January 13, 2009
Primo will serve as the discovery and delivery system through which thousands of students and researchers will benefit from diverse UNILINC resources
Jerusalem, Israel – January 13, 2009. Ex Libris™ Group is pleased to announce that the UNILINC network, comprised of university, research, and other higher education libraries in Australia, has selected the Company’s Primo® discovery and delivery solution. UNILINC joins the rapidly expanding international Primo community of over 125 institutions spanning 20 countries in North America, Asia Pacific, and Europe.
The streamlined Primo search process enables users to quickly locate and obtain accurate, high-quality information anytime, anywhere. Features such as ”did you mean?” and faceted navigation help users to focus their search and quickly identify the most relevant results. Incorporated Web 2.0 and social computing features, provide Primo users with the tools they need to share their library experience with other community members through ratings, reviews, and tags.
A long-time Ex Libris customer, UNILINC also uses the Aleph® integrated library system, the MetaLib® gateway and metasearch portal, the DigiTool® digital asset management system and the Verde® electronic resource management system, all by Ex Libris. Central to the work of the network are systems that provide autonomy of operations for member libraries and at the same time facilitate resource sharing at many levels.
Executive Director Rona Wade commented, ”Members had looked at what was on the market that would provide a web 2.0 type of interface and bring together OPAC, MetaLib and DigiTool – and Primo met their requirements. UNILINC Office had also been investigating options for a substantial investment in the future to help mark the 30th anniversary of UNILINC. We reviewed a number of options but always came back to something that we could use across all of our systems for harvesting and for effective resource discovery and delivery. Within that we looked at Primo and other offerings our criteria being flexibility within our network context, integration with Circulation and ILL, effort required to support the system and ability for local libraries to customize – and we came to the same conclusion as our Members.
“We are very pleased that Ex Libris understands our service model and was able to meet our network ethos with the result that the UNILINC Board of Directors resolved to fund the purchase of Primo in celebration of the 30th anniversary of our founding. We look forward to rolling out the implementation,” added Ms Wade.
”UNILINC is an important addition to the growing Primo community in Australia and New Zealand,” commented Douglas Barnard, managing director of Ex Libris Australia. ”We are honored that UNILINC has selected Primo as its 30th anniversary gift to the thousands of students and researchers who rely on the diverse collections maintained by this wide-ranging network of libraries. It has been a pleasure to work in partnership with UNILINC over the past 8 years. Primo provides another platform around which to continue our close collaboration with UNILINC for many years to come.”
About UNILINC
UNILINC is a network of higher education and research libraries. The core focus is the provision of a shared integrated library system which provides autonomy of operations for local libraries while at the same time facilitating resource sharing at many levels. UNILINC is a not- for-profit cooperative formed to develop and operate a library network for the benefit of Members which include public universities, a private university and a number of other private higher education providers. Members include the Australian Catholic University, Charles Sturt University, Southern Cross University, the National Gallery of Australia, Avondale College, Shore School, the NSW Police Force, College of Law, the Catholic Institute of Sydney, Whitehouse Institute of Design, Billy Blue, Sydney Adventist Hospital and Study Group Australia. Members participate in resource-sharing activities based on the Shared System including the Reciprocal Borrowing Scheme and interlibrary lending.
For additional information on UNILINC see http://www.unilinc.edu.au/
About Ex Libris
Ex Libris is a leading provider of automation solutions for academic, national, and research libraries. Offering the only comprehensive product suite for electronic, digital, and print materials, Ex Libris provides efficient, user-friendly products that serve the needs of libraries today and will enable them to transition into the future. Ex Libris maintains an impressive customer base consisting of thousands of sites in more than 70 countries on six continents.
Dedicated to developing creative solutions in close collaboration with our customers, Ex Libris enables libraries to maximize productivity and efficiency and, at the same time, greatly enhance the user experience. By empowering users to discover and obtain the information they need, libraries ensure their position as the bridge to knowledge.
For additional information on Ex Libris Group, see http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/.
