Ex Libris Limited

COMPANY BACKGROUND Ex Libris Limited markets ALEPH, an integrated library system that is an outgrowth of library automation and networking activities in Israel, particularly at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where the system was initially developed. ALEPH is an acronym for Automated Library Expandable Program Hebrew (University of Jerusalem). The system's history and characteristics are described by Lazinger (1991), Lazinger and Levi (1996), Lefkovitz (1988), Lev et al. (1983),Levi (1984), and Simon (1993, 1995). ALEPH's initial implementation at Hebrew University in the early 1980s followed a decade of planning and proposals for library automation in Israel. Seeking a comprehensive library automation system, Hebrew University examined commercially available products, including the DOBIS/LIBIS system then offered by IBM. It ultimately decided that customized development would best satisfy its special requirements, which included Hebrew language support. For ALEPH's initial implementation, Hebrew University employed a Control Data Corporation mainframe. The development team included librarians who specified system characteristics. The resulting product was widely accepted by University users, and a variety of enhancements were proposed. During the early 1980s, as part of an initiative to implement a national network of university libraries, the Israeli government subsidized the participation of other university libraries in ALEPH. From its inception, ALEPH was intended to support a network of Israeli libraries. In the mid-1980s, the Hebrew University decided to redevelop ALEPH for VAX minicomputers. The VAX implementation became available in 1987. Termed the ALEPH 200, it permitted a distributed network of multiple processors installed in individual libraries as an alternative to a centralized system serving all participants from a single mainframe. (The original Control Data implementation is now described as the ALEPH 100.) The ALEPH 300, an implementation for Unix-based computers, was introduced in 1991. The ALEPH 500, a Unix-based client/server product that features a relational data base management system and graphical user interfaces, was introduced in 1996. Ex Libris Limited is a private company owned by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and by individual shareholders, most of whom are company employees. Ex Libris Limited, which is based in Tel Aviv, markets and supports the ALEPH system internationally. The company's development center is located at Hebrew University. Ex Libris Incorporated, the marketing and support operation for the United States, is located at 509 Bradford Parkway, Syracuse, New York 13224 (telephone: (315) 449-2132; fax: (315) 449-1860; e-mail: rbaum@sprynet.com). Other Ex Libris sales and support offices are located in Luxembourg, Prague, and Buenos Aires. The company has authorized dealers and agents in Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, and Sweden. COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT The ALEPH system is available for Digital Equipment Corporation's Alpha and VAX minicomputers running under the OpenVMS operating system and for the various Unix-based computers. The OpenVMS version can operate on any processor in the Alpha or VAX product lines, although selection of an appropriate model for a given installation will depend on data base size, the number of simultaneous users, and other application characteristics. Ex Libris emphasizes its Unix implementation for new ALEPH installations. The Unix version is available for Digital Equipment Corporation's Alpha processors running under OSF/1 (Digital Unix), Hewlett-Packard HP-9000 Series computers running under HP-UX, IBM RS/6000 computers running under AIX, and Sun SPARC processors running under Solaris. The ALEPH 500, a client/server product, currently employs Unix servers, but an implementation for Windows NT is in development. Ex Libris can supply complete turnkey solutions consisting of hardware and software. …