A Day in the Life of a Legal Librarian

Kelley Bocell Legal Librarian

See how Vinson & Elkins built a centralized, searchable resource portal for 800 attorneys — and gave their research team the data to prove their department’s value.

What’s Coming Up With Softlink IC

The next few months are packed – and more importantly, they’re full of opportunities for you to sharpen your strategy, connect with peers, and get more value from Liberty Digital and illumin.

5 Library System Features You Could Be Using (But You Probably Aren’t)

Today, most special libraries and archives aren’t taking full advantage of their current library management systems. Not because the tools aren’t there, but because it’s time consuming to explore everything between daily tasks like urgent research requests, maintaining compliance, or supporting internal projects.

Softlink IC: Your 2025 Wrapped

This year wasn’t just about software updates or company events; it was about our customers navigating digital change with our products. Across the sectors, we noticed the main benefits our systems provided were – time-saved, manual work reduction, and improvement in both resource discoverability and reporting strength. These helped deliver clearer outcomes to our customers’ organizations for 2025.

Highlights from Our 2025 User Group Meetings in Brisbane, Melbourne & Wellington

Each year, we bring our community together through our User Group Meetings (UGMs) – one of our favourite ways to connect with customers, share updates, and celebrate the innovation happening in libraries. In October 2025, the Softlink IC team hosted UGMs across Brisbane, Melbourne, and Wellington, bringing together professionals from every sector to learn, collaborate, and discuss what’s next for Liberty Digital and illumin.

Unlocking the Hidden Value in Your Library Collection

As a law or government librarian, your collection is one of your greatest assets – second only to your expertise and knowledge. But even the most carefully curated resources can sit underutilized if your users and stakeholders don’t know they exist. While many libraries spend significant budgets on collections, the real value comes when those resources are actively used to inform research, support decisions, and drive your organization’s goals.

The Complete Guide to Choosing a New Integrated Library System (ILS) in 2025

In today’s rapidly evolving world of library and information management, choosing the right Integrated Library System (ILS) can transform your library’s operations and enhance the user experience. This guide will walk you through what an ILS can do for your organization, the key considerations to keep in mind, the must-have features to look for, and the practical steps to make the right choice. And if you pair it with our latest webinar, Time to Switch? How to Know (and Do) an ILS Upgrade Right, you’ll have both the strategy and the confidence to take your next step.

Why You Should Always Encourage Patrons to Explore Digital Archives First

In today’s fast-paced digital world, it’s essential for corporate, legal, government, and special libraries to encourage teams and stakeholders to explore digital archives first for smarter, more secure, and more efficient research. With solutions like Liberty Digital, you can collect, preserve, and provide long-term access to digitized or born-digital materials, making critical information available anytime, anywhere. Whether it’s case files, reports, policy papers, or multimedia records, digital archives offer a searchable, organized alternative to physical files – saving time and supporting better discovery. Promoting these resources early helps staff find what they need faster, reduces wear on physical collections, and meets modern expectations for on-demand access and compliance.

Strengthening Skills and Connections – A Look Back at Our Week in Papua New Guinea

On Friday 18 July, Softlink IC wrapped up a week on the ground in Papua New Guinea, delivering in-person Liberty Digital training for the National and Supreme Courts. Led by Sarah Thompson and Jacob Devine, the sessions brought together court librarians from across the country, all eager to sharpen their skills and build confidence in the system.

Then vs. Now: How Research Libraries Are Powering Discovery with Liberty Digital and illumin

Research libraries have always been centers of knowledge and innovation, but the role they play today is vastly different from what it was even a decade ago. As the research landscape grows more complex, combined with rapid digital transformation, traditional systems can no longer keep up. To meet these demands, research libraries are transforming. Integrated solutions such as Liberty Digital and illumin, replace outdated systems with flexible platforms purpose-built for today’s knowledge and research management needs.

Ensure Security and Privacy in Your Library System

In today’s digital age, security and privacy in library systems are paramount. This guide gives an overview of key security practices in libraries and information centers and how they can safeguard their data and resources.

Tidy Up Your Library: 7 Simple Steps for a Clean Catalog

cluttered computer screen in need of a tidy-up

Over time, even the best-maintained systems can benefit from a little spring cleaning. Tidying up your library management system (LMS) is a great way to keep things in top shape. While data cleanup might sound like a big task, it’s easier than you think – and crucial for ensuring your system runs efficiently.

5 Things You Didn’t Know Your Library System Could Do

Integrated Library Systems (ILS) have come a long way and our ILS, Liberty, is at the forefront of this evolution. Over the years, Liberty has introduced many innovative features designed to make managing your library’s resources easier and more efficient.

Welcome to a New Era: Liberty Digital Unleashed

Softlink Information Centers is excited to introduce Liberty Digital, an innovative platform set to redefine the landscape of library and archive management. Launched at our recent Virtual Open Day on May 30, 2024, Liberty Digital joins our suite of products, which includes Liberty (an Integrated Library System or ILS) and illumin (a research and reference management tool). The best news of all? It’s available now for your library or archive, read on to find out more! 

