The Combined Regions announces UnityUK: The name for its new generation resource sharing and interli
The Combined Regions has announced that UnityUK will be the name for its next generation resource sharing and interlibrary loan service. UnityUK is the latest generation of the established Unity service. UnityUK will, for the first time, deliver a national network for resource sharing for the UK as it brings together the union catalogues of The Combined Regions and LinkUK. The new service uses the latest resource sharing technology from world leaders OCLC PICA (incorporating FDI) who also host and manage the new service.
[UKPRwire, Thu Mar 23 2006] Rob Froud, county librarian, Somerset, and chair of The Combined Regions announced the UnityUK name at the Forum for Interlending day held at the British Library Document Supply Centre (BLDSC) on 17th March 2006, where he gave a presentation on the future of union catalogues.
At the BLDSC Rob commented, “ We chose the name UnityUK as it builds on the established tradition of the Unity service and incorporates the exciting prospect of delivering national coverage through a single service. The TCR Board is delighted with the progress that the new service has made in just one month since it was announced. Our partner libraries are very excited about the functions that the new service will offer and the ease of use of the new interface. “
Early adopter partners will take delivery of the service, on schedule, from the 1st April, following a series of training sessions at the end of March. The full service is due to be available from mid May and the project is on target to deliver on time.
More than 300 librarians have already registered to see a demonstration of the new service at the series of UnityUK roadshows taking place around the UK during March and April. A full list of UnityUK events can be found on the new website for The Combined Regions, www.thecombinedregions.com. Places are free and it is easy to book using the online registration service.
UnityUK will be on show at the Library and Information Show on the 26th and 27th April, at the Pavilion, NEC, Birmingham. Visit stand 407 to see UnityUK in action.
Notes to editors:
About UnityUK
UnityUK is the upgraded web-based resource sharing and interlibrary loan service provided by The Combined Regions (TCR). UnityUK, to be launched in May 2006, delivers leading edge functionality for union catalogue, cross database searching, holdings and item location, interlibrary loan and resource sharing services. UnityUK uses the latest international resource sharing standards and integrates with all major library management systems in use in the UK today. UnityUK also links together the union catalogues of the TCR member libraries and LinkUK library resources, to provide the first national resource sharing service for the UK.
www.thecombinedregions.com
About The Combined Regions (TCR)
The Combined Regions (TCR) is the organisation behind the Unity resource sharing service. For more than 10 years, TCR has provided interlending services to its 140 member library organisations across the South West, North East, East Midlands, North East and Scotland. Under the Unity name, TCR’s resource sharing services began with a CD union catalogue, and in 2001 moved to become web-based. In February 2006, The Combined Regions announced the launch of a new and upgraded Unity service to be provided by OCLC PICA.
www.thecombinedregions.com
About OCLC PICA and Fretwell-Downing Informatics (FDI)
As the European library cooperative, OCLC PICA together with FDI offers a broad range of leading edge, high-tech solutions for professionals and end users of academic and public libraries, information centres of the government and health sector, museums, archives and other cultural institutions. Thousands of users daily rely on the OCLC PICA and FDI systems for efficient cataloguing, library management, retrieval, resource sharing and preservation.
From the head office in Leiden (NL), subsidiaries in Oberhaching (D) and Sheffield (UK), and regional offices in Birmingham, Paris, Cologne, Berlin, Basel, Melbourne and Kansas City, OCLC PICA B.V. is active on behalf of its two share holders OCLC Inc. and Stichting Pica.
OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. is a non-profit organization and offers its services to 54,000 libraries in 109 countries and territories. More information about OCLC PICA and FDI can be found at www.oclcpica.org and www.fdisolutions.com.
-ends-
For further information, contact:
Emily Haynes
Marketing Executive
or KatieAnstock
Business Development Manager
Fretwell-Downing Informatics
Tel: 0114 281 6040
emily.haynes@fdisolutions.com
or Mike Thornton, LinkUK Account Manager c/o OCLCPICA
Tel: 0121 456 4656 Email:m.thornton@oclcpica.org
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