Company Profiles

By Marshall Breeding & Carol Roddy -- Library Journal, 4/1/2003

Auto-Graphics, Inc.
3201 Temple Ave.
Pomona, CA 91768
800-776-6939
www.auto-graphics.com
Auto-Graphics is a publicly owned company (AUGR) involved in both library automation and publishing. The firm continues to develop the Impact/VERSO ILS web-based product and sell it in both locally installed and ASP arrangements. A typical ASP customer is described as having holdings of up to 75,000 items. Auto-Graphics also introduced AGent, a single search portal designed as part of an overall virtual catalog or resource sharing solution. It can also serve as a cross-domain tool for broadcast searching of online databases. Additionally, the company is promoting AGent for remote patron authentication, supporting cookies, and IP authentication and also the NCIP standard and SIP/SIP2 protocols. Auto-Graphics has announced plans to enhance AGent with an ISO 10160/161–compliant interlibrary loan (ILL) module in the first half of 2003. Sales of AGent are the key focus for the company at present. Auto-Graphics concluded contracts with Toronto PL and the State of New Jersey for AGent and also distribution agreements with Palinet, Amigos, and CAPCON. Overall, Auto-Graphics reported a significant shift in market sector percentages: 67% of new contracts were with public libraries, compared with 36% last year.
BiblioMondo inc.
3600 Themens Saint-Laurent, QC H4R 1V6, Canada
514-337-3000
www.bibliomondo.com
BiblioMondo may not be familiar in the United States (two sales this year were to U.S. libraries), but the company enjoys considerable success in Canada and Europe. Formed in 2000 out of the merger of Best Seller and ALS International, BiblioMondo offers two product lines: PortFolio and Concerto. PortFolio operates on either Unix or Windows NT/2000 servers, targets public and special libraries, and is sold primarily in Canada; major developments include the creation of a new serials and acquisitions module for the upcoming Version 6. Concerto, designed for large public libraries and consortia in Europe, runs on Windows NT/2000 servers using the Sybase RDBMS. The system can handle high-transaction loads and large databases typical of these libraries. This year BiblioMondo introduced a new product called Zones. The initial phase, called Zone-1, is a web-based OPAC that combines features from Concerto and PortFolio, then adds personalization and advanced searching capabilities. Zones provides access to multimedia as well as text-oriented content. Work on the next version of Zones is already underway. Accounts won in 2002 include the municipal library in Marseilles, France; the Canadian Department of National Defense Research Library; the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec and the Grande bibliothèque du Québec (a newly merged library system).
Book Systems, Inc.
721 Clinton Ave., Suite 11
Huntsville, AL 35801
888-289-1216
www.booksys.com
The company markets almost entirely to schools. Concourse, a single-building solution, and Concourse Continuum, which supports multiple branches, are the foundations of the line. A recently announced web-based OPAC option works with Linux. Book Systems, Inc. is a small company, although it indicates that it has increased its staff to 88. Over half the staff are in support and development. The sales staff, by comparison, is small and concentrate travel on state and regional meetings. All but four contracts were to U.S. libraries. Book Systems indicates that the decrease in its installed base is likely because of different counting methods, not a net loss of customers.
Brodart Automation, a division of Brodart Co.
500 Arch St.
Williamsport, PA 17701
800-233-8467
www.brodart.com
Automation is one division of Brodart's large and diverse coverage of library products and services. Brodart's ILS product is Amlib. Of this past year's sales, only nine were to U.S. libraries. The other 130 contracts were sold internationally by InfoVision, the product's Australia-based developer. Roughly two-thirds of sales were to school libraries with the other third to small public libraries. While Brodart reports that it has been able to load test systems of up to a million records and five million holdings, a typical customer has well under 100,000 titles. The customer base includes at least one group of eight public libraries in a Wide Area Network. Each customer has a standalone Amlib, but they all contribute to a union catalog with Amlib's Z39.50 capability. The product employs the Bath profile. The U.S. staff are closely watching the discussion of NCIP, but Brodart will not be among the early implementers. The product can provide an XML portal, and the company has tested RFID successfully. The development staff for Amlib are in Australia, but there is a 40-person support group based in Pennsylvania. Brodart also sells the DartClix subscription service that catalogs web sites for loading into a library's ILS.