The Future is Near: Liberty Digital is Coming Soon

Liberty Digital Sign being revealed from behind red wrapping paper

For over four decades, Softlink has been at the forefront of digital transformation. Softlink was one of the first to offer a Library Management System when libraries were transitioning from card catalogs to computers and one of the first to pioneer web-based systems for library management.

Liberty Link: The Key to a 24/7 Library in Your Pocket

In today’s digital era, libraries are adapting to new technologies to enhance their services and user engagement. Softlink IC’s mobile app Liberty Link is designed to provide easy access to your Liberty catalog directly from your mobile device.

5 Easy Steps to Digitization In Your Library: A Beginners Guide

Picture of digital resources laid over a library with bookshelves

The digital revolution has transformed the way we access and interact with information. For libraries, knowledge and information centers, this revolution presents a unique opportunity to extend their reach and impact. By digitizing your collection, you can make your resources more accessible and relevant in today’s digital world. Follow these five easy steps to successfully start digitizing your library.

Revolutionizing Law Libraries – Essential Features of Library Management Tools

In the ever-evolving landscape of legal libraries, the integration of advanced library management software is emerging as a crucial element in modernizing these knowledge hubs. With legal professionals grappling with increasingly complex research demands, selecting the right Integrated Library System (ILS) is becoming essential. This blog explores seven key features of an ideal law library management system.

Elevate Your Library Game – Let Our Helpdesk Level You Up

The letters "H", "E", "L" and "P" pegged to an overhead line

At some point in our lives, we all encounter situations where a little assistance can go a long way. In the realm of libraries, the same holds true. As a Softlink IC customer using our integrated library management system Liberty, or our knowledge and research management software illumin, regardless of if you’re a newcomer seeking guidance or an experienced solo librarian in need of fresh ideas, our helpdesk is here to provide support and solutions. Let’s explore 5 outside the box reasons why you might want to reach out to our helpdesk.

Discovering Your Ideal ILMS: Key Factors to Consider

Four people holding large pieces of a puzzle

In today’s digital age, libraries are constantly looking for ways to enhance their efficiency and productivity. One solution that is a proven winner is the adoption of an Integrated Library Management System (ILMS).

Scanning for Success: How Using QR Codes Can Transform your Library

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Are you ready to bring your library to the next level? Look no further than QR codes! As we embrace the digital age, libraries are constantly exploring innovative ways to showcase their services and collections to patrons. These nifty little squares can instantly connect patrons to a wealth of information about the library or knowledge center, events, collections, and so much more – all with a simple scan from their smartphone.

When We Talk About Our Live Chat Feature, We Mean Live Chat

Providing support is an important part of customer service. For Softlink IC, live chat is now indispensable. It adds another string to our already great support delivery bow. Our Liberty and illumin software customers have another effective avenue to chat to a real Support team member quickly. We don’t know if the customers of other library management system vendors talk to a real support person via a live chat option, but ours certainly do!

Does Your Library or Research System Provide Integration Options?

Integrating a library management or request and research system with third-party solutions can have a huge impact on efficiency and user experiences. Liberty Digital and illumin offer a wide range of integrations to help manage resources, requests and research.

Lift Your Library to New Heights: 5 Reasons to Use Library Management Systems

5 reasons to use a library management system

Library Management System (LMS) software is an effective solution to help companies manage their corporate content with ease, granting access to a diverse collection of research material, eBooks, manuals, journals, documents, and books. But why should businesses purchase LMS software? This blog will provide you with five great reasons why an LMS can be beneficial for organizations of any size!

Why Every Corporate Library Needs a Mobile App

As a librarian, you know that a well-stocked library is an asset in any organization. But have you considered adding a mobile app to your cache of resources? Whether your library is big or small, a mobile app can offer many benefits including efficiency and patron convenience. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the top reasons why your corporate library needs a mobile app.

Enhance Your Catalog Homepage in Just 10 Minutes!

If your library doesn’t have a brand yet, it’s time to think about what would make the space recognizable. Can users and non-users alike easily recognize your homepage? If not, then there is room for improvement!

Queensland Museum Chooses Softlink IC’s Liberty

Queensland Museum Building

The Queensland Museum recently chose Softlink Information Centres’ (Softlink IC) Liberty as their integrated library software. Liberty offers a variety of features to the museum library such as a discovery and federated search, mobile app, multi-factor authentication and the capability to perform OCR on PDF files. This certainly ticked all the boxes for the museum library’s needs!

Exploring the World of Parliamentary Librarians

Libraries are some of the most exciting places to work, and as a librarian, you get to use a variety of skills every day. In this blog series, we’ll look at the types of skills and knowledge necessary for working in a library, knowledge or resource center. And we’ll showcase some specific sectors where you’re bound to find a librarian! We’ll start off with the work librarians do in a parliamentary setting. So, if you’ve ever wondered about working in a library, keep reading to learn more about the skills you’ll need to succeed!

Who Has the Best Library Homepage? Here Are Our Top Picks!

This is a blog with a twist. We know Liberty Digital is packed full of fantastic features and functionality. One of its best features is the flexible and customizable homepage which means you can create a homepage or OPAC (online public access catalog) as unique as your organization.

