I would like to start by thanking you, the reader, for taking the time to peruse this first installment of the series “Serials Solutions: More Than Journals and Mags.” I have recently accepted the new position of product manager of Search Technology here at SirsiDynix and have been immersing myself in the exploration of the search technology field and all its possibilities. Even more exciting has been researching how the multitude of search capabilities fit in with the offerings of SirsiDynix, whether it’s integrating new features into existing products or conceptualizing completely new offerings and services. In addition to keeping a pulse on the beat of the search industry, it’s also one of my priorities to be knowledgeable about customer needs. The most queries from customers, as well as internal staff, appear to be related to our new relationship with the company Serials Solutions.  

In April of this year, SirsiDynix officially partnered with Serials Solutions. As a result of this new relationship, many of Serials Solutions products are now offered by SirsiDynix. These products include Central Search (federated searching), Article Linker (OpenURL), ERMS (resource management system), and MARC Record subscription. This new relationship triggered many questions: Didn’t SirsiDynix already offer federated searching and OpenURL products? Are they ending their relationships with their other vendors for the Serials Solutions products? Our library paid for a two-year subscription to those products – what’s going to happen??? Insert mass hysteria here.

As product manager of Search Technology, I am here to declare that we are not terminating our current federated searching or OpenURL products, which were the predecessors to the Serial Solutions offering. We have found that these products serve a portion of our customer base quite well. We have many happy organizations subscribing to pre-Serials Solutions federated searching and OpenURL products; we aren’t about to chuck products over the rail and leave our customers floating out to sea.

The relationship with Serials Solutions is all about more options – the hosted product suite from Serials Solutions offers a wide variety of integrated functionality that our other products, on their own, could not offer. The Serials Solutions-hosted environment coupled with the ERMS and MARC Record capabilities allows us to offer new services to help organize the dynamic nature of electronic and print serial holdings. The products are offered individually, as well as together in a suite – the combinations are numerous and should be tailored to best serve the individual library’s needs. After working with the assigned salesperson to learn more about these products, some libraries may opt to transition to the Serials Solutions product or products upon their annual renewal date, and others may remain with their current subscription.

This article is the first of several installments on the exploration of the Serials Solutions offerings. Throughout these editorials, we will be examining the capabilities of each product, the implementation of each, and the way each product interacts with a library’s current ILS.  

To learn more about any of the Serials Solutions products, please contact your account manager for access to demonstration sites, webinar schedules, and general pricing information. Please check next month’s installment of the Serials Solutions series for the first product profile of the Serials Solutions suite – Central Search.