CASPR Library Systems, Inc.
14395 Saratoga Ave., Suite 150
Saratoga, CA 95070
800-852-2777
www.caspr.com
CASPR's LibraryCom offers a basic nuts-and-bolts circulation system in an ASP model for small school, public, and special libraries. A 60-day free trial for libraries is provided, after which libraries must select from three moderately priced options. The lowest cost option includes 15MB of space, which the company estimates is up to 7000 titles. The service includes CASPR's MARC cataloging service. Two or more small libraries can configure their holdings to allow joint borrowing, but the feature set is very limited. In the immediate future CASPR plans to add such basics as inventory control, importing, and exporting. Norman Kline, president of CASPR, reports that there are over 350 libraries using the LibraryCom.com service, with 20 to 35 new libraries joining each month. CASPR also supports the Columbia Library System, a school system it acquired in 1997. It did not provide 2002 sales figures. LibraryWorld, CASPR's desktop option, now has a companion module, LibraryNet, which functions as a searchable OPAC on the web. Full web-based circulation functionality is planned for a later release. While no interest was expressed in emerging U.S. standards such as NCIP, CASPR is working on a peer-to-peer product for sharing library records.
Civica
103 Hoddle St.
Collingwood, Victoria 3066, Australia
61 3 9411 3300
www.civica.com.au
Civica, formerly known as Sanderson Computers, Inc., did not respond to the survey. The company offers the SPYDUS library automation system, which is currently undergoing a major revamping, changing its underlying database to Microsoft's SQL Server. While SPYDUS is installed in the United States, the company's customers are mainly in Australia, where it is one of the leading ILS vendors for public libraries. The company maintained an office in the United States until recently. It plans to resume marketing in North America in 2004.
COMPanion Corp.
1831 Fort Union Blvd.
Salt Lake City, UT 84121
801-943-7277
www.goalexandria.com
COMPanion, focused almost exclusively on school libraries, offers the Alexandria library automation system, operating on both Windows and Macintosh, including Mac OS X and Windows XP. Midyear, the company released version 5.43 of Alexandria, which delivers enhancements such as Mac OS X support, integrated Z39.50-based searching, and improvements in the MARC editing in the cataloging component. This version also offers a web OPAC that supports both Spanish and English. The company has created a version of Alexandria that provides identical functionality whether installed as a centralized union catalog or in a distributed approach, offering libraries greater flexibility. The company released a media booking module integrated into Alexandria.
CyberTools, Inc.
Blanchard House, 249 Ayer Rd., Suite 302
Harvard, MA 01451
978-772-9200
www.cybertoolsforlibraries.com
CyberTools specializes in providing library automation software for medical and hospital libraries almost exclusively in the United States. The company's CyberTools for Libraries doubled its installed base in the last year. CyberTools for Libraries includes all the standard library modules except acquisitions. It is based on the Caché postrelational database. The system's design includes sophisticated support for MeSH authority control. This year CyberTools refined its processes for libraries that acquire the system, enabling them to deploy CyberTools quickly—especially if they choose the ASP arrangement. While the development of an acquisitions module continues, the company completed its implementation of Z39.50.
Dynix
400 W. 5050 N.
Provo, UT 84604
801-223-5200
www.dynix.com
Just before the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting 2003, the company announced it changed its name from epixtech, inc. to Dynix, considered more recognizable. The company's ownership, which is private, remains the same. Dynix ranks as the largest company in the industry in terms of employees and the number of libraries served by multiuser systems. According to new president Jack Blount, Dynix seeks to reinvent itself. He aims to strengthen the company's prowess in software development, leveraging his experience in leading other high-tech companies. Blount also wants Dynix to change the perception of the company to one that successfully delivers automation products to all libraries, not just public libraries.