5 Easy Steps to Digitization in Your Library

The digital revolution has transformed the way we access and interact with information. For libraries, knowledge and information centers, this revolution presents a unique opportunity to extend their reach and impact. By digitizing your collection, you can make your resources more accessible and relevant in today’s digital world. Follow these five easy steps to successfully start digitizing your library.

Why Our Customer Support Team Is Everything to Us

computer headset next to alex the alpaca

At Softlink Information Centres, you probably know we provide library, knowledge and research management solutions. Our products, Liberty and illumin, are used by hundreds of businesses around the world from some of the largest multi-branch law firms to single branch non-profit organizations.

4 Ways to Secure and Protect Your ILMS – Part 2

Part 2 of the Secure and Protect blog

In part 1 of our last blog post we looked at how Softlink IC protects our products. Part 2 of this blog will show you how you can secure and protect sensitive data, documents and resources or modules in Liberty.

4 Ways to Secure and Protect Your ILMS – Part 1

Part 1 of the Secure and Protect blog

Library Management System (LMS) software is an effective solution to help companies manage their corporate content with ease, granting access to a diverse collection of research material, eBooks, manuals, journals, documents, and books. But why should businesses purchase LMS software? This blog will provide you with five great reasons why an LMS can be beneficial for organizations of any size!

Make the Age of Information Work for You!

various clocks displayed on a wall near some bookshelves

It’s true, we are living in an Age of Information and for some of our Liberty users, perhaps they know nothing other than borrowing books via the Liberty App. While other Liberty users may recall the smell of books, as a young kid they entered that large room with stacks of resources, spacious seating and large group study tables known as the library. A place to get lost, to be inspired, to hang out or to just sit and absorb the quiet while reading the daily news.

We Can Solve Your Digital Content Cataloging Problems!

hand holding a mobile phone in a library

In most instances, library staff have been responsible for managing resources to ensure they are properly cataloged, making it easy for patrons to find. They add all the correct information on the catalog record and make sure it’s in the right location. It’s no secret this work requires accuracy and attention to detail!

Alex’s Adventures at the 2022 AALL Conference

Alex the Alpaca at AALL22

Softlink Information Centers (Softlink IC) was at the 2022 American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) conference from 16 – 19 July. The conference was a great opportunity to show off our integrated library management system (ILMS) Liberty and our research management product, illumin.

End the eBook Mystery

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eBooks are not new. They’ve been around since the 70s (that’s right, the 1970s, not a typo!). However, for libraries and knowledge centers, eBooks have grown tremendously in popularity since the early 2000s and they have their place on library ‘shelves’ for a few reasons.

Waikato Regional Council Case Study

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Our wonderful Liberty customers from Waikato Regional Council (WRC) started a revolution with their move to Liberty v5! As long-standing users of Liberty (since 2005), 2020 was the year for a big change. An overview of their case study is the focus of this blog, and the full case study will be published soon.

Fill Your Library with Digital Content!

It’s no secret libraries are evolving, the 21st century is all about digital content in your catalog! Increasingly, libraries are focused on managing digital information. Not only is data increasingly being produced in digital format, more and more people expect access to information anywhere, anytime. Softlink IC’s Liberty Digital can bring your newly digitized content and other electronic files to life for your users with an easy to navigate homepage you can get to anytime, anywhere.

4 Tips for Setting Up Your Library Blog

Have you been trying to find ways to promote your library other than through newsletters, mailouts, and reminder notices? Have you thought about blogs? Blogging is a way to promote your library and its services or distribute news that may be of interest to library users. Time dedicated to blogging can vary depending on how in-depth or short and newsy you want your blogs (articles) to be.

Secrets & Keyboard Shortcuts …Are You Paying Attention?

University of North Carolina Greensboro - Computer Science

If you’re baking, using shortcuts might not always result in a perfect cake.

But, for busy library staff, an integrated library management system (ILMS) with lots of keyboard shortcuts is the way to get the results you want quickly. They make navigating to different screens and functions very efficient. Did you know your Liberty ILMS provides lots of shortcuts?

Tips and Treats – Craft a Carousel

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Last, but by no means least, we come to the fourth and final blog in our Tips and Treats series. In this series, we’ve looked at changes you may have been meaning to do for a while, followed by a holiday treat. The holiday period, when many of your users are on a short break, is a great time just do them!

Tips and Tricks – A Vibrant Video

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The holiday season only comes once a year. As we mentioned in our earlier blogs in this series, it can also be a great time, while many of your users are on a short break, to tackle some of the changes you’ve been meaning to do for a while.

Offering Digital Resources in Your Library

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Librarians understand digital resource collections are an increasingly important way to increase their reach and value to their library users. But what do librarians need to consider and how do they go about providing digital resources? Softlink IC gives librarians a brief overview of how to ensure their library embraces the digital library resources revolution.

Holiday Tips and Treats – Simplify Your Search Box

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The holiday season comes but once a year and for our Liberty users, there’s all those end-of-year tasks to complete. But while many of your users are on a short break, it can be a great time to tackle some of the changes you may have been thinking about for a while.

Legal Librarians Love Current Awareness

Supreme Court of Lithuania - Crime

