The web interface http://www.jisc-content.ac.uk/ which has recently been set up to provide a more user friendly way of navigating the content that JISC funding has helped made available to the HE and FE communities.

The site is not aiming to give item level access to each collection, i.e. it is not a federated search in the manner of Europeana. Rather it is a gateway that provides an brief descriptions of each collection, and offers users different, and hopefully, engaging ways to browse through these descriptions, and learn more about what is on offer.

The content currently includes material licensed by JISC Collections (http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/) and material digitised via the two phases of the Digitisation Programme, the Enriching Digital Resources strand, and the first phase of the JISC – NEH (National Endowment for Humanities) Transatlantic work. Information from the current community content programme will be added when projects come online

The plan is to update the site over time, and particular to make some changes in response to feedback gathered over the next month or so. If you have feedback, modifications etc. then please send it to collections@jisc.ac.uk

“Our present ILS system did not meet our needs. Our catalog was not on the Internet, patrons couldn’t receive notices or reminders by email. These are features that patrons have been requesting for years and we can finally satisfy those needs with Koha,” said Anna Carr, Director of Library Operations.

Northeast Harbor Library serves the town of Mount Desert, Maine, with a very unique mission – they not only provide public library services but they also support the curriculum for the Mount Desert Elementary School. The library has been in existence for over 100 years and while its location has changed over time it can truly be considered a historical landmark in the town of Mount Desert. Its collection includes more than 50,000 items, including books, periodicals, audio books, DVD’s, CD-ROMS’s and video cassettes. Approximately 25 percent of all items account for those in The Children’s Department.

“It gives us great satisfaction to be working with such a historic library as the Northeast Harbor library. With its roots going back over 100 years, we aim to provide the NEHL user community with a system that will bring many years of service, aiding the community in not only finding what’s new, but ultimately preserving the best of the past,” stated LibLime Project Manager, Jane Wagner.

“Koha will allow our customers to access the catalog online, see what items they have checked out, renew them, and place a hold on an item all from their own home or office desktop. Patrons can be sent reminders by email. School children at Mount Desert Elementary School can check what resources are available at the library from their laptop computers right at school. This is wonderful improvement of service to our community,” expressed Ms. Carr.

About the Northeast Harbor Library

The original Northeast Harbor Library opened in the town of Mount Desert, ME in 1892 as a seasonal subscription library. This coastal community, with a population of approximately 2,000, nearly triples in size during the summer months. In turn, circulation of materials, computer usage, and library visits double during this period. It was not until 1905 that the need for a winter library was met, and in 1949 all assets were transferred to the Northeast Harbor Library Corporation, which was chartered as a privately held library for the Town of Mount Desert. Today, the Northeast Harbor Library serves three distinct user communities using a single collection: A privately funded library for seasonal residents, a public library for town inhabitants, and a school library for Mount Desert Elementary School. Northeast Harbor also works cooperatively with other libraries on Mount Desert Island, providing services to residents of other towns.

About PTFS and LibLime

LibLime, a division of PTFS, is the global leader in Koha support. LibLime provides consulting, implementation, data migration, training, development, and maintenance/hosting services for Koha in libraries of all types and sizes. PTFS is the developer of the world’s leading digital content management software, ArchivalWare, and also specializes in library staffing requirements, digitization, and systems integration. For more information, see http://liblime.com or http://ptfs.com or http://archivalware.net.

The Musicains of Britain and Ireland 1900-1950 project is allowing listeners and researchers to rediscover leading musicians who were once household names.

Most of the recordings are making their first public appearance since they came out on shellac over 60 years ago and are linked to a range of research resources about the history of recording to help people make the most of the collection.

The discs were selected specifically to highlight world-class British and Irish performers recorded between 1900 and 1950, especially artists neglected by the newly-formed EMI after the merger of the Gramophone Co and Columbia in 1931.

For more information about this project and to listen to some samples,visit the JISC webpages

All the tracks and many more are all available on the CHARM website.

Our July newsletter comes to you post TransferSummit and we think it’s a good opportunity to reflect on what happened over the two days of the conference. To this end we bring you excerpts from two blogs written at the TransferSummit, one from the innovation track and one that covers both the collaboration and development tracks. We also bring you an article written by Rowan Wilson that disentangles the ideas of invention, innovation and open innovation and explores how open innovation intersects with software development.

Link to Newsletter

Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust chooses Koha supported by PTFS Europe

London,  14th July 2010

The library at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust has chosen the Koha open source library management system to replace its existing Unicorn system.  PTFS Europe are carrying out the initial implementation and providing ongoing support.  The system is hosted at the PTFS Europe data centre in Maidenhead.

Koha Library Management System

With Koha, library staff access to the system is completely web-based; acquisitions, circulation, cataloguing, serials and reports are all done through a web browser.  As well as an excellent search engine the OPAC offers a range of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 facilities such as tagging, commenting and public and private lists.   Koha can also integrate with the ArchivalWare digital library as well as other link resolution services.

A key part of the migration is the ability of the team at PTFS Europe who will extract the data from Unicorn and then convert and load it into Koha.  In addition, working with PTFS provides the freedom and functionality of open source software together with the benefits of receiving high quality customer support.

Angela Douglas, Head of Library and Learning Resources said “The Library required a library management system that was flexible and would allow us to make use of web 2.0 and new technologies as they come on stream.  We also wanted a user friendly system both in terms of the needs of library staff and our users. Koha fulfilled all of these needs and more.
We chose PTFS because we had worked with them before and knew them to be reliable, innovative and interested in helping libraries to offer excellent, state of the art services”

Nick Dimant, Managing Director at PTFS Europe said “It is great to be working with the team at the Tavistock once again and also to see another health library join our growing community of users.  The changing economic climate emphasises even more the benefits of the combination of modern technology and value for money that can be achieved by moving to Koha.”

