July 6, 2010

Emeryville, CA and Atlanta, GA—LYRASIS, the nation’s largest regional membership organization for libraries and information professionals, and SkyRiver, a new bibliographic utility that connects libraries with bibliographic metadata, have signed an agreement enabling LYRASIS to market, sell, and provide training for SkyRiver cataloging services to LYRASIS members throughout the U.S.

By joining forces with SkyRiver, a low-cost, yet high-quality option for cataloging, LYRASIS continues its commitment to the success of libraries by providing innovative content, technology, and operational solutions. This partnership is important and timely as libraries continue to face declining budgets while library usage simultaneously increases. The agreement gives libraries unlimited access to MARC records with an affordable annual subscription fee and no additional usage fees.

"We work together with our library members to deliver the products and solutions they need to continue to provide vital services in this challenging environment," says Kate Nevins, CEO of LYRASIS. "Through partnership with SkyRiver, we are able to offer our diverse membership a cataloging alternative that saves them both time and money."

Since SkyRiver services fit easily into libraries of all sizes and types, the synergy resulting from this partnership will allow LYRASIS members to quickly and easily reap the benefit of SkyRiver’s low-cost services. Leslie Straus, President of SkyRiver, says, "The wide-ranging LYRASIS membership base fits nicely with SkyRiver’s capabilities in product development and support. We’re excited about this partnership."

About LYRASIS

Created in April 2009 by the merger of PALINET and SOLINET, and joined shortly thereafter by NELINET, LYRASIS is the nation’s largest regional membership organization serving libraries and information professionals – fostering collaboration and cooperation among members and facilitating their success through networking and programming, innovative solutions, and significant cost savings through group purchasing of products and services. For more information, please visit www.lyrasis.org.

Emeryville, CA—Among the many recent SkyRiver adopters, three implementations stand out as especially successful as they demonstrate SkyRiver’s ability to satisfy the specific needs of a variety of library types. These include: St. Lawrence University (NY), SAILS Consortium (MA), and Capital Area District Library (MI) representing academic, consortium and public library types respectively.

Bart Harloe, Director of Libraries, St. Lawrence University, says “the significant cost savings in going to SkyRiver were, of course, important; but it was just as important to me for the technical services staff to be comfortable with the change. Their concerns all were addressed, particularly with regard to approval vendor integration, so our transition has been smooth and successful.”

In addition to realizing cost savings, the SAILS Consortium needed to see that SkyRiver could integrate easily with its SirsiDynix Symphony™ system which was the case from the first day. SAILS also required SkyRiver to support its existing, highly streamlined workflows for which batch searching was central. Executive Director Deborah Conrad, says “SAILS could not have moved to SkyRiver without the development of a robust batch searching function. We’re proud to have been a development partner for this feature, which works splendidly.”

Catherine Welscher, Associate Director for Technical Services at Capital Area District Library says, “what was most impressive about our SkyRiver implementation was how quickly the staff learned to navigate the cataloging client software, find what they needed, and download the data. With our 13 locations plus bookmobile, we need to work efficiently with minimal staff, so we really appreciated the easy transition to SkyRiver.”

Emeryville, CA—Several major U.S. vendors are now working with SkyRiver to process book shipments for SkyRiver customer libraries. By this arrangement, vendors send shipping manifests to SkyRiver which are matched against the SkyRiver database. The matching full bibliographic records are then extracted and delivered to the library for loading into their local system as each shipment arrives. In addition, SkyRiver returns call number data to the vendor for use in the creation of spine labels. Participating vendors include Baker & Taylor, Ingram, Midwest Library Service, and YBP Library Services, with several others poised to do the same.

Most recently, Baker & Taylor and SkyRiver have forged an agreement whereby Baker & Taylor’s customized services for the provision of shelf-ready materials are integrated with the SkyRiver database. Livia Bitner, Vice President of Technical Services & Product Development, Baker & Taylor, notes that “SkyRiver represents another cataloging services choice for libraries which Baker & Taylor is happy to work with.”

Jay Askuvich, General Sales Manager, Midwest Library Service, notes “having worked with SkyRiver from its inception last fall, I can say that the development of this new service went smoothly and SkyRiver’s responsiveness to our mutual customers’ needs has been excellent.”

