Re: Open architecture ILS?

[Barrett_Jones@ao.uscourts.gov]

     First, in defense of Sirsi, you can query and edit databases at the 
     UNIX level in Unicorn using Sirsi's API tools. You have to spend $$$ 
     to take the API training, however, but you aren't stuck at the 
     front-end. Kevin Broun at NIST has written some scripts that query  
     the Unicorn user database to authenticate users accessing resources on 
     the NIST intranet. So you can take advantage of the data in Unicorn 
     using API tools. Sirsi's rewriting their reports in Perl for their NT 
     platform as well. There's speculation that they may rewrite their UNIX 
     reports in Perl, which would be a good thing. Finally, you can set up 
     pre-defined searches in WebCat- various folks have posted about that 
     recently on their sys-admin listserv. However, I agree with you that 
     Sirsi is, at the end of the day, something of a "black box" system. 
      
     There are a couple other ILS products out there that allow you to run 
     SQL queries to the database. Epixtech's (or however they spell it) 
     Horizon system uses Sybase and you can run SQL queries, build your own 
     indexes, etc. EOS's Q system runs on either Oracle or MS SQL and you 
     can do a lot of customizing, including queries. There may be others 
     but those are the two I'm familar with. 
     
     barrett "shill for the vendors" 


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Open architecture ILS?
Author:  "Karen Harker" <Karen.Harker@UTSouthwestern.edu> at ~Internet
Date:    8/10/00 10:27 PM


I'm a librarian by trade, but have been developing Web applications for our libr
ary for a couple of years.  Lately, I've become frustrated by our ILS 
(Unicorn),mainly in the inability to openly communicate with it.  We have a 
 wonderful patron database that is inaccessible from anywhere except Unicorn. We 
cannot link topre-defined searches (i.e. New Books, all books on molecular 
 biology of lung cancer, etc.). These are the two main examples. 
     
It all boils down to the fact that Unicorn is a closed system - only Unicorn mod
ules can access the data. Being uneducated in computer science, is this what is 
referred to as "closed architecture"?
     
No matter what it's called, what are some good systems out there that, at the ve
ry least, use a database that can be queried with SQL (i.e. Oracle, MS SQL (I kn
ow...forgive me), etc.)?  
     
Thanks.
Karen R. Harker
UT Southwestern Medical Library
Dallas, Texas