News from Ex Libris

Program: electronic library and information systems

ISSN: 0033-0337

Article publication date: 1 June 2004

68

Citation

(2004), "News from Ex Libris", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 38 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/prog.2004.28038bab.004

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


News from Ex Libris

News from Ex Libris

The Royal Institute of the Blind chooses ALEPH 500

Ex Libris (UK) has announced that the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) will implement the Ex Libris ALEPH 500 Integrated Library System. RNIB is one of the UK’s leading charities offering information, support and advice to over two million people with sight problems. The RNIB catalogue for accessible format material will be available worldwide for the first time, via the ALEPH Web OPAC. This will provide people with sight problems independent access to information on RNIB’s collections and services. RNIB will also use the ALEPH 500 Acquisitions, Cataloguing and Circulation modules to support and significantly enhance the library operation at its UK Customer Service Centre.

SFX at the Vienna University Library

With its signing of a contract for the Ex Libris SFX linking technology, Vienna University has become the 48th German-speaking institution to license this product. Founded in 1365, the Vienna University Library (VUL) is the oldest university library in any of the German-speaking countries and today serves some 130,000 registered patrons. The VUL has a collection of nearly six million volumes and 12,440 periodicals; in addition, it provides access to 800 databases. As a major participant in the Austrian Central Catalog (ACC) consortium, the VUL has been using the ALEPH 500 library system since 1999. SFX (www.sfxit.com), the original OpenURL link server, is an innovative tool for navigation and discovery. It provides users with context-sensitive services that librarians define on the basis of their institution’s e-collections and policies. Such services, which are dynamically created, can include links to the full text of an article, the OPAC (for local holdings), preferred document delivery suppliers, Web-based resources, local information repositories, and a range of other sources.

The National Bank of Belgium chooses ALEPH 500

Ex Libris has announced that the National Bank of Belgium has chosen the ALEPH 500 library management system to replace its current DOBIS/LIBIS software. The National Bank of Belgium is the country’s Central Bank. Since the entry of the euro, the Bank has become part of the Eurosystem, under the aegis of the European Central Bank. The Bank serves the general public, companies, the Belgium State and the financial world. Its services include annual accounts, production of financial information and publications. The Bank’s Scientific Library is one of Belgium’s largest economic documentation centres. The Library owns over 100,000 dedicated books, subscribes to more than 1,300 economic, financial and juridical journals and owns a major collection of reports from Belgian and foreign institutions (www.nbb.be/library.htm). The National Bank of Belgium takes its place among a number of national banking institutions that have chosen the ALEPH 500 system. These include the European Central Bank, De Nederlandsche Bank NV, Banco de Espana, Banca d’Italia, Banco de Mexico and the Central Bank of Iceland.

Two new customers of Ex Libris in China

Ex Libris and the National Library of China inaugurated the Ex Libris ALEPH 500 integrated library system at a distinguished acceptance ceremony in Beijing in late 2003. With the integration of the ALEPH system, National Library of China patrons now have Web access to holdings in more than 100 languages represented in the Library’s collections. The National Library of China, the largest library in Asia, takes its place among a number of national libraries running ALEPH 500. Established in 1909 and formally opened to the public in 1912, the National Library of China is a comprehensive research library with a history of rich and varied collections. Serving as the country’s national repository, the Library is dedicated to the collection, processing, storage, development, communication, and proliferation of knowledge and information. Among its holdings of 20 million items is a collection of ancient books and foreign publications for which the Library is particularly well known.

Beijing Jiaotong University has also selected the ALEPH 500 integrated library system as well as the MetaLib virtual gateway. With the signing of this agreement, Beijing Jiaotong University has become the first Chinese customer to contract ALEPH 500, SFX and MetaLib.“The full Unicode support and localisation functionalities of the ALEPH 500 library automation system were features of great interest during the extensive system evaluation period”, said Mr Sa Shuli, Director of the University Library.

For further information please contact: Ex Libris (UK) Ltd, Bridge House, 119-23 Station Road, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 4BX. Tel:+44 (0) 20 8561 5614; Fax:+44 (0) 20 8561 5634; E-mail: exlibris@exlibris.co.uk; URL: www.exlibrisgroup. com

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