New library management system - Summer 2022

Please note that while we complete the final migration of loan data to the new system, it is not possible to renew your library books online from Friday 31st June to Tuesday 5th July.

Please contact the your local UHI library if you would like to renew any items that are due during this period.

The library service and ITDI department are currently implementing a new library management and resource discovery system which will go live this summer before the 2022/23 academic year. The live date is July 6th 2022.

A detailed procurement process identified OCLC's Worldshare Management Services as the preferred option. Our new LibrarySearch interface will be powered by WorldCat Discovery and become the single front-end for all library users, replacing the current library catalogue (libcat) and Multisearch (Encore). This will end a fifteen year relationship with our current vendor, Innovative, but will open up a number of exciting opportunities and improvements in resource discovery and access.

Library users will benefit from the following changes:

• Seamless access to the library system and electronic resources via single sign-on (SSO). Authentication will use the same system as other major university services such as Brightspace, MyDay, Email and Talis Aspire.
• A more modern, responsive and accessible user interface for locating electronic resources and print materials.
• Improved integration with other services, such as Talis Aspire, Browzine and PURE research repository, making resource discovery even more intutitive.
• The option to toggle between various languages in the search interface, including French, German, Spanish and many others. We are working with the vendor to provide a Gaelic search interface for the first time which is expected to be available on the go live date or soon afterwards.

For library and IT staff, benefits include:

• WMS is a completely cloud-based system, so there will be no client installations required in libraries or complex firewall rules.
• eResource licencing and management are integrated, reducing the need to track subscriptions in other systems.
• Improved cataloguing workflow as we will share metadata with other OCLC institutions throughout the UK and worldwide.
• Improved reporting and analytics on resource usage.

There will be no dramatic change to library resources or electronic resource content. All existing books, eBooks, eJournals, eCollections etc will remain in place. It is only the interface that you search and access resources through that is changing. Library support materials and video guides will be updated to reflect the system changes.

We plan to have information sessions closer to the live date which will introduce the new discovery interface.

Please note that any books you have a loan during the summer will be migrated to the new OCLC system.

When the system changes, some staff may have to make changes depending on how they are directing users to existing services. Any direct links to content to the existing library catalogue (libcat) or Multisearch will have to be updated, as these services will be deactivated during August this year.

Please note that all links in published Talis Aspire reading lists will be updated centrally by the respective vendors, OCLC and Talis, with some assistance from the library team.

Links to many eResources will also change. If you have copied and pasted resource links into learning materials, please read the guidance on the following page which provide details about EZproxy changes:

If you have any questions or concerns about the upcoming changes, please email the UHI Systems Librarian at richard.g.hughes@uhi.ac.uk