This year, Dynix focused its energies on the development and support of its flagship Horizon system and in supporting its large customer base running the Dynix library automation system and NOTIS. The company released version 7.3 of Horizon, which includes a new version of the media scheduling module, improvements to the MARC editing system, and a new reports manager. True to the company's promise for continued support for Dynix, it released Version 1.9, which includes a number of significant enhancements, especially to the circulation and OPAC modules. The company recently introduced a new digital library system called DigitaLink. Dynix serves many types of libraries and has many consortia among its customers. One of the main challenges facing Dynix involves providing products and services that satisfy different types and sizes of libraries. The number of Dynix migrations is surprisingly small considering the expected life span of the system is estimated to be three to five years. Dynix customers, known for being loyal, seem reluctant to move on. Nonetheless, we expect aging architecture to drive migrations dramatically beginning next year.
New contracts include the El Paso PL, TX; both the Upper Hudson and Broome County Library systems, NY; and Tampa Bay Library Consortium, FL.
Endeavor Information Systems
2200 E. Devon Ave., Suite 382
Des Plaines, IL 60018
847-296-2200
www.endinfosys.com
Endeavor Information Systems, a division of Elsevier Science, offers library automation and digital library products for academic and research libraries. Four new Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries selected Voyager in 2002, increasing the number of ARL libraries that use this system to 33. In addition to Voyager, the company offers the ENCompass digital library system for libraries to manage electronic resources and LinkFinderPlus, an advanced linking product based on the OpenURL specification. With Elsevier veteran Roland Dietz now heading the company, Endeavor takes another step toward integration with its parent company. From Elsevier, Endeavor gains access to sophisticated information retrieval technologies, content integration opportunities, and research and development resources. This has advantages for Endeavor's customers, although many express discomfort at the affiliation. Nevertheless, sales continue to be strong. More importantly, Endeavor's development seems faster than ever, perhaps reflecting the resources available within the company. These include two new releases of ENCompass and version 2.0 of LinkFinderPlus.
Some of the major contracts awarded in 2002 for Voyager include the National Agriculture Library, National Gallery of Art, Columbia University, State Library of North Carolina, Pfizer Limited, the 19 Queensland Health Libraries in Australia, and CONZULSys consortium in New Zealand.
EOS International
2382 Faraday Ave., Suite 350
Carlsbad, CA 92008
800-876-5484/760-431-8400
www.eosintl.com
EOS International offers the Q Series and GLAS library automation systems, selling primarily to corporate libraries. Q Series offers more sophisticated functionality as a multiuser client/server system based on Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server RDMS. GLAS (Graphical Library Automation System) operates as a peer-to-peer network system. EOS International's statistics arrived too late for inclusion in our tables. It reported 182 sales of its Windows-based GLAS system, resulting in an installed base of 1,282. The Q Series saw 28 new contracts. EOS expanded its European Operations and named Philippe Turner-Loisel as managing director of European Operations. Tony Saadat was promoted from COO to CEO. EOS is privately owned by its founder, Scot Cheatham.
Ex Libris (USA), Inc.
1919 N. Sheffield Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614
773-404-5527
www.exlibris-usa.com
In 2002, Ehud Arad, one of the company's founders, stepped down as president. Sami Kamhi, formerly of Amdocs, was appointed president and CEO. Carl Grant resigned as president of Ex Libris (USA) in March; no successor had been named at press time. Based in Israel, Ex Libris (USA) maintains offices in Chicago and Boston. Ex Libris specializes in producing software for large consortia, and sales continue strong. (The company did not provide the total number of libraries involved in this year's sales.) Through multitype library consortia, Ex Libris serves a mix of libraries, though most are academics. Nineteen of the 122 ARL libraries have now selected ALEPH 500, a remarkable accomplishment since the company entered the North American market only four years ago.
The company's non-ILS products remain strong sellers. In 2002, it licensed its SFX reference linking product to 37 sites, while 45 libraries acquired MetaLib. Libraries that purchase (or have purchased) Aleph 500 often license a wider suite of products, including SFX and MetaLib. DigiTool, a digital asset management system was released in 2002. Seven libraries purchased this product, Brandeis University among them. Significantly, Ex Libris successfully completed the implementation of sites sold in prior years; these include such large libraries as Harvard University, University of Minnesota, and the State University of New York. Major new contracts for Aleph 500 include the Online Dakota Information Network, Virginia Commonwealth University, the National Library of Mexico, and PALNI (Private Academic Library Network of Indiana).
