Lien Ying Chow Library, Ngee Ann Polytechnic migrated from Spydus to the ALEPH Integrated Library Management System on 17 Sep 2010. This provides users with one-stop access to multiple sources such as books, databases, media and multimedia resources. It took the Library nine months from the award of the tender to the implementation of the new system. Kudos to the Library Managers who worked very hard with the Library’s Automation team to define their specifications and configure the modules to meet their requirements.

Along with the migration, the Library also implemented Enhanced OPAC. This is powered by PRIMO, a leading discovery and delivery system which searches multiple local and remote targets such as OPAC, electronic databases, e-books, e-journals and Web resources, thus maximising the ability to locate results which meet users’ needs. It also incorporates Web 2.0 and social computing features, enabling library members to share reviews and ratings.

Users may conveniently check out Amazon reviews on their titles of interest. They may post their reviews and add ratings to titles. The Google-like spell check feature is a welcome feature for users as they no longer have to grapple with mis-spelling.

Options have been set up to search for articles, ebooks and media resources, thus maximizing returns on investments in these resources.

Articles interrogate MetaLib, our federated search engine spanning our e-databases targets, enabling users to retrieve relevant articles transparently across multiple databases. Full text articles are only a click away, while users will be able to request for articles without full-text conveniently via our document delivery service.

Facets allow users to refine their searches by another subject, author, year, language or material type. No longer do they have to grapple with the appropriate subject terms to use for their searches, or figure out how to refine searches using material types.

We have also launched a freely downloadable iphone application on Apple ® iTunes. This facilitates OPAC searching and Discussion Rooms booking anytime, anywhere. There is also a Google-like library map feature which enables users to explore the Library.

The feedback from the users of the new system has been positive:

“The new enhanced OPAC is very user friendly. The search engine is able to search specifically on the item we are looking for. It also has links to reviews from Amazon.com. This allows user to know more about the book/movie/music recommended by others. I find that it is a great improvement in the feature.”  Yeo Junjie, 1^st Year BA Student, Diploma in Business Studies

“The enhanced OPAC provides a more effective search engine, especially with the Google-like search. Your spelling can go wrong, but you results won’t!”  Tan Peh Yu, 2^nd Year BA Student, Diploma in Banking and Financial Services

“ I like how the new enhanced OPAC allow readers to write their own reviews on the books. I will definitely read it before deciding on a particular book. It’s really helpful.” Ong Ting Yan, 2^nd Year BA Student, Diploma in Banking and Financial Services

Contributed by Lien Ying Chow Library, Ngee Ann Polytechnic