About the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust

The Tavistock and Portman is a specialist mental health trust focused on psychological, social and developmental approaches to understanding and treating emotional disturbance and mental ill health, and to promoting mental health. It has a national and international reputation based on excellence in service delivery and clinical innovation, and high quality clinical training and workforce development.  The Trust achieved authorisation as an NHS Foundation Trust in 2006.  The library’s resources at the Tavistock and Portman reflect the multidisciplinary approach of the trust and span all aspects of the behavioural sciences.

About PTFS Europe

PTFS Europe implements and supports the Koha and Evergreen open source library management systems as well as distributing and supporting the software products of PTFS, Inc., the leading provider of digital archiving solutions in North America.  PTFS Europe is able to provide the full range of services needed to implement a library or digital archival solution, ranging from project management, installation, configuration, data conversion, scanning and digitisation and training through to ongoing customer support.

More information on PTFS Europe: www.ptfs-europe.com
Any questions please contact:
Nick Dimant:  nick.dimant@ptfs-europe.com, +44 (0) 7966 571704

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Koha Library Management System

With Koha, library staff access to the system is completely web-based; acquisitions, circulation, cataloguing, serials and reports can all be done through a web browser. As well as a sophisticated search engine the OPAC offers a range of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 facilities such as tagging, commenting and public and private lists. Koha can integrate with the ArchivalWare digital archiving solution as well as other federated search and link resolution services.

A key part of the project for this new library is to integrate RFID technology with the library system so as to offer full 24/7 self service access to their users.

Helen Edwards, Library Project Manager said, “As a new library with no legacy we are able to move straight to the latest Web 2.0 open source technology. The Koha software is completely free and can be used as we wish without licensing costs. PTFS provide cost effective implementation, hosting and support.”

Nick Dimant, Managing Director of PTFS Europe commented: “We are very proud to have been chosen to help implement the library system for this prestigious and exciting new project. SKOLKOVO is an institution that values forward thinking and innovation and we are pleased to say that this is reflected in their choice of library system.”

About Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO

The Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO is an innovative international institution of the future. It is focused on developing the unique leadership and communicative skills required for the new type of manager who will be in demand in the 21st century – the age of human resources. In providing practical knowledge, SKOLKOVO trains business leaders who will apply their professional skills in dynamically developing markets; leaders who will set up and run their own businesses and lead the development of the Russian economy.

About PTFS Europe

PTFS Europe implements and supports the Koha and Evergreen open source library management systems as well as distributing and supporting the software products of PTFS, Inc., the leading provider of digital archiving solutions in North America. PTFS Europe is able to provide the full range of services needed to implement a library or digital archival solution, ranging from project management, installation, configuration, data conversion, scanning and digitisation and training through to ongoing customer support.

Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust implements Koha supported by PTFS Europe

London, June 28th  2010

The library at Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has chosen the Koha open source library management system to replace its existing Unicorn system. PTFS Europe are carrying out the initial implementation and providing ongoing support. The system is hosted at the PTFS Europe data centre in Maidenhead.

Koha Library Management System

With Koha, library staff access to the system is completely web-based; acquisitions, circulation, cataloguing, serials and reports can all be done through a web browser. As well as a sophisticated search engine the OPAC offers a range of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 facilities such as tagging, commenting and public and private lists.   Koha can integrate with the ArchivalWare digital archiving solution as well as other federated search and link resolution services.

A key part of the migration is the ability of the team at PTFS Europe who have extracted the data from Unicorn and then converted and loaded it into Koha. In addition, by working with PTFS, Kettering get the best of both worlds – the freedom and functionality offered by open source software together with the benefits of getting high quality support from an organisation with a reputation for delivering high quality customer service.

Heather Buckley, Library Services Manager at Kettering, said, “Koha presented us with a cost effective solution which enabled us to provide access to the Catalogue to our wider community, this had previously been restricted to the hospital Intranet site. We have still yet to experience Koha’s full potential but are satisfied we made the right choice”.

Ian Bays, Project Director of PTFS Europe commented:   “It was a delight to work with the staff at Kettering again. It was a challenge implementing the system in a very short timescale but I feel the project has been a great success.”

About Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Kettering General Hospital is a medium-sized district general hospital which provides a wide range of services to about 300,000 people in North Northamptonshire. It became an NHS Trust in 1994 and a Foundation Trust in November 2008.

There has been a library at Kettering General Hospital since 1897; in 2006 the library celebrated both its 70th anniversary and its move to a new state of the art building spread across two floors. The library has a membership of 3,228 and a bookstock of 19,656. It now also encompasses a quiet room, easy seating area, a dedicated I.T. training suite, a large computer suite and a library garden.

About PTFS Europe

PTFS Europe implements and supports the Koha and Evergreen open source library management systems as well as distributing and supporting the software products of PTFS, Inc., the leading provider of digital archiving solutions in North America. PTFS Europe is able to provide the full range of services needed to implement a library or digital archival solution, ranging from project management, installation, configuration, data conversion, scanning and digitisation and training through to ongoing customer support.

More information on PTFS Europe: www.ptfs-europe.com

Any questions please contact:

Nick Dimant: nick.dimant@ptfs-europe.com, +44 (0) 7966 571704

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Venue: Peter Chalk Conference Centre, University of Exeter

Link to Conference Details