Follett Software Co.
1391 Corporate Dr.
McHenry, IL 60050
815-344-8700
www.fsc.follett.com
Follett Software Co. continues as one of the dominant providers of software for U.S. school libraries, which account for nearly all of the company's sales. The company tends to sell to individual school libraries rather than to centralized school districts. In 2002, Follett introduced TitlePeek, which allows students to view book jacket images and other extended information, and AV/ACCESS Online, a utility that provides access to 500,000 records for nonprint materials. Circulation Plus and Catalog Plus were enhanced to include advanced booking and acquisitions support. The Find-It-All Collection, introduced in 2001, was enhanced with new features and extended by more than 60 new databases. This product also includes access to a collection of 170,000 approved web sites—an increase of 10,000 above what was available in the initial release.
Fretwell-Downing, Inc.
7400 W. 132 St., Suite 140
Overland Park, KS 66213
913-239-1200
www.fdusa.com
Fretwell-Downing Inc. (FDI) is known in North America primarily for its resource sharing and portal products. It sells the OLIB7 Oracle-based library automation system primarily in the UK and Europe. The company's VDX (Virtual Document eXchange) virtual catalog and ISO-ILL system have been selected by a number of consortia to facilitate sharing of resources among member libraries. The company also introduced CPORTAL for the delivery of community information services through a single search interface. In the OpenURL arena, the company now offers a product called OL2. FDI's ZPORTAL software was selected by a group of seven ARL members as a collaborative development partner in the Scholars Portal Project. This project aims to create an environment of high-quality, web-accessible information resources for the academic community.
Gaylord Information Systems
Box 4901
Syracuse, NY 13221
800-272-3414
www.gis.gaylord.com
Gaylord Information Systems (GIS) reports that over 90% of its customers are public libraries. The company has had an uphill struggle to capture customers migrating from its legacy Galaxy product to Polaris. Galaxy contracts dropped by 80, but only 15 of these went on to Polaris. Katherine Blauer, GIS president, has set out to fix two problems: provide the functionality customers demand in Polaris and turn around a negative support image. GIS has recruited talented staff to make these changes. In 2002, GIS released version 2.1 of the Polaris software. This release enhanced the capabilities of the Windows-based Polaris ActivePAC to bring it in line with the web-based PowerPAC. The release enhanced broadcast searching capabilities and added multilingual options. The company also states that it has made huge strides in correcting its customer service issues.
GIS has embarked on what it calls an "aggressive program of system integration" by forming lasting partnerships to cover the full range of customer needs. Its list of service partners reads like an index to the library industry—from OCLC to LSSI to Baker & Taylor to Guardianet, producers of access management solutions. Its goal, says Blauer, is long-term customer loyalty. New contracts include the Clinton-Macomb PL, MI; North Canton PL, OH; and Bernards-ville PL, NJ.
Geac Software Solutions—Libraries Division
Needles House, Birmingham Rd.
Studley, Warwickshire B80 7AS
United Kingdom
+44 (0) 870 909 5152
www.library.geac.com
Geac is unique in library automation for the sheer breadth of its corporate interests, and it continues to prosper from diverse software offerings for dozens of industries. The Library Systems Division is a tiny niche within the larger corporation. The company still supports and develops ADVANCE and PLUS, adding features to extend the life of those products, and retains a large customer base. Geac sold no systems within the United States in 2002. Worldwide, the bulk of its sales efforts are focused on VubisSmart, or Vsmart, described as having "metadata driven record formats" and thin-client technology for web OPAC and/or portal. Following a recent period of serious financial uncertainty, Geac has stabilized and returned to profitability.
Inmagic, Inc.