Lynne Branche Brown, SkyRiver’s Vice President, Operations, notes that “SkyRiver considers these vendor partnerships to be very important and welcomes more. And, if they already work with other bibliographic utilities, vendors will find that working with SkyRiver represents little or no development on their part.”

Emeryville, CA-The Minuteman Library Network (MLN)in Massachusetts has implemented SkyRiver as its cataloging services utility. With 42 member libraries, Minuteman is the first large library consortium to go into full production with SkyRiver.

Minuteman’s centralized cataloging operation, with a high volume throughput of over 70,000 items per year and turnaround commitment to its members of 28 days, put SkyRiver to the test. Minuteman’s Head of Bibliographic Services, Amy Hart, notes, “SkyRiver represented a challenge to the staff who had streamlined their workflows over several years. They were not shy about their apprehensiveness regarding a smaller database – the hit rate had to compare favorably. After gathering and analyzing throughput and hit rate statistics over the test period, it emerged that SkyRiver met the high standards we had set. In addition, the staff submitted enhancement requests, which were acted on and delivered in a timely manner.”

Executive Director, Susan McAlister, states, “As a member-driven organization, this was an exceedingly important decision which needed careful deliberation. Our charge is to provide efficient services to our members and to do this at the lowest possible cost. SkyRiver demonstrated that we could achieve both objectives, so we are doing this with our members’ support.”
About the Minuteman Library Network:

The Minuteman Library Network (MLN) is a consortium of 42 libraries with 61 locations and a central site staff that work collectively to provide excellent service to its library users. The members include 35 public and 7 college libraries in the Metrowest region of Massachusetts. The vision of MLN is to foster a strong community of libraries providing people with optimal access to resources and information. This vision is realized through the Network’s mission to strengthen member libraries through innovative and economical technologies, efficient resource sharing, collaboration and shared expertise.

Emeryville, CA—Des Moines (IA) Public Library (DMPL), has switched to SkyRiver for its cataloging services. As SkyRiver’s first library partner with a Sirsi/Dynix Horizon local system, DMPL exemplifies SkyRiver’s local system independence. Library Director, Saul Amdursky, states “I’m proud to have helped SkyRiver pioneer and test its services with our Horizon system.” Technical Services Head, Dawn Work-MaKinne, says “There really was no disruption in our operations. SkyRiver just worked from day one. Even better, our suggestions for enhancing the service were appreciated and are being implemented.” As with SkyRiver’s other library partners, DMPL is saving significant dollars by moving to SkyRiver. Amdursky adds “It’s great to know that you are helping move the library community forward while at the same time saving money for your own library.”

About Des Moines Public Library

The Des Moines Public Library was founded in 1866 and serves a population of approximately 200,000. The highly active urban library with 5 branches supports several outreach programs and houses several special collections, including the Iowa Collection, which includes books and other items concerning the history and culture of the State of Iowa, with particular emphasis on the city of Des Moines.

Emeryville, CA—Scottsdale Public Library System (AZ) has switched to SkyRiver for its cataloging services. With lower cataloging costs, easy transition, and book vendor support, SkyRiver is an increasingly attractive alternative to legacy bibliographic utility cataloging services.

“Our cataloging operation was up and running with SkyRiver within a day of our SkyRiver training,” says Scottsdale Public Library Director, Rita Hamilton. “In addition to their ease of implementation, SkyRiver integrated easily with services we purchase from Baker and Taylor, which include shelf-ready materials. Because of this, I’m excited to say that we now have a seamless workflow for all of our new acquisitions moving through a single bibliographic utility.”

Shortly after Scottsdale implemented SkyRiver at its existing four branches, the city opened its fifth branch; which was a challenging time to execute such a change. Hamilton continued to say, “Rather than wait until after our newest branch opened to work with SkyRiver, we chose to make the change as soon as possible. Our cataloging costs have decreased significantly and we are now getting real time database updates and a far more flexible cataloging interface. Cutting costs is always important, but it is even more critical in these current economic times. The funds saved can be re-distributed to help the Scottsdale Libraries better serve the community. We have SkyRiver to thank for that.”
About Scottsdale Public Library System

The Scottsdale Public Library provides a supportive environment for the community to discover opportunities, explore ideas, interact with others, and become lifelong learners. Care is taken to ensure that residents from all racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds receive materials, services, and programs that meet their unique needs. It maintains libraries in five Scottsdale locations providing great spaces to browse, relax, read, research, explore, meet, study, and interact. The Scottsdale Public Library serves a population of over 240,000 and boasts a circulation volume of over 3.6 million transactions and 1.5 million visitors per year.

