Moving to the next generation: Aston University's selection and implementation of Galaxy 2000
| Pages | 42-49 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040587 |
| Published date | 01 April 1995 |
| Date | 01 April 1995 |
| Author | John Matthews |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Moving
to
the next
generation: Aston
University's selection
and implementation
of
Galaxy 2000
by John Matthews, Team
Leader,
Sys-
tems and
Planning,
Aston University
Library & Information Services
In the
summer
of
1993,
Aston
University
Library
&
Information Services decided
to
replace
its
library housekeeping
system,
Geac
9000.
Most
of
the
detailed evaluation
of
potential systems
was
carried
out
between
May
1994
and
March
1995.
In April
1995
Aston
chose Galaxy 2000 from
DS Ltd.
Installation
of
the new
system
was
carried
out
during
the
summer vacation
and
completed
just in time for
the
start of
the new
academic
year.
By the end of
1995,
the
rich
functionality
Aston
enjoyed
on
its old
system
was
virtually
all
available
on the new
one,
and
additional
features,
such as
self-issue,
inter-library loans
and a
Web
catalogue
interface,
were
under
development.
Background
Aston Library & Information Services (LIS)
is a
highly automated, university library serving
a
small, specialised community of students and
academics. Teaching and research
is
carried out
in
the areas of engineering, life sciences, management
and
languages.
The current student population
is
approximately
4,000
full-time equivalents, around
700
of
which are part-time.
The circulation, book/serials acquisition, OPAC
and cataloguing functions were all carried out on
the Geac 9000 system, which was installed
in 1989.
Inter-library loans were controlled separately using
the Tinlend module from IME. Geac 9000 was
a
very stable and functionally rich system, offering
short loans (with bookings), self-renewal,
self-
reservation, email
of
notices,
ordering
by
EDI
and
a reading lists facility.
The case
for
replacement
LIS's decision
to
replace
its
system during
1995
was based
on
compelling strategic, financial
and
service cases.
Strategic case
Replacement
of
the Geac 9000 system was part
of
Aston's Information Systems Strategy 1992-1997
(agreed
by
Senate
in
November 1992). The use of
industry-standard hardware
and
software, instead
of the proprietary systems used
in the
past, would
enable easy linking
of
the library
to
other UNIX-
based systems being installed within the University
(notably Registry and Finance). Moving to
a
new
system in
1995,
whilst most UNIX-based products
were still relatively young and under-developed,
had the advantage of enabling LIS to establish
an
effective working partnership with the chosen
supplier, which would hopefully allow us to play
a
part
in
influencing product development to our
advantage.
Financial case
The hardware and software maintenance costs
of running the Geac 9000 system were much
higher than the projected recurrent costs
of
a
new
system. We estimated that we could reduce our
recurrent costs by between 50% and
75%
by
moving to a new system. Whichever supplier we
finally
chose,
our investment would represent very
good value
for
money, paying
for
itself within 3
to
5 years.
Service case
By the start
of
1994, virtually
all
software devel-
opment
on
the Geac 9000 system
had
stopped.
We
had been supplied with
all the
software enhance-
ments agreed
in
our contract,
and we
would have
had
to
negotiate
any
major new developments with
Geac (and paid
for
them). Geac, like most
of
its
competitors, was starting
to
move
its
development
efforts away from the 9000
and
into
its
new
UNIX-based product, Advance. Any major sys-
tems-based service enhancements could only
be
provided
by
moving
to a
new system.
We
were
42
—
VINE 101 (December 1995)
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