UIL Library Converts Circulation System

U of Ideas In Humanities/Social Sciences ó October 1998
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Contact: Andrea Lynn, Humanities/Social Sciences Editor (217) 333-2177; [email protected]

TECHNOLOGY

U. of I. Library converts to state-of-the-art circulation system

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Illinois Library is ready for the 21st century.

It just rolled out an online cataloging and circulation system that not only meets the international standard for data-sharing, but also is Year 2000 compliant. The system also gives users a powerful way to access materials, and provides a ìgatewayî to a galaxy of electronic resources. These are huge steps, considering that the Library, which is celebrating the acquisition of its 9 millionth book in October, is the worldís largest public university library.

After 20 years of yeoman-like service, the previous and now-antiquated Library Circulation System, with its automated catalog ñ one of the earliest online systems at a major research library -- was exchanged overnight for a more powerful library-management system. The new system incorporates most library functions, including acquisitions, cataloging and external user services. It can be accessed by a fully-functional Telnet interface and by a Web-based interface. The latter, which is under construction, is expected to be fully functional before the end of the year.

It has been a massive project in other ways. The U. of I. Library has one of the largest and most heavily used research collections in the world. Every day, some 1 million users logged onto the previous online system. Moreover, the changeover involved the U. of I. and the 44 other libraries in the Illinois Library Computer Systems Organization (ILCSO), which three years ago voted to go en masse to the new system. The new system was purchased from Data Research Associates Inc. (DRA) of St. Louis, a leading supplier of library computer systems. With some 21 million item records, the ILCSO database is the largest to date to be supported by a DRA system, a company spokesman said.

The new system ìoverall is performing as planned,î said Susan Searing, chair of the Libraryís task force on user education and head of research and planning for user services.

Still, Searing said, a few ìunanticipated glitches and quirksî have arisen, especially from data conversions. Some of the Libraryís heaviest users and ìbest customersî were declared delinquent on overdue items and were prevented from checking out books. Also, oversize books in one departmental library suddenly became ìnon-circulating,î and some mystery locations appeared on the catalog.

ìThese and other errors are being recorded and prioritized for remedying by the programmers,î Searing said. ìMany already have been fixed and the staff has devised creative ëwork-aroundsí for others.î The new system is linked to the Libraryís electronic gateway at http://www.library.uiuc.edu.

ìOnce everything is fully up and running, the new system will offer ìan exceptional searching capability, with a seamless integration of electronic resources,î Searing said, adding that after a second stage is launched, the U. of I. Library ìwill be at the forefront of its peer institutions.î Several large research universities, including Harvard, ìare tracking our experiences closely, so we are in a sense pioneers,î she said.

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