The Library Corporation (TLC)
Encyclopedia
The Library Corporation creates and distributes automation and cataloging software to more than 700 public
, school
, academic
, and special
library systems. Based in Inwood, W.Va.
, with additional offices in Denver and Singapore
, the company is owned and operated by the same family that established it in 1974.
In 1985, it became the first organization in the world to successfully use CD-ROM
technology for data storage
when it released its BiblioFile Cataloging software. The CD-ROM drive used to read those first commercially produced discs, as well as the original BiblioFile Cataloging CD-ROMs, are now in the Smithsonian Institution
.
TLC, a GSA
-certified company, earned a 2009 Best in Tech Award from Scholastic Administrator magazine. Also in 2009, its senior product developer, Matt Moran, was selected by Library Journal
magazine as one of the library industry's top 51 "Movers and Shakers."
: Library•Solution is designed for small to medium public, academic, and special libraries; Library•Solution for Schools is designed for public and private school libraries; and CARL•X, the next-generation version of the legacy
CARL•Solution automation system, is designed for large public libraries.
Each system automates the standard operations of a library, including the check-in/check-out process
, cataloging
, inventory
, authority control
, and reports. Facilities that utilize a TLC ILS include Los Angeles Public Library
in California, Dallas Independent School District
in Texas, Ministry of Home Affairs
in Singapore, Anchorage School District
in Alaska, Chicago Public Schools
in Illinois, and National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Library in Washington, D.C.
functionality to its ILS products with the LS2 suite of OPACs: LS2 PAC, LS2 Kids, LS2 Staff, LS2 Mobile, and Textbook Management and Asset Tracking.
and acquisitions
products that work with any ILS.
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
, school
School library
A school library is a library within a school where students, staff, and often, parents of a public or private school have access to a variety of resources...
, academic
Academic library
An academic library is a library that is attached to academic institutions above the secondary level, serving the teaching and research needs of students and staff...
, and special
Special library
A special library is a term for a library that is neither an academic, school, public or national library. Special libraries include law libraries, news libraries, corporate libraries, museum libraries, and medical libraries and are not usually open to the public for use...
library systems. Based in Inwood, W.Va.
Inwood, West Virginia
Inwood is a census-designated place in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, located south of Martinsburg. The population was 2,954 at the 2010 census. It is located on U.S...
, with additional offices in Denver and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, the company is owned and operated by the same family that established it in 1974.
In 1985, it became the first organization in the world to successfully use CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
technology for data storage
Data storage
Data storage can refer to:* Computer data storage; memory, components, devices and media that retain digital computer data used for computing for some interval of time....
when it released its BiblioFile Cataloging software. The CD-ROM drive used to read those first commercially produced discs, as well as the original BiblioFile Cataloging CD-ROMs, are now in the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
.
TLC, a GSA
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
-certified company, earned a 2009 Best in Tech Award from Scholastic Administrator magazine. Also in 2009, its senior product developer, Matt Moran, was selected by Library Journal
Library Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
magazine as one of the library industry's top 51 "Movers and Shakers."
Library Automation Systems
The company offers three integrated library systemsIntegrated library system
An integrated library system , also known as a library management system ,is an enterprise resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned, orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed....
: Library•Solution is designed for small to medium public, academic, and special libraries; Library•Solution for Schools is designed for public and private school libraries; and CARL•X, the next-generation version of the legacy
Legacy system
A legacy system is an old method, technology, computer system, or application program that continues to be used, typically because it still functions for the users' needs, even though newer technology or more efficient methods of performing a task are now available...
CARL•Solution automation system, is designed for large public libraries.
Each system automates the standard operations of a library, including the check-in/check-out process
Library circulation
Library circulation or library lending comprises the activities around the lending of library books and other material to users of a lending library. A circulation or lending department is one of the key departments of a library....
, cataloging
Library catalog
A library catalog is a register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations...
, inventory
Inventory (library)
Libraries need methods, such as inventories, to determine whether or not their collections are in good shape, or whether or not some preservation or conservation activities are necessary...
, authority control
Authority control
Authority control is the practice of creating and maintaining index terms for bibliographic material in a catalog in library and information science. Authority control fulfills two important functions. First, it enables catalogers to disambiguate items with similar or identical headings...
, and reports. Facilities that utilize a TLC ILS include Los Angeles Public Library
Los Angeles Public Library
The Los Angeles Public Library system serves the residents of Los Angeles, California, United States. With over 6 million volumes, LAPL is one of the largest publicly funded library systems in the world. The system is overseen by a Board of Library Commissioners with five members appointed by the...
in California, Dallas Independent School District
Dallas Independent School District
The Dallas Independent School District is a school district based in Dallas, Texas . Dallas ISD, which operates schools in much of Dallas County, is the second largest school district in Texas and the twelfth largest in the United States.In 2009, the school district was rated "academically...
in Texas, Ministry of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore)
The Ministry of Home Affairs is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for public safety, civil defence and immigration. It is also known as the Home Team. It is headed by the Minister for Home Affairs....
in Singapore, Anchorage School District
Anchorage School District
The Anchorage School District manages all public schools within the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the 93rd largest school district in the United States, serving nearly 50,000 students at over 90 schools. As one of the United States' largest districts, it is often...
in Alaska, Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as CPS by local residents and politicians and officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, is a large school district that manages over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois...
in Illinois, and National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
Library in Washington, D.C.
Online Public Access Catalog Products
TLC adds Web-basedWeb application
A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...
functionality to its ILS products with the LS2 suite of OPACs: LS2 PAC, LS2 Kids, LS2 Staff, LS2 Mobile, and Textbook Management and Asset Tracking.
- LS2 PAC works with all three of TLC's automation systems to give patrons online access to library catalogsLibrary catalogA library catalog is a register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations...
