provides a central depository of publications. It currently possesses archives of some 2.5 million items that have been published in Armenia and the Armenian diaspora since the 1920s.

ALAN's critical requirements for its new library system included: facilities for enabling Armenian libraries to work independently in a co-operative environment that is open and standardised; mechanisms for secure entry and for the manipulation of diverse types of records; sophisticated searching, retrieval and display features; context sensitive help functions; interoperability with other information resources and last, but not least, support for a wide range of languages.

For further information please contact Ex Libris(UK), Bridge House, 119-23 Station Road, Hayes, Middlesex, UK. Tel: +44(0) 20 8561 5614; Fax: +44 (0) 20 8561 5634; E-mail: exlibris@exlibris.co.uk; URL: www.aleph.co.il