Integrated+Library+System+(ILS)+and+Cataloging+Software

**Dianne McLaren-Brighton and Penny Shobert**

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** I. Policy Statement: **
Anytown School will use the Alexandria Automation software for the purposes of circulation management, inventory management, and providing an accessible, descriptive database of all library resources for our faculty, staff, students, and parents.

**II. Software / Hardware Information**
**Automation Software:** Alexandria **Version:** 6.1.5 **Software Company:** COMPanion Corporation **Operating System:** MAC OS 10.5 and higher, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, 2008V X86 or X64 Multi-core/Processor 2GB of RAM or more ||  || MAC OS 10.5, Windows XP G4, Pentium 4 (or equivalent) 1GB of RAM 1024x768 Resolution || Safari 4+ for Mac OS X 1024x768 Resolution ||  || Internet Explorer 7+, FireFox 3+ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">and others for both Mac and Windows || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Minimum screen resolution for all Alexandria products is 1024x768.** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Offline Operation:** Basic Bookdrop and Checkout operations can be carried out offline.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">System Requirements for Librarian and Researcher Workstations: **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Recommended** ||  || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Minimum** ||
 * Mac OS 10.6, Windows XP or 7
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Browser Requirements for Web Librarian and Researcher **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Minimum (Recommended) ** ||  || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Optional** ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">FireFox 3.6+ for Mac or Windows

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">** III. Alexandria Contact Information: **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> **Company Representative:** COMPanion Corp.: 1-800-347-6439 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> **Technical Support:** support@goalalexandria.com <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Toll Free Tech Phone:** 1-800-347-4942

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><span class="skypepnhtextspan" style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**IV. Help Features:**
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Alexandria's primary source of help is an expansive wiki. The main page displays a hierarchy of buttons stemming from the three main buttons: Patron Management, Circulation Window, and Item Management. Other buttons include : Circulation Commands, System Preferences, Reports, Utilities, and Researcher (Alexandria's OPAC). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The navigation bar is divided into several sections: main, software, features, faq/guides, toolbox, and search. Each section goes into great detail, including screenshots, step-by-step directions, and a list of related topics. At the top of each section is a text box describing the content covered in that section. A search box iss accessible from every page through the navigation bar. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">A chart on the first page notes command differences between Mac and Windows OS systems. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//Alexandria Getting Started Guide// may be downloaded or a bound copy may be purchased from the company. In addition, technical support i available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Responses to phone calls are quick and are followed up immediately with an e-mail providing links to relevant pages of the wiki.

**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">V. Quick Reference: **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Links to often used Help wiki pages <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Circulation <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Item Management <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Patron Management <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Reports <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Utilities <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Backing Up Your Data <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Technology Services Quick Reference for COMPanion products (Technology Services Cheat Sheet and Troubleshooting Checklist at bottom of page) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Develop Maintenance Strategies

**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">VI. Budget: **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**(provides free updates, free upgrades, and tech. support)** ||> <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: right;">**$799.00** ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Alexandria v.5 site license purchased Nov. 2006 || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> $2499.50 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Additional features purchased: ||>  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Item Data Transfer ||> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">$895.00 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Patron Data Transfer ||> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">$295.00 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Lexile Utilities ||> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">$499.00 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Sneak Peek License ||> <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: right;">$295.00 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Shipping and Handling ||> <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: right;">$52.17 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Total for system setup** ||> <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: right;">**$4535.67** ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Annual Software Subscription**

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**VII. Additional Services / Features Purchased:**