200 Unicorn Park Dr., 4th fl.
Woburn, MA 01801
800-229-8398; 781-938-4444
www.inmagic.com
Inmagic specializes in software for corporate libraries, offering a family of products based on DB/TextWorks, as well as the BiblioTech PRO ILS acquired from Comstow in 1999. Inmagic is unique in the library automation market for its use of a network of independent dealers for sales and support of DB/TextWorks products. Inmagic has ten authorized dealers in the United States, four in Canada, and 11 internationally. This approach accounts for Inmagic's small support staff relative to its large customer base. In 2002, Inmagic appointed industry veteran Susan Sterns as VP of marketing. Other expansion activities included moving to a new headquarters in Woburn, MA, and adding new dealers in France, Israel, and Poland.
While Inmagic's products perform traditional library automation functions, its specialty lies in managing information assets—either within a corporate intranet or on the Internet. Typically, DB/Text applications are created and managed within the library and not the IT department. Inmagic released a new product called DB/Text WebPublisher PRO, which uses XML forms to publish databases easily on the web. The product comes with an XML Forms Library of templates for queries and reports that will ease the creation of many common library-oriented web applications such as virtual reference and document delivery requests. Inmagic also enhanced its DB/TextWorks products, including support for XML.
Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
5850 Shellmound Way
Emeryville, CA 94608
510-655-6200
www.iii.com
Innovative Interfaces continues as one of the top-performing companies in the industry. It is in the top tier in multiple categories: overall revenue, total contracts, new-name sales, personnel employed, and customer retention. Innovative's customer base is becoming more mixed. Twenty-nine percent of this year's sales were to public libraries, up 16% since 2001. This reflects a growing focus on the public library market. More than half of Innovative's sales were to new customers, but the company continues to convert customers from its legacy Innopac system to Millennium. With only 144 sites running Innopac, the company is far along in converting customers to its current system.
The company's flagship Millennium ILS is based on Java and is one of the few systems that allow libraries to run the Millennium client modules on Windows, Mac, or Linux. The company introduced a number of products that provide functionality beyond the traditional ILS. Electronic Resource Management helps libraries automate the management of electronic subscriptions, providing the infrastructure for procurement, tracking, management, and controlled access. Innovative also developed the OpenURL-compliant WebBridge resolution server and the XML Harvester and metadata builder. A new product, Via, was released for the school library market. Like Millennium, Via is Java-based, but it is a distinct product, designed to be run as a centralized library automation system for school districts.
Major sales include the CLAMS consortium in Massachusetts; the EINetwork in the Pittsburgh area; Brooklyn PL and San Francisco PL; University of Arizona; California State–Northridge; and Cuyahoga County PL, OH.
Insignia Software
10909 Jasper Ave., Suite 520
Edmonton, Alta. T5J 3L9, Canada
877-780-7769; 780-497-7769
www.insigniasoftware.com
Insignia Software offers the Windows-based Insignia Library System. This client/server system operates with either Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle as its database, runs on Windows NT/2000 or .net servers, and offers both Windows and web-based clients. The company markets primarily to schools, community colleges, and small public libraries. Insignia recently developed the Student Information System, which manages student accounts, grades, and other administrative functions to complement its library automation software.
Kelowna Software Ltd.
#202, 1980 Cooper Rd.
Kelowna, BC V1Y 8K5, Canada
800-667-3634
www.L4U.com
Kelowna Software offers a standalone automation system called Library 4 Universal (L4U), which runs on either Windows or Macs, designed for schools and small public libraries. A multiuser version is also available. The L4U web server provides a web-based OPAC. In 2002, Kelowna released version 5.2, which includes enhancements such as integrated spell and grammar checking in both English and French and a new multilingual web OPAC.
Keystone Systems, Inc.
8016 Glenwood Ave.
Raleigh, NC 27612
919-782-1143
www.klas.com
Though Keystone Systems is small in the overall marketplace, it is the major supplier of software to libraries for the visually impaired. KLAS operates with the Progress RDBMS and is designed to work well with assistive technologies. This year Keystone completed a full redesign of the KLAS WebOPAC, improving ease of use and accessibility.
