Library solutions provider Ex Libris Group, Israel, has announced the general release of version 7.0 of the company's Voyager integrated library system. More than 70 customer-requested enhancements, implemented as the result of feedback from usability studies, focus groups and an online user survey, focus on the staff and end-user experience. Version 7.0 is seen to build on two ongoing Voyager objectives - ease of use and increased functionality for library staff.
Voyager 7.0 features a newly designed WebVoyage OPAC with a modern, easy-to-use layout. An intuitive search model, offering a range of basic and advanced search options, seeks to offer library results quickly and efficiently. A wide range of accessibility and usability enhancements, designed to comply with the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and national regulatory requirements, have been integrated into the latest version.
During the Voyager 7.0 development cycle, Ex Libris developers worked closely with the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The initiative, as part of the Illinois Board of Higher Education Web Accessibility Consortium, sought to ensure that the newly redesigned WebVoyage system would meet the needs of users with disabilities, without sacrificing any functionality.
Voyager 7.0 contains more than 40 administrative enhancements, including improved functionality for maintaining catalogue records and a wider range of options for updating and editing serials and acquisitions data. Library staffs are expected to enjoy greater flexibility in customising search and navigation functions to suit the specific needs of their institutions.