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Automatic patron Data Import/Export** New patron records added and existing patron records set by librarian to be updated monthly, weekly, or daily — even several times a day.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Lexile Utilities:** Alexandria supports Lexile scores, allows students and teachers to search for titles in a particular target range. Alexandria can store up to 13 years worth of scores and generate student progress reports.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Sneak Peek:** allows patrons to access reviews, summaries, and cover art for more than 1.4 million ISBNs within Alexandria's Researcher.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**COMPedit: The Virtual Word Processor**: embedded in most COMPanion products.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Capstone Interactive** (limited access comes as part of the Alexandria package): Allows emergent readers access to a series of interactive books. Includes read-aloud feature, grade and interest levels, and as well as reading levels for Guided Reading, AR, and Lexile.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**VIII. Additional Features not purchased or used:**
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Although not purchased at this time, the following features are available as add-ons:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Alexandria Controller / MDS (Multi Data Station):** Allows each library to have a separate database, but all databases are housed on a central server and managed by the "Alexandria Controller" application.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Alexandria Hosted Solution:** Cloud-based data collection and management
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Bulletin Board:** Allows librarians to post items, both text and images, for patrons to access through Researcher
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Capstone Pebbles GO:** An interactive database foe emergent readers; includes read-aloud feature, text highlighting as well as audio and video clips.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Central Union Catalog and Distributed Union Catalog**: Allow patrons access to participating libraries through Researcher.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**netTracker:** Internet search tool for educators and students has been integrated into Alexandria interface.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**SearchALL**: Alexandria's federated search option allows patrons to search and retrieve information from multiple sources such as on-line databases, Internet search engines, library catalogs, etc. and have results displayed in one results window.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**IX. Maintenance:**
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">All updates and upgrades are the responsibility of the IT department.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Backup Procedures: **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Daily**: Data and logs are archived on the local building server automatically twice a day. All district servers on the network are backed up once each day. Ten days of data are saved on the network server.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Manual Backup:** When completing lengthy projects such as inventory, it is recommended that the data be periodically saved on a separate storage device.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Maintenance Contract:** The Alexandria Maintenance Contract includes updates, upgrades, and technical support.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">X. Stand-Alone Cataloging Software **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Used to create original MARC records or clean up records purchased from vendors, copied from cataloging resources, or existing database records. Cataloging software is not meant to replace a full-featured Integrated Library System (ILS), but to complement the ILS by creating and enhancing MARC records to ensure, as much as possible, complete and accurate MARC records in the OPAC. The following is an example of dedicated cataloging software. Other programs are available to meet budget or OS concerns.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">MARC Magician Professional: ** A complete cataloging, MARC data cleanup, and maintenance solution.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"> **Mitinet Library Service** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">**Contact:** Mitinet/MARC Software, 6409 Odana Road, Madison, WI 53719 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">**Information:** 1-800-824-6272 (7:00 am – 5:00 pm)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Hardware Requirements:**
 * Windows 2000* — 133 MHz Pentium processor or equivalent, 64 MB RAM
 * Windows XP — 233 MHz Pentium processor or equivalent, 128 MB RAM
 * Windows Vista/Windows 7 — 800 MHz Pentium processor or equivalent, 512 MB RAM
 * SVGA monitor, 800x600 with 256 colors
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Approximately 20 MB of hard disk pace per 1000 records in the MARC Magician database

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Operating System:** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Microsoft Windows 2000*/XP/Vista/7

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Sales, Technical Support, and Data** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Services Department:** 1-608-845-9261 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Technical Support:** support@mitinet <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Customer Service:** 1-660-425-3998 or customerservice@mitinet.coz

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Budget:** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">$149.00 — $478.00 depending on package purchased

**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">XI. Annotated Bibliography **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Companion. "Alexandria." //Alexandria//. Companion, 16 Feb. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><@http://www.goalexandria.com/solutions/k12.html> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">COMpanion's extensive on-line wiki created for help support for Alexandria, a Integrated Library System used in many school libraries. The wiki is separate from <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> the Alexandria program and can be accessed through the Internet at any time.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">- - -. "Alexandria." //Alexandria//. Companion, 2011. Web. 2 May 2012. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <@http://www.companioncorp.com/mediawiki/index.php/Alexandria> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">COMPanion's library software, Alexandria, is a full-featured, cross-platforrm integrated library system available for k-12 schools, universities, corporations, and public libraries. Along with an exhaustive help wiki, live help is available 24 hours, 7 days a week.In addition, a "Librarian's Corner" section of the website offers librarians tips, videos, e-newsletters, and other support for both librarians and IT staff.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Mitinet. "Mitinet Library Services." Mitinet Library Services. Mitinet Incorporated, 2012. Web. 2 May 2012. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><@http://www.mitinet.com/Products/MARCMagician/DemoInfo.aspx?Expdt=8-20-2012&Imm=500&Imtd=62&Exm=500&Extd=13&SN=EDU.00172&CL=1> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">MARC Magician Professional is a software program used to create original MARC Records, cleanup, and organize existing records. Original MARC Records are created using a material-type template. Editing records can be completed individually or several at a time using the Global Editing feature. Mitinet, creator of the software, provides eight step-by-step tutorials to educate the user about the features of MARC Magician.A Help button (?) is available and provides valuable up-to-date information on using MARC Magician. This software is easy to use; the tutorials provide excellent guidance in using the program. The Help System is a valuable source when questions arise. The records easily import from and export into the Alexandria ILS.


 * Last revised: May 7, 2012**