Emeryville, CA—Following the recent merger of the Michigan Library Consortium (MLC) and INCOLSA, Inc., the new organization, Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS), is extending its agreement with SkyRiver and offering SkyRiver’s bibliographic utility cataloging services to MCLS libraries in Indiana. In October 2009, MLC and SkyRiver announced their agreement to offer SkyRiver cataloging services in Michigan.

Randy Dykhuis, Executive Director of MCLS, notes that “SkyRiver is now a proven solution for libraries that wish to maintain efficient, high quality cataloging operations as well as reduce their cataloging expenses. I’m pleased that MCLS will be able to expand the partnership with SkyRiver that already is flourishing in Michigan.”
About Midwest Collaborative for Library Services

The Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) began operations on February 15, 2010. MCLS (www.mcls.org) has a combined membership of over 1,300 institutions of all types and sizes. The non-profit membership organization will provide Michigan and Indiana libraries with a convenient, single point of contact for training, group purchasing and technical support for electronic resources.

West Bloomfield Transitions to SkyRiver in Record Time

Emeryville, CA—The West Bloomfield Township Public Library in West Bloomfield, MI has completed the conversion from its legacy bibliographic service to being fully operational with SkyRiver cataloging in less than a month. West Bloomfield’s conversion is the quickest to date for a SkyRiver partner underscoring the relative ease with which SkyRiver partner libraries can adopt this new service. “The library staff has been happy with the quick and smooth transition to SkyRiver,” notes Clara N. Bohrer, Library Director. “In addition to the cost saving benefits, our transition to SkyRiver serves as a good model for other libraries to follow.”

SkyRiver services include an easy-to-use cataloging client for searching, editing, and adding records to the library’s local catalog. Features include a powerful search engine with facets and tags, automatic record request notification, one-click downloading of bibliographic and authority file records, and shelf-ready support. SkyRiver is right for all types of libraries and integrates with any local library system.

About West Bloomfield Township Public Library

The West Bloomfield Township Public Library provides the diverse community of West Bloomfield, MI with access to information, resources, services and programs that support both lifelong learning and lifelong enjoyment. The state of the art facility has put the library at the “cutting edge” now and for many years to come.

SkyRiver Partners with the Greater Western Library Alliance

SkyRiver announced today that it is partnering with the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) to offer SkyRiver services to its member community. Joni Blake, Executive Director of GWLA, states, “We are very pleased to offer our members the opportunity to save thousands of dollars in cataloging costs through SkyRiver.”
Leslie Straus, President of SkyRiver notes, “GWLA’s membership includes many research libraries in the western U.S. and we’re particularly pleased with the prospect of offering our services to this community known for strong library leadership.”

SkyRiver services include an easy-to-use cataloging client for searching, editing, and adding records to the library’s local catalog. Features include a powerful search engine with facets and tags, automatic record request notification, one-click downloading of bibliographic and authority file records, and shelf-ready support. SkyRiver is right for all types of libraries and integrates with any local library system. SkyRiver’s services are now fully operational in selected libraries.

About Greater Western Library Alliance

The Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) (www.gwla.org) is a consortium of 32 research libraries located across 17 Midwestern & Western states with common interests in programs related to scholarly communication, interlibrary loan, shared electronic resources, cooperative collection development, digital libraries, staff development and continuing education. Twenty-five GWLA libraries are also members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The staff offices of the consortium are located in Kansas City, Missouri; Phoenix, Arizona; and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Clearly, the venture is poised to take advantage of the long-standing perception in the cataloging community that there are no alternatives to many of the services that OCLC offers. With many libraries ailing from deep budget cuts, even a modest savings on cataloging may be enough to draw a significant customer base to this new product.

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