Washington, DC and Oslo, Norway – June 1, 2022. The Folger Shakespeare Library has successfully migrated from Voyager ILS to the TIND Integrated Library System. "TIND has filled a niche in the library systems market, providing standards-compliant functionality that is right-sized for smaller academic and research libraries", says Julie C. Swierczek, Associate Librarian for Collection Description and Imaging.
The Folger collection includes the world’s largest Shakespeare collection and one of the world’s three largest collections of early English books (1475–1640) and the 6th largest collection of titles from 1641–1700. Powered by the TIND ILS, the new catalog includes 12,492,431 cells of data — 414,962 bibliographic records; 565,163 holdings records; 164,545 authority records; and 30 spreadsheets of acquisitions, patron, and circulation data — migrated from the Folger’s original online catalog Hamnet which debuted 25 years ago.
“We selected TIND because we were excited by the technological capabilities of their system. It was the only ILS product on the market that met our needs and would be a worthy successor to our Hamnet online catalog,” notes Julie C. Swierczek, associate librarian for collection description and imaging. “TIND has filled a niche in the library systems market, providing standards-compliant functionality that is right-sized for smaller academic and research libraries. We are thrilled not only to work with TIND — who has been receptive to all our ideas and requests, often taking our suggestions and adding them to the development roadmap — but also to be joining the ranks of other TIND libraries so we can work together for the benefit of us all.”
Erin Blake, Senior Cataloger and migration lead at the Folger Shakespeare Library, comments on the implementation and migration services provided by TIND:
"It’s impossible to exaggerate the care and attention that TIND put into implementation management and our data migration. They not only understand the complex elements of information in an ILS, but they also understand the anxiety systems librarians feel when someone else touches their precious data. TIND has kept in contact every step of the way, tweaking the scripts to accommodate the inevitable oddities, and finding ways to salvage information that was so messy I feared it would have to be abandoned. Thanks to TIND’s meticulous line-by-line documentation, I could follow along in real time, secure in the knowledge that the root-bound data I’d nurtured for over 20 years will be able to grow and thrive in its new garden."
The new catalog also offers application programming interfaces (APIs) to allow systems to communicate with each other. These APIs will play a critical role as the Folger moves forward allowing for more interconnectedness among our library systems for an easier user experience.
About TIND
TIND is an official CERN spin-off providing library management systems, digital preservation- and research data management solutions based on CERN open source software. More info at www.tind.io
About the Folger Shakespeare Library
The Folger Shakespeare Library is the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. The Folger welcomes millions of visitors online and in person. We provide unparalleled access to a huge array of resources, from original sources to modern interpretations. The Folger is also home to major collections of other rare Renaissance books, manuscripts, and works of art. Located a block from the US Capitol, the Folger serves a wide audience of scholars, visitors, teachers, students, families, and theater- and concert-goers.
