News from Innovative

Citation

(2003), "News from Innovative", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 37 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/prog.2003.28037bab.003

News from Innovative

Innovative signs its first library in South Korea

Innovative Interfaces, a leading supplier of Web-based library solutions, announced that Inha University in Incheon, South Korea, will install the company's Millennium library automation system in January 2003. This will be Innovative's first system in South Korea.

"Millennium is a state-of-the-art system that has proven to be a top notch library solution in the worldwide market. The software corresponds to both domestic and foreign library system standards and supports Korean language localisation", said Won-Yong Ko, president and CEO of HIST (Hanjin Information Systems and Telecommunication Co., Ltd). "Most importantly, Innovative has a positive financial outlook and a highly specialised company focused solely on library solutions." He also noted that Millennium would be easy for the library to maintain and upgrade.

The library's vision is to establish itself as a globally prestigious academic and scientific research library through state-of-the-art technology. To meet the surging demands of the information-communication era of the twenty-first century, Inha University is developing a new library sponsored by the Hanjin Group. In March 2001, construction began for the new 239,408 square-foot Jungseok Library. Expected to open in April 2003, the new facility will hold the library's collection of over 930,000 items and seat up to 3,000 students and faculty.

"We are delighted that Inha University has chosen Millennium, a decision that endorses both Millennium's advanced digital library functionality and its track record in delivering CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)-based systems throughout the region", said Petros Demetriou, Innovative's director of sales, Asia-Pacific. "Innovative is very excited to be moving into this new and important market in Asia. We were impressed with Inha University's ambition and strong commitment to meeting its strategic objectives and we are pleased to be working with the library to help meet their goals".

Demetriou continued, "South Korea is one of the few markets left in Asia dominated by local systems. Our partnership with Inha allows us to showcase what a system built on the knowledge and experience of the global library community has to offer."

Inha University was founded in 1954 as the dream of Korean emigrants who had settled in Hawaii. The name "Inha" originates as a compound of the first syllables of Incheon and Hawaii. The university has nine colleges with 15 schools and divisions and 17 departments, along with seven graduate schools.

Innovative introduces Via for schools' market

Innovative Interfaces has announced the introduction of Via, a completely integrated and networked library automation system for school districts.

The Web-based Via system has a full range of core capabilities, including online public access, cataloguing, circulation, graphical self-checkout, and inventory control. As well, Via offers advanced functionality such as advanced keyword searching, multimedia management, patron authentication for Web resources, and Web portal access. Because Via is Java-based, it is platform-independent. This means that the system can run on any combination of PCs, Macs, or Linux workstations.

According to Tami Pellowski, Innovative's new director of school library sales, "Via offers school districts features that are specific to school library media centres, such as home room-based notices, student barcode generation, overdue reports, customised reports, and more. I am confident that a product of Via's calibre, which leverages Innovative's 24 years of library software developments, will expand the company's presence in the K-12 market. I am delighted to be spearheading this effort."

Jerry Kline, Innovative's chairman and CEO, added, "We now partner with more than 20 school districts and have been listening to them very carefully to assess their requirements. This fruitful dialogue has resulted in Via, a product that we hope will become a very powerful tool for K-12 libraries."

Taiwan's Wenzao Ursuline College selects Millennium

Innovative Interfaces has announced that Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, has chosen to install the Millennium library automation system.

"Our main reasons for choosing Millennium were due to its excellent multilingual interface and media management functions", said Irene Wang, director of Wenzao Library. Looking into the future, Wenzao Library plans to expand its digital collection and patron services to meet the ever-changing needs of its faculty and students.

Plus"Millennium will be instrumental in fulfilling the library's goals for the future," said Petros Demetriou, Innovative's director of sales, Asia Pacific. "Millennium's ability to manage the increasing digital content in library holdings, coupled with its proven effectiveness in allowing libraries to expand services without increasing headcount, make Millennium the obvious choice for Wenzao."

As the library of a college of languages, the collection and services of Wenzao Library facilitate the school's special mission of language teaching and learning in a significant way; 50 percent of the total collection of 160,000 volumes is in a foreign language. Foreign titles include English, French, Spanish, German, and Japanese. The remaining 50 per cent of the library's collection is in Chinese. The college was founded in 1966 by Reverend Joseph Cheng, a Dominican Bishop, and named for Wenzao Lo, the first Chinese Dominican. Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages is the only college of foreign languages in Taiwan.

For further information please contact: Innovative Interfaces, 3 York Court, Upper York St., Bristol BS2 8QF, UK. Tel: +44(0) 117 975 1021; Fax: +44(0) 117 924 4367; E-mail: gill-carter@iii-europe.com URL: www.iii.com