Buyouts and Consolidations Have Ripple Effects

After 2006's lackluster gathering in still-recovering New Orleans, the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference came back with a vengeance in Washington, DC, June 22–28, garnering record attendance (see ALA coverage, p. 36). More than just numbers, there was an energy lacking in N'awlins, which was hamstrung by the double whammy of an earlier Public Library Association meeting (which always steals bodies—and big vendor announcements—away from ALA annual) and travel difficulties to the Katrina-ravaged city.

Despite perfect temperatures for DC, which made it awfully tempting to play outdoors, the show floor was hopping throughout the weekend, leaving most exhibitors tired and talked out—but smiling. The Washington Convention Center's immense hall provided lots of width between aisles for comfortable cruising while belying the crowds.

The reverberations from the changes among vendors in recent years marked by several big buyouts by investor firms, causing system consolidations (see SirsiDynix story below) and leadership adjustments—with veteran execs fluent in the market disappearing to “pursue other interests”—have begun to take their toll. Once almost completely privately owned, ILS vendors now include only a few independents, and, according to them, librarians are beginning to question the wisdom of staying with ILS suppliers controlled by corporate entities with little or no knowledge of the library market.

The combining of systems and discontinuation of once-trusted names—from DRA several years ago to Endeavor this year—has sent some longtime customers rushing into the arms of the remaining independents and a handful of others creating their own systems, as some did in the distant past. The do-it-yourselfers may rise again with homegrown products that eventually outshine the vendors' own.

Changes that drastic don't happen quickly, and vendors continue to move forward with new products of every ilk, from ILS improvements to database upgrades and more, which the conference brought to the fore.

What's in a name? Depends on who you ask. There were several significant name changes unfurled in DC. Xrefer has dropped that handle in favor of Credo Reference. CEO John Dove said that while Xrefer “spoke to one of the many benefits of our functionality...it was far from memorable to those who might hear it for the first time.” Beginning with an X, the company also came up just about dead last in every A-to-Z list (not to mention often being called X-reefer!).

Along with Credo, SirsiDynix announced that it has already dumped the Rome name (the company did say it was temporary) for its new platform, and it seems like Horizon/Corinthian may also have been put out to pasture, with the new ILS harmonizing as Symphony. Although the vendor said that Symphony combines features from both systems, librarians posting on LJ's TalkBack claim it is all Unicorn. Along with the usual trappings, Symphony has modules for Books by Mail, Collection Exchange, new portal powers, and web-based staff clients. Symphony's initial release is expected for the fourth quarter of 2007. The vendor also has upgraded its Enterprise Portal Solution with new features, including a spell-checker with a “did you mean” feature, support for federated searching via Central Search, native Z39.50 search, improved OPAC holdings capabilities, and more.

Auto-Graphics announced it has updated its AGent platform to address the needs of Library 2.0. AGent 3.0 focuses more on the end user, “with the goal of delivering tools to improve information discovery while also addressing the new nature of the social web.” To achieve that goal, the revamped AGent sports a redesigned user interface, which the vendor said “blends information from the traditional OPAC, federated search technology, and a range of progressive tools.” AGent 3.0 also offers spell-checker, local and authoritative cross-referencing, built-in federated search capabilities, and virtual deduping of results.

Auto-Graphics built a clustered results engine in-house, which is included in the new release, along with faceted results display, instant messaging, and an e-commerce functionality allowing patrons to purchase books through the library's site, suggest a book for the collection, or pay fees online. Libraries receive a percentage of profits from materials sold through their sites.

Gale, which recently changed hands, too, is making a big push for its literature products, predominantly through its Literature Resource Center, which has been thoroughly upgraded. Coming at the end of August, the product will be cross-searchable with LitFinder, MLA International Bibliography, and select GVRL (Gale Virtual Reference Library) titles like Novels for Students.

Interface-wise, the product will be identical to Gale's PowerSearch product, with a simple and clean look, and users can search by author, title, keyword, or full text, plus numerous other options in the advanced search mode. Tabs for Literature Criticism, Biographies, Topic & Work Overviews, News & Reviews, Primary Source/Literary Works, Multimedia, and MLA International Biography are arranged across the top of the results map, and multiple sort options are as quick as a click.

Additionally, Gale is now offering the complete International Directory of Company Histories on its VRL ebook platform. Although Volume 59 and up are available already, this complete package adds the first 58 installments. The Directory includes detailed data on more than 8500 companies. Lastly, Gale has enhanced its Biography Resource Center with a new interface and features including a category browse, better web access, and more.

EBSCO's popular NoveList readers' advisory product is getting a boost from a freshly launched portal. The portal includes information from all of NoveList's associated services, such as NoveList K–8, NextReads, and Book Index with Reviews. The company will release in March 2008 NoveList Plus, which also will have a place on the portal. NoveList Plus will cover fiction and nonfiction, including teen and juvenile nonfiction.

Additionally, EBSCO has struck a licensing deal with the National Association of Social Workers to add Social Work Abstracts, a top index, to EBSCOhost. A number of the journals indexed in Social Work Abstracts already are included in full text in EBSCO's SocINDEX with Full Text, so libraries subscribing to both can have direct links to the PDFs.

Partnering is becoming the name of the information game, and ProQuest is playing it. The company has signed a multiyear agreement with the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) to make “key AAS collections available to libraries everywhere.” The initial phase of the deal will see content from the AAS collection put online and on microfilm for the first time. ProQuest is supplying access to the digitized content through its HeritageQuest Online collection of genealogies, local histories, and other primary source materials like census records.

The microfilm, for those still using it, will be included in the UMI Genealogy and Local History collection. Additionally, ProQuest is collaborating with the American Meteorological Society (AMS) to incorporate content from AMS-published journals into the CSA Illustrata: Natural Sciences database. Some of the titles in the deal are Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Earth Interactions, Journal of Applied Meteorology, Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Journal of Climate, Journal of Hydrometeorology, Monthly Weather Review, and Weather and Forecasting.

Polaris was plugging its new Titles To Go feature, which lets librarians check their book suppliers' inventory to see if they actually have the desired titles in stock before ordering, preventing back orders and long waits for unavailable items.