Tulsa City-County Library

The Tulsa City-County Library System (TCCL) is composed of 22 public libraries serving the greater metropolitan area of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The library system provides wide-ranging services, including support of educational and business-related research. The library system defies a lingering public misconception of the library as an old-fashioned institution with dimly lit aisles lined with dusty old tomes. Truly in step with the information age, TCCL serves more than 300,000 library cardholders, who are reaping the benefits of a technology-driven enterprise.

TCCL s network of 22 branch locations linked to a central library makes more than 1.7 million volumes and a wide range of services available to the public. Chief among these services is the support of educational and business-related research conducted daily by patrons of varying ages and interests.

Around the globe, libraries are turning to high technology to reinvent themselves for enduring community value in the information age. For TCCL, the desire to satisfy patrons research requirements through access to enterprise and Internet information resources was the catalyst for implementing an enterprise-wide thin-client/server computing system.

Presenting problem Anticipating the increasing volume and sophistication of the research requirements of its patrons, library officials opted to migrate from print to CD-ROM based research products. These products include Newsbank Newsfiles, Current Biography, and Social Issues Resources Series (SIRS), three well-known research tools.

The challenge: Migrate 22 branch libraries from print to CD-ROM based research products.

TCCL knew that a switch to CD-ROM products would have tremendous advantages over the printed products traditionally provided. CDs are less expensive to produce than printed products, which means big savings in annual subscription fees. CDs have a shorter production cycle, which often means that CD content is more timely and relevant than its print counterpart. When distributed across a network, a single CD program is simultaneously accessible by many patrons visiting various branch libraries. In addition, CDs enable more refined searching and better-quality research results in less time than is possible with printed research tools.

But TCCL was also aware of a crucial drawback. Library officials knew that it would be prohibitively expensive, both in terms of dollars and IS resources, to put stand-alone PCs fully loaded with CD players, hardware and software for dial-up, WAN, and Internet access, and all the necessary research software in each of TCCL s 22 branches.

Hardware and software The thin-client/server networking environment at TCCL includes:

TCCL deploys new software-based CD-ROM research products through WAN to 22 branch libraries.

• Polywell dual processor P6 200 with 256 MB of RAM
  
  
• Windows NT file server
  
  
• U.S. Robotics 28.8-Kbps modems
  
  
• TCP/IP WAN with 3COM LinkBuilder FMSII Bridge module and NetBuilder router
  
  
• 22 Pentium 133-MHz PCs with 16 MB of RAM and Microsoft Windows 95

TCCL deploys CD-ROM based research databases over its TCP/IP WAN to 22 branch locations using WinFrame.

Solution and results To deploy the new products from its central library across a TCP/IP WAN to PCs installed at its 22 branch libraries, TCCL implemented a thin-client/server solution that uses the WinFrame application server. This solution helps the library to deploy new software-based research applications quickly, easily, and cost-effectively, while maximizing the library system s return on technology investment.

By centralizing enterprise application deployment on the WinFrame server, TCCL can deliver fast, targeted, and controlled access to relevant research information to all its branch libraries from one central location. WinFrame s single-point, end-to-end application management means the entire library system saves on acquisition, maintenance, and support costs for its important research tools. Within three months, the CD-ROM research tools had been deployed throughout the entire library system.

Each TCCL branch library has a Pentium 133-MHz PC running Windows 95 that can dial up over regular telephone lines to one of three U.S. Robotics access servers at the central library. The access servers route communications via TCP/IP from branch PCs to the WinFrame server or to a 3COM NetBuilder router for Internet access. ICA thin-client software existing on each of the PCs at the library connects to a session on the servers at the central library, making it appear as if the information is housed locally on the PC.

Branch library staff and patrons needed little time to acquaint themselves with the new PC-based research tools. The overall library system and its inner workings were completely transparent to the user, who dealt with only a simple database or browser interface that s as comfortable as Windows. This familiarity helped people to focus on the research goal instead of the research pro-cess and made them noticeably more productive.

TCCL staff are also able to shadow users from a central location. (You ve read about WinFrame s useful shadowing feature throughout this chapter.) Staff can provide remote support and training without leaving the main library. Using WinFrame application server software in its new thin-client/server computing environment, the Tulsa City-County Library System can continue to expand its suite of research tools, increase communications and connectivity power, and add more network access points quickly, easily, and cost-effectively. New access devices can be plugged into the WAN with minimal involvement from branch library staff, and new research products can be made instantly available from the WinFrame application server at the central library.

TCCL can now upgrade software easily and offer more access devices.