Dundee gets smart library of the future
Civica’s Spydus library management system for Dundee City Council leads library smart cards’ introduction in Scotland
Civica has completed a new library management system installation for Dundee City Council.
In line with the Scottish Executive’s Improvement Services guidelines that library suppliers should support easier customer access with smart card technology, Civica’s Spydus library management system provides an interface between Dundee’s library system and the National Entitlement Cards that are interoperable with other public sector organisations.
The National Entitlement Card allows the citizens of Dundee to access a range of council services, including the library service, and library members can access the on-line catalogue, book a public access pc and borrow a wide range of books and resources from the Central Library, 13 Community Libraries and a mobile library.
The library management system facilitates cataloguing and circulation of all library resources through over 300 public access PCs in the libraries. Users can access the library catalogue and a variety of other library services that are available.
Frances Foster, Community Library and Learning Centres Manager, Dundee City Council, said: “We chose Civica to install the Spydus library management system after a rigorous tender process. We wanted a system that was easy to use and allowed our citizens to navigate book catalogues more easily while meeting our technical criteria in terms of infrastructure and server requirements, all for a good price, of course.
“We are delighted that Civica met our challenge and in branding the Spydus system specifically for Dundee we have had some great feedback in terms of how attractive the new interface is alongside how much quicker our system works. It’s great to be leading the adoption of smart library cards in Scotland thanks to Civica.”
The next stage of development of the library system for Dundee City Council is to implement Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for purchasing new stock and to launch a Web-based Open Public Access Catalog (OPAC). This will enable people to search, to reserve books and access other library services across the web at home and from networked libraries across the country.
Civica's Spydus provides enhanced search capability, encouraging online lending, as well as speeding up access to existing library databases and catalogues.
Simon Parkes, Civica director, said: “Civica’s culture of ongoing innovation ensures that Spydus remains at the forefront of library services, extending far beyond the scope of traditional library management systems Dundee have chosen to use the modules that will most benefit their citizens, emphasising the flexibility of the system. Any council wishing to integrate smart library cards with a flexible system should view Dundee’s libraries as a beacon example.”