University of Kansas moves forward with plans for digital library

LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas has reached an agreement with Endeavor Information Systems to implement the ENCompass system for managing, organizing and linking KU's digital library collections.

"This marks an important step forward for us in the Digital Library Initiatives project," said Marilu Goodyear, vice chancellor for information services. "Our vision for the digital library is to provide easy access to excellent research resources for students and the rest of the campus community."

Beth Forrest Warner, director of the KU Digital Library Initiatives, said the digital library program has been in place for only about a year and a half but the initial goals for the project are clear: The group wanted to find a system that reduced the number of individual databases to be searched, to standardize the system, and to improve longevity and access for campus resources.

"The ENCompass system provides the foundation we need to achieve our vision of providing seamless access to the full range of scholarly information," said Stella Bentley, dean of libraries.

The KU digital library group thoroughly evaluated several systems before selecting the solution from Endeavor, which is based in Des Plaines, Ill.

Warner said that the digital library group hopes to work closely with the university's research community, in addition to working with more traditional library resources, to expand access to original research data online, beyond the access provided by journals or individual research center or department Web sites.

This kind of expanded resource access will provide an additional outlet for original KU research and help promote recognition for the university's ongoing research activities, Warner said.

"The University of Kansas has been very involved with scholarly communication issues and is working to change the way people think about information resources and collections," she said. "This is a way of continuing to move forward in that area, with a platform to bring collections online and coordinate access to resources across campus."

KU is the 25th institution and sixth Association of Research Libraries member to select ENCompass.

The KU Libraries comprise 3.7 million volumes and 27,000 current serial titles housed in seven library facilities on the Lawrence and Overland Park campuses. At the Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., the Archie R. Dykes Library for Health Sciences is a major resource for health professionals. KU is a leader in the area of scholarly communications through its involvement in such projects as BioOne, for which it was a founding partner.