The New Circulation System

Last month, the county library system migrated to a new ILS (which is just a fancy way of saying we got a new computer system), so we thought it would be interesting to post some information about the last time we upgraded the system, 11 years ago.

In our post of July 6th, we talked about what we did in the pre-computer days, when we used ledgers and a charging machine from the Gaylord Company to check out items and record statistics. Gaylord supplied our first charging maching in the '70s, which was upgraded to an automated circulation system when they came out with their Galaxy series of computers in the '80s. We used that system until 1996, when the county switched to the Sirsi/Dynix circulation system that employed those green screens with which you're all so familiar! Dynix ran on WISE terminals, which use VT-100 (Video Terminal-100). This is the green or "dumb" screen that uses only keyboard strokes and text for data entry. It has some advantages, as it is a straightforward interface that allows the user to get from point A to point B in a straight line. However, the user much also be familiar with a long list of codes and keystrokes in order to use the machine, whereas with a Windows-based system, the user has a mouse and color pictures and windows to navigate and input information. This, too, has it s drawbacks, as it's more of a web than the VT-100, so there are many different winding roads from points A to B, and the user must take more training time to learn his/her most comfortable methods.

In May of 1996, OCPL began migrating to the Dynix Horizon series of circulation software (VT-100 green screens). The Dynix patent was owned by a company called Ameritech, which had control of the system between 1992 and 2000. Dynix was funded partly by Central Library, and involved some major new equipment, including terminals, receipt printers, and light pens for scanning.

This brings us to the present. We are moving back to our local roots by switching to Polaris, a Gaylord company based in Liverpool. Polaris is a Windows-based system that looks quite different from our old green screens, but does all the same things and more. You may notice a few changes on your end, as well, when you check your account or do a book search online. And, just as in 1996 we were migrating to the Dynix system at the same time as we were doing major renovations to our library, this year we find ourselves migrating to the Polaris system and preparing to move to a new location at the same time!