1/19/2012

CONTACT:

Nathan Curulla

(888) 900-8944

sales@bywatersolutions.com

ByWater Solutions to Offer Free Open Source Webinars

ByWater Solutions, an open source community supporter and official Koha support company is happy to announce a new open source education initiative. In an effort to educate library staff about the true nature of open source ByWater Solutions will be offering a series of free webinars entitled: Open Source in Libraries: Freedom and Community.

We at ByWater Solutions are dedicated to supporting open source software in libraries and support starts with Education. It is with that in mind that we would like to offer free training webinars to teach you all about open source.

Taught by our Vice President of Education, Nicole C. Engard, these 1.5 hour webinars will walk attendees through the history and meaning of open source software. Nicole comments on this series of webinars: “After years of training librarians how to use the Koha ILS I have found that there is still a lack of knowledge of open source software and I’d like to help combat that with these lessons.”

Librarians have adopted a culture of helplessness and workarounds when it comes to our software. Open source software is a way to get freed from these chains. But open source is about more than just software, it’s about community and a philosophy of freedom. This session will give librarians the facts about open source software by introducing them to what open source is and what it means for libraries.

Join us online for one of our first two lessons (space is limited so register early).

February 16, 2012 at 10am-11:30am EST

Register Online: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/993578942

March 13, 2012 at 2pm-3:30pm EST

Register Online: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/636868638

About ByWater Solutions:

With over 10 years of experience, ByWater Solutions offers customized hosting, data migration, configuration, installation, training, top ranked support options and development of enterprise class open-source library systems. Offering a 24/7 technical helpline, ByWater Solutions’ clients have the support system they need to make their software work for them. ByWater Solutions pledges to share 100% of all developed code to the Koha community for the strengthening and advancement of the Koha ILS. For more information about ByWater Solutions, please visit: http://bywatersolutions.com

DUBLIN, Ohio, January 18, 2012—The University of Delaware Library has selected OCLC WorldShare Management Services as its Web-based cooperative library management system for metadata management, acquisitions, circulation, discovery, license management and workflow improvements. The University of Delaware Library is the first member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) to join the OCLC WorldShare Management Services community.

The University of Delaware Library will implement OCLC WorldShare Management Services, including the OCLC WorldShare License Manager, by the summer of 2013. The new “cloud-based” system will increase effectiveness and better utilize the Library’s vast resources, according to the University.

In 2008, the Library was one of the first institutions to implement WorldCat Local, OCLC’s Webscale discovery and delivery service. Since then, 29 ARL libraries have implemented WorldCat Local.

“OCLC has a long and distinguished history of supporting libraries in their role of bringing information to users,” said Susan Brynteson, Vice Provost and May Morris Director of Libraries, who has been involved with the OCLC cooperative for many years. “The University of Delaware Library is delighted to be at the forefront in this next-generation of library services.”

“OCLC’s Webscale solution represents transformative change,” said Gregg A. Silvis, Assistant Director for Library Computing Systems, University of Delaware. “Libraries have been working toward this type of solution for years. Taking routine library functions to the cloud will reduce duplication of loading records locally, and eliminates the need for maintaining local systems. In addition, as the first academic research library in the U.S. to implement OCLC WorldShare Management Services, the Library is glad to have the opportunity to develop these services to help meet the needs of other research libraries.”

Tom Apple, Provost of the University of Delaware, stated, “The implementation of WorldShare Management Services demonstrates the commitment of the Library to provide first-rate research services to the faculty and students of the University of Delaware.”

The University of Delaware Library will have an improved means for getting users to resources of all types and formats, according to Silvis. “WorldShare Management Services will provide the Library the opportunity to conduct careful analysis of our workflows across the library.”

“We at OCLC greatly appreciate the University of Delaware’s willingness to work with the OCLC cooperative in innovative ways that advance research, scholarship and education,” said Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO. “We look forward to working with the staff of this important research library in implementing a new cooperative model that will benefit students, faculty and librarians.”

Andrew Pace, OCLC Executive Director of Networked Library Services, explained that the cooperative works collaboratively with the membership to ensure that services have meaning to and impact on the library community. “The University of Delaware Library will be invaluable in helping OCLC shape and enhance WorldShare Management Services.”

Libraries using OCLC WorldShare Management Services lower the total cost of ownership for their library’s management and free staff time for higher-priority services. These services provide a Web-based environment that streamlines cataloging, acquisitions, license management and circulation. OCLC WorldShare Management Services enable libraries to share infrastructure costs and resources, as well as collaborate in ways that free them from the restrictions of local hardware and software.

In 2010, OCLC announced that it was making OCLC WorldShare Management Services available to a group of early adopters. OCLC WorldShare Management Services was released for general availability July 1, 2011. There are currently 33 libraries using OCLC WorldShare Management Services; and 171 libraries worldwide have committed to the new service.

More about OCLC WorldShare Management Services can be found on the OCLC website at http://www.oclc.org/webscale/.