. It includes a customizable display of library titles, RSSRSS-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
news and information feeds that highlight current events and library books related to those events, maps that show where items are located within a library, Google AnalyticsGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Analytics is a free service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website. The product is aimed at marketers as opposed to webmasters and technologists from which the industry of web analytics originally grew. It is the most widely used website...
™ integration, federated searchingFederated searchFederated search is an information retrieval technology that allows the simultaneous search of multiple searchable resources. A user makes a single query request which is distributed to the search engines participating in the federation...
of in-house and online content, integrated searching of subscription databases, list creation and sharing capabilities, and patron ratings, reviews, and search tags. - LS2 Kids is the children's version of LS2 PAC, designed to enable young readers to independently explore a library's online catalog. It includes quick links to popular book series, interactiveUser interfaceThe user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
title displays with enlarged book jackets and detailed information about selected titles, a search box that provides spelling suggestions and corrections, and a category wheel with iconsComputer iconA computer icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen and used to navigate a computer system or mobile device. The icon itself is a small picture or symbol serving as a quick, intuitive representation of a software tool, function or a data file accessible on the system. It functions as an...
representing a wide variety of subjects that interest children. - LS2 Staff allows libraries to perform basic circulationLibrary circulationLibrary circulation or library lending comprises the activities around the lending of library books and other material to users of a lending library. A circulation or lending department is one of the key departments of a library....
functions from any computer with Internet access. - LS2 Mobile is a smart-phoneSmartphoneA smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
interface that allows people to connect with the online catalogs of public and school libraries from any place with Wi-FiWi-FiWi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
or mobile InternetMobile BroadbandMobile broadband is the marketing term for wireless Internet access through a portable modem, mobile phone or other mobile device.-Description:...
service. An LS2 Mobile user can search for titles; reserve books, CDs, DVDs, or audiobooks for pickup at a later time; check library account balances; and cancel holds on previously reserved titles. - Textbook Management and Asset Tracking works exclusively with the Library•Solution for Schools ILS. It allows school districts to maintain an inventory of district-owned items and keep track of textbooks and other materials issued to students.
Library Automation Enhancements
The company also offers standalone catalogingLibrary catalog
A library catalog is a register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations...
and acquisitions
Library acquisitions
Library acquisitions is the department of a library responsible for the selection and purchase of materials or resources for the library. Acquisitions may select vendors, negotiate consortium pricing, arrange for standing orders, and/or select individual titles or resources .-Functions:*Ordering,...
products that work with any ILS.
- BiblioFile is a cataloging program that accesses and processes MARC recordsMARC standardsMARC, MAchine-Readable Cataloging, is a data format and set of related standards used by libraries to encode and share information about books and other material they collect...
from online databases. - ITS•MARC offers Z39.50Z39.50Z39.50 is a client–server protocol for searching and retrieving information from remote computer databases. It is covered by ANSI/NISO standard Z39.50, and ISO standard 23950. The standard's maintenance agency is the Library of Congress....
and Internet access to MARC recordsMARC standardsMARC, MAchine-Readable Cataloging, is a data format and set of related standards used by libraries to encode and share information about books and other material they collect...
. The metadataMetadataThe term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
is processed by cataloging programs like BiblioFile. - Online Selection & Acquisitions is an online shopping portal that links libraries to the Web sites of vendors that specialize in providing books, CDs, DVDs, and audiobooks to library systems.
Related Articles
Libraries that have implemented TLC's automation products have been featured in media reports including:- Government Technology, "Smartphones Replacing Old-Fashioned Library Cards" (Aug. 3, 2011) http://www.govtech.com/education/Smartphones-Replacing-Library-Cards.html
- The Wright County Monitor, "TLC system grows as more libraries join BEACON consortium" (Jan. 6, 2011) http://www.tlcdelivers.com/tlc/who-we-are/other-news/2011/BEACON.pdf
- Daily Mountain EagleDaily Mountain EagleThe Daily Mountain Eagle is a daily newspaper servicing the Jasper, Alabama area. The paper is owned by Cleveland Newspapers, Incorporated and operated locally.-External links:*...
, "Library gets smart-phone application" (Nov. 28, 2010) http://www.mountaineagle.com/view/full_story/10466673/article-Library-gets-smart-phone-application?instance=main_article - The Des Moines Register, "Council approves purchase of library data management system" (Nov. 1, 2010) http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/11/01/council-approves-purchase-of-library-data-management-system/
- Independent TribuneIndependent TribuneIndependent Tribune is a daily morning newspaper based in Concord, North Carolina covering Cabarrus County, North Carolina. The newspaper is owned by Media General. The Independent Tribune was formed with the merger of The Concord Tribune and The Daily Independent.It was originally a daily...
, "Concord library to get major renovation" (Oct. 1, 2010) http://www2.independenttribune.com/news/2010/oct/06/concord-library-get-major-renovation-ar-438408/ - Contra Costa TimesContra Costa TimesThe Contra Costa Times is a daily newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, U.S.. The paper serves Contra Costa and eastern Alameda counties, in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area...
, "Library streamlines online access" (March 17, 2010) http://www.tlcdelivers.com/tlc/who-we-are/other-news/2010/Library-streamlines-online-access.asp - Elbert County News, "Library announces software update" (Nov. 3, 2009) http://coloradocommunitynewspapers.com/articles/2009/11/03/elbert_county_news/news/12_brf_software.txt
- The Winsted Journal, "$35,000 grant helps modernize Beardsley and Memorial Library" (Aug. 21, 2009) http://www.tcextra.com/news/publish/winstedjournal/35_000_grant_helps_modernize_Beardsley_and_Memorial_Library/1020400.shtml