The Library Corporation, TLC/CARL
Research Park
Inwood, WV 25428
800-325-7759
www.tlcdelivers.com
The Library Corporation (TLC) focuses mainly on public libraries, with its Carl.Solution designed for large municipal libraries and consortia and Library.Solution for small and mid-sized libraries. On the development side, TLC released version 3.0 of Library. Solution, deployed a new version of its YouSeeMore enhanced web OPAC, and completed a new version of its acquisitions module, Library.Acquire. TLC continues work on Carl.Solution, delivering new versions of every module with enhancements. New contracts include the Pomona PL, CA; Park City Library, UT; and Corvallis-Benton County PL, OR.
In 2002, TLC created a Schools Division charged with tapping the growing school library market. This group had quite good results, attracting contracts from six major school districts and accounting for 9% of the company's new sales for the year. Its primary offering is SchoolLibrary.Solution, but TLC also reached agreement to offer Surpass Library Automation to schools for which a single building desktop solution is appropriate. This year TLC initiated a development effort for its new Online Selection Assistant, a library acquisition process that the company believes will dramatically improve the way that libraries select and purchase new materials. The Online Selection Assistant is an ASP service that integrates data from a wide range of publishers with tools developed by TLC; it was launched at the 2003 ALA Midwinter Meeting.
Mandarin Library Automation, Inc.
PO Box 272308
Boca Raton, FL 33427
800-426-7477
www.mlasolutions.com
Mandarin Library Automation, a division of SIRS, Inc., offers the Mandarin M3 automation system, selling primarily to U.S. schools. Mandarin M3 is a graphical, network-based system supporting both Windows and Mac clients. This year the company made a number of significant enhancements through the recently released Mandarin Core v1.6, as well as new releases of Cataloging, Circulation, and OPAC. The company established an arrangement with Syndetic Solutions and will soon be offering subscriptions to allow its customers to display enriched book content.
New Generation Technologies Inc.
Dept. 844, PO Box 34069
Seattle, WA 98124
800-661-7112
www.librarysoft.com
New Generation Technologies offers the LiBRARYSOFT automation system geared to K–12 school, religious, corporate, and other small libraries. The software runs on both Windows and Macs and can be run on a network. This system offers many of the standard modules but still lacks a web-based OPAC. In 2002, the company reports that it has completed a major rewrite of the system, implementing a completely new user interface.
Open Text, Inc., BASIS Division
6500 Emerald Pkwy., Suite 200
Dublin, OH 43016
800-499-6544; 614-761-8083
www.opentext.com
The Basis Division of Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ: OTEX, TSE: OTC) offers the Techlib library automation system, marketed primarily to corporate libraries. While several corporate customers failed to renew their maintenance agreements, some existing libraries purchased new modules, added new servers, and increased their number of licensed users—upgrades not counted in the sales figures. Techlib is powered by BASIS, a database technology developed in-house. The system uses a web interface for all its modules. New developments include a new version of Techlib, the addition of a digital collection management module, and a new version of the BASIS Webtop OPAC.
Sagebrush Corporation
3601 Minnesota Dr., Suite 550
Minneapolis, MN 55435
800-533-5430
www.sagebrushcorp.com
Sagebrush offers library automation software to school libraries as part of a company that also supplies books and data services. Winnebago Spectrum and Sagebrush Athena, though distinct products, both favor individual usage in school libraries, while Accent is designed as a centralized school district library automation system. Accent is based on software licensed from Sirsi Corporation. Given its diverse systems, tracking the company's performance can be a challenge. Since Accent is sold to school districts, the small number of contracts can represent quite a large number of libraries.
This year Sagebrush released a new version of Accent, with major changes to accommodate K–12 users. Accent customers can now take advantage of Sirsi's iBISTRO software and subscription to enriched book content. Sagebrush released version 5.1 of Winnebago Spectrum and version 9.1.1 of Athena. The company launched Ucheck, a patron self-checkout system that works with both Athena and Winnebago Spectrum. Sagebrush continues its work to implement the SIF (School Interoperability Framework) initiative for increased integration between library automation systems and other school administrative applications.
