HomeMy WebLinkAbout10 - Integrated Library System SoftwareCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item No. io
November 13, 2007
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Linda Katsouleas
Library Services Director, 949 - 717 -3810
Katsouleas @city. newport- beach. ca. us
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN NEWPORT BEACH
PUBLIC LIBRARY AND INNOVATIVE INTERFACES, INC. FOR
INTEGRATED LIBRARY SYSTEM SOFTWARE
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the Professional Services Agreement between Newport Beach Public Library
and Innovative Interfaces, Inc. for the Millennium Integrated Library System, including
software, hardware, services and maintenance and authorize the Mayor and the City
Clerk to execute the agreements when approved by the City Attorney.
DISCUSSION:
Background:
An Integrated Library System (ILS) is automation software designed to integrate all the
data and processes of a library into a unified system. It includes several different
modules (such as acquisitions, cataloging, and circulation), and generally includes two
separate user interfaces, one designed for staff and one for the public called the Online
Public Access Catalog (OPAC). These modules are tied to a relational database, and
each library item and customer has a unique ID in the database that allows all
transactions to be tracked by the ILS. Due to the complexity of the records and the
interaction among the modules, there are only three or four proven ILS vendors in the
U.S.
The Newport Beach Public Library has contracted with Horizon / Dynix since 2001. In
June of 2005, the Sirsi Corporation, another ILS vendor, bought Dynix. The newly -
formed SirsiDynix Company was then acquired by Vista Equity Partners in December,
2006. On March 13, 2007, SirsiDynix announced that development of Horizon (our
product) was halted and that the product would not be continued. All development
Approval of an Agreement between Newport Beach Public Library
and Innovative Interfaces, Inc. for Integrated Library System Software
November 13, 2007
Page 2
would go into a new system based on the older Unicorn platform which is considered a
difficult system by customer oriented libraries. The announcement caused great
consternation among the many Horizon customers in our area.
The Newport Beach Public Library immediately convened an ILS Team to consider the
options available and decide on a direction. The team included staff from circulation,
reference, technical processing, web services, information systems and library
administration. The team arranged demonstrations from the top three public library ILS
vendors: SirsiDynix, Polaris, and Innovative Interfaces, Inc. No other vendors come
close to matching these three in their share of the U.S. public library market, according
to the lib- web -cats database.
In May of 2007, the library hosted demonstrations of all three major ILS products and
invited other Horizon libraries to join us. Many SirsiDynix customers are interested in
migrating to new systems and were pleased we had taken the initiative in arranging the
meetings. The first round of demos placed Innovative's Millennium product at the top of
our list of candidates, and eliminated SirsiDynix from consideration. The SyrsiDynix
product was not fully developed, lacked some of the functionality already present in our
existing Horizon product, and required libraries to wait for promised upgrades with no
firm date for development.
Following the demonstrations, we arranged hands -on trials for our staff with Polaris and
Innovative. Innovative's Millennium was the overwhelming favorite, with Polaris a distant
second. Polaris has a very well - developed on line catalog which is used in lieu of a
library website, but their staff modules are poorly designed and difficult to use.
Innovative has a much better staff client, and their on line catalog offers the same rich
features as Polaris but with more potential to integrate with our existing website and
customize to our needs. The Millennium system is platform independent, with an
intuitive staff client interface; this is especially important in areas like circulation, where
there is high turnover of staff and good customer service depends on having software
that is easy to learn and use.
After the hands -on trials we contacted current Innovative customers, some of whom had
migrated from the Horizon system. The feedback from these customers was very
positive and cemented our preference for Millennium. Innovative is highly motivated to
sign the Newport Beach Public Library as many other libraries follow where we lead,
and they have offered us the Millennium product at a significant discount. We will be
able to purchase this "Cadillac" of library automation systems at a price comparable to
the cost of Polaris and SirsiDynix.
We have worked with Newport Beach MIS Department to ensure compatibility with both
current and planned development of the City's systems.
Approval of an Agreement between Newport Beach Public Library
and Innovative Interfaces, Inc. for Integrated Library System Software
November 13, 2007
Page 3
The proposed contract includes base software which will perform all the functions we
currently use (cataloging, circulation, acquisitions and accounting, serials control,
ecommerce) as well as some additional features (better reporting tools, RSS feed
builder, capability to handle books by mail service, catalog for handheld devices, etc.).
The contract also covers project management, hardware and software setup, training,
implementation consulting, data loading, support and documentation. Changing to the
Millennium product does require some purchase of hardware, which brings the total for
the Millennium product to $199,148.94. There are additional costs from other vendors
associated with the migration process which will add $21,800 to the cost. The first year
of maintenance from Innovative adds $6,048, bringing the total cost to $226,996.94.
The contract includes payment on completion of specific milestones.
Environmental Impact:
None.
Fundinq Availability:
The Newport Beach Public Library Foundation has pledged $225,000 to cover the cost
of the new system and the migration process. They are prepared to write a check for
the initial payment upon approval of the agreement. A recent gift of $30,000 from the
estate of Martha J. Fleener will provide contingency funds.
Prepared by: Genesis Hansen, Internet Submitted by: Linda Katsouleas, Library
Librarian Services Director
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