Gaylord in Deal with Syndetic

Gaylord Information Systems has joined the numerous vendors partnering with bibliographic content provider Syndetic Solutions to enhance content on its Polaris PowerPAC module. Gaylord said that customers of version 2.0 of Polaris that subscribe to Syndetics "can offer their users enriched content," including tables of contents, reviews, first chapters and excerpts, author notes, book jacket images, summaries and annotations, and fiction and biography profiles. Other vendors to strike such agreements include Sirsi and VTLS.

Additionally, Gaylord has entered into an agreement with Unique Management Services, a collection agency. A new function can be added to the vendor's Polaris system that will enable libraries to transfer "overdue materials information electronically to Unique," which will contact patrons with overdue materials and give them a "gentle reminder" to return or renew the items. Patrons records are automatically updated to indicate the current status of materials. The system also can generate monthly reports on overdue materials and be used both by individual libraries and consortia.