Innovations from CGI

Citation

Ferguson, B. (2001), "Innovations from CGI", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 18 No. 10. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.2001.23918jaf.001

Innovations from CGI

Innovations from CGI

Bill Ferguson

Contec Group International Ltd is a software development company based in Christchurch, New Zealand and operating internationally. The company operates two separate divisions, one associated with the Dairy Industry and the other being Library and Information Management. Contec has over 20 years' experience in the implementation and support of computer systems in public, education, corporate and other libraries. In 1985, after success with an earlier system, the company developed its CataList library system that has been installed in many sites, including public and polytechnic libraries. This was followed by the development in 1989/1990 of a further library system, Image II, designed for special libraries, and for government and corporate information resource centres. Our current flagship library system, C2, is a state-of-the art Windows-based product. The C2 system development centre achieved ISO 9001 certification.

The need to offer a modern, Windows-based simple-to-use but feature-rich library and resource management system that could replace our CataList product while remaining in a cost bracket that smaller organisations could afford became apparent some two years ago.

A keyword in the .eLM development strategy was flexibility. Given the power of the JADE Development Environment, Contec can make .eLM do just about anything in the world of information management. The idea was to create a suite of programs that facilitates all library and resource management for today's busy resource centres. It was imperative that the new system handled all library operations efficiently and effectively, but the development team recognised that staff with library responsibilities often had other resource management tasks given to them, so a system that also handles the management of textbooks, sports equipment, science kits, musical instruments, furniture, conference rooms, projectors and any other resources, would be of great utility to busy people.

In analysing the available development environments that could be used for the new product, it was decided that an integrated database and thin client facility would provide an ideal vehicle for an easy-to-install, easy-to-maintain system; this would mean that no other third-party software such as a Database Management System or remote client product would need to be purchased by the end-user. The JADE development environment, a product of Cardinal Technologies' JADE division, is produced in Christchurch, New Zealand and sold worldwide. It is now taught in many universities and polytechnics in several countries including the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA. JADE was developed by the same company that produced the (Unisys) LINC product.

Another key design principle behind .eLM was that the customer interface should provide simple access for all staff – including those that have no interest, or lack confidence, in the use of computer based solutions.

A good example of a user-friendly design feature we wanted to see was having all circulation functionality on one screen. .eLM offers all circulation functions from one screen – click and you are doing an issue, click and you are in reserves, click and you are entering returns, click and you are changing borrower details. That means the circulation staff personnel have no menu hunting to do – the screen has all the functions and knows what you want to do by your selection.

With the release of its .eLM Library and Resource Management System, Contec has developed a product that is totally Web-enabled within itself. By this we mean that when you purchase the product you get a system that requires no other software to operate (apart from the Windows Operating System), even if you have remote branches with only low-speed communications and you want to offer a Web OPAC. Or, if you are a group of say three schools and do not have the money for each school to have its own separate computer equipment, you can have just one server at one location and then the workstations for all three schools can connect to it – and keep their data separate if required – via ordinary telephone lines, low speed leased lines or the Internet. Local printers, including slip printers, are also supported. We believe this feature alone is a major cost saver for school consortia, libraries with outlying branches, and countrywide corporates.

The system developers were aware that many small libraries and corporate information centres have no staff with LIS qualifications, a state of affairs that poses problems when it comes to cataloguing new materials. It is sometimes difficult for non-qualified staff to cope with authority records, so Contec's developers wanted to make it easy for them to recognise existing authority records. When you are cataloguing with .eLM, you only need to enter a few characters of an author's surname, and all authoritative terms that start with those characters will appear instantly – simply select the one you want and .eLM finishes the entry for you. If the name you want is not there, click "Add new authority"; if you have the security rights you can enter the new name.

Managers, including librarians, often want to book a resource for a class or meeting on a given day, yet in most organisations it is impossible to be sure that the resource you need will be in the right place at the right time when you need it. A "Booking" functionality is planned for .eLM so that resources can be booked for precisely when they are needed.

Once they started working on the resource management functionality, the development team also learned that school managers have a particular wish to keep parents informed of their children's use of school resources. One very important reason for this is that parents pay the bill when resources are lost. The flexibility of the system being developed meant that it was possible to include a feature that allows parents log in via the Internet to see what resources have been allocated to their child so that they can keep an eye on where exactly that textbook or loaned cricket bat is! If managers need to list the value of different resources on asset registers, then it can be done in .eLM in a single report.

Librarians and other resource managers often have information in their resource database that is confidential, .eLM has been designed so that the field-level security feature makes sure that only the information you want to make available to a set of users is shown. Your secured information is safely stored in the database – but only visible to those people who have sufficient clearance to view that information.

.eLM is new – its potential is only just starting to be realised.

Bill Ferguson(billf@contecds.com) Contec Group International Ltd, 330 Port Hills Road, Christchurch, New Zealand.