NEWS

The National Academic Library Information System in Bulgaria
Selects a Suite of Ex Libris Solutions

A shared vision and a decade of positive experience with Ex Libris
drew the organization to select the Primo, Aleph, MetaLib, SFX, and DigiTool solutions

Ex Libris® Group is pleased to announce that the National Academic Library Information System (NALIS) in Bulgaria has chosen a number of Ex Libris solutions to form a unified backbone and gateway to the library’s services. Following a rigorous evaluation process, NALIS selected the Primo® discovery and delivery solution, the Aleph® integrated library system (ILS), the SFX® OpenURL link resolver, the MetaLib® gateway and metasearch solution, and the DigiTool® digital asset management system. Two founding members of the NALIS foundation—the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Sofia University—have been running Aleph for over 10 years.  

“As members of the Aleph customer community for the past decade, we have developed a strong relationship with Ex Libris and its team in Europe and Israel,” commented Dincho Krastev, library director of the Central Library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and executive director of NALIS. “Even more important, we share with Ex Libris a vision for the future of library automation that will drive our ongoing collaboration. We chose Primo for its emphasis on the user experience and streamlined access to information. Primo will give our users the combined benefits of a unified interface, a simple yet powerful search capability, and rapid access to resources, which they have come to expect in the era of Google and Web 2.0 technologies. Integrated with the Aleph, DigiTool, MetaLib, and SFX solutions, Primo will ensure that our users enjoy seamless access to the diverse collections of NALIS member organizations.”  

Marc Daubach, general manager of Ex Libris Europe and corporate vice president, remarked: “We are delighted to be embarking on this new stage in our partnership with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Sofia University, via the framework of NALIS. We are impressed by these institutions’ drive for innovation, and we look forward to working in close collaboration with NALIS for years to come.”

National Academic Library Information System (NALIS)
The Bulgarian Academy of Science, Sofia University, and the American University in Bulgaria formed NALIS as a non-governmental organization supporting academic libraries throughout Bulgaria. The goals of NALIS are the development and strengthening of education, science, and culture; the provision of training, specialization, and professional qualifications in the field of library information and communication systems; and the coordination of international, national, and regional projects for the development of cooperation in the library and information industries.  

About the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) was founded in 1869, and the first issue of its Periodical Journal, still its official publication, was published in 1870. The Academy’s mission statement expresses its dedication to “the development of science in conformity with universal human values and the country’s national interest.” There are eleven focus areas within the academy, including new materials, nanotechnologies and modern physics technologies, information and communication technologies, energy sources and energy effectiveness, ecology, biodiversity and bioresources, and knowledge-based economy and community.

For additional information about the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, see http://www.bas.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?s=001&p=0200.

About Sofia University
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski was the first institution of higher education in Bulgaria. It has grown to become the largest and most prestigious educational and scientific centre in the country, with faculties spread over several campuses around Sofia. The university consists of faculties of mathematics and informatics, physics, chemistry, biology, journalism and mass communication, theology, economics and business administration, and preschool and primary school education. About 25,000 students are enrolled at the university, of which 8,000 are in master’s programs and 1,000 are doctoral students.

For additional information on the University of Sofia, see http://portal.uni-sofia.bg/index.php/eng/.