Sirsi Corporation
101 Washington St. SE
Huntsville, AL 35801
256-704-7000
www.sirsi.com
This was the first full year for Sirsi since its acquisition of Data Research Associates (DRA). The company fully integrated the staff, products, and technologies of the previous two companies. The new company is large—ranking second in size of staff and customers for multiuser systems. Sirsi appointed Don McCall as COO, overseeing the majority of the company's key business units. McCall comes to Sirsi from T. Rowe Price and, like President Pat Sommers, is an alum of Dun & Bradstreet.
Sirsi's flagship product is the Unicorn library management system. Taos, developed by DRA prior to the merger, is no longer supported, and all but three Taos sites have migrated to other systems. Sirsi also inherited libraries running DRA Classic. In 2002, 79 of these libraries migrated to Unicorn and its competitors, leaving an installed base of 243 by year's end. Sirsi also inherited support for INLEX/3000 and MultiLIS. About 36 INLEX libraries remain, and 205 continue to run MultiLIS.
Sirsi serves a diverse set of libraries. While only 4% of Sirsi's sales were to school libraries, its main foray into the school market is through its licensing arrangement with Sagebrush (see above). Many of Sirsi's contracts were to consortia; its 20 consortia contracts represent 2,288 individual libraries. Sirsi continues to hold its own with ARL libraries. In 2002, Sirsi initiated partnerships with many companies in related industries. These include SoftScan for synthesized speech for its telephone notification system; LSSI for integration of its virtual reference service; and EnvisionWare for PC management and print control systems. Content partnerships initiated include H.W. Wilson for Print Review Digest, ebrary for its ebrarian database, and EBSCO for its NoveList service. Major contracts include the University of Toronto; University of Alberta; Heritage Trail Library System, IL; and Jacksonville PL, FL.
Softlink America Inc.
5575 DTC Pkwy., Suite 340
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
303-741-1521
www.softlinkamerica.com
While Softlink had healthy worldwide sales of Alice, its school product, U.S. sales represented less than 5% of the total. Although Softlink America increased its staff to seven, it still rates as one of the companies with the smallest North American presence. There is no development staff in the United States. Over 90% of the customers for Alice are K–12 schools. However, Softlink also sells Liberty3 and Library Corporate for special libraries. It features full-text search and retrieval capabilities. The company also sells fingerprint recognition software for patron ID.
Surpass Software
517 Oothcalooga St., Suite C
Calhoun, GA 30701
888-313-7678; 706-625-5399
www.SurpassSoftware.com
Surpass claims some small public and special libraries as customers, but the bulk of its sales are to K–12 school libraries. It also reports increased activity in the church/synagogue market and other specialized libraries seeking a desktop single-building solution. In June, Surpass reached agreement with TLC/CARL and now sells Surpass Library Automation along with TLC's SchoolLibrary.Solution for schools seeking a building-level solution. The company released version 4 of Surpass Library Automation, with enhanced content integration. The company also lists a low-cost serials management solution among its offerings.
SydneyPLUS—International Library Systems
5138-13562 Maycrest Way
Richmond, BC V6V 2J7, Canada
604-278-6717
www.sydneyplus.com
SydneyPLUS, which specializes in automation software exclusively for corporate libraries, did not respond to the survey.
VTLS Inc.
1701 Kraft Dr.
Blacksburg, VA 24060
540-557-1200
www.vtls.com
VTLS experienced a strong year of sales for its Virtua system. Two-thirds of the sales were to libraries outside the United States. The U.S. sales represent single-library installations, while the international contracts include a number of large consortia, which explains the larger number of sites compared with contracts reported. Surprisingly, the number of sites running VTLS Classic increased by four. This system is a legacy system; in previous years, dozens of libraries migrated from VTLS Classic. Notable characteristics of Virtua include its use of the Oracle DBMS, its thorough implementation of Unicode, and its strong adherence to standards. VTLS also offers the Chameleon iPortal as an enhanced web-based OPAC. VTLS has been an early implementer and proponent of FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records), a new standard for the organization of multiple related items within a single bibliographic record. VTLS sells software and services related to imaging and offers products that integrate RFID technology for self-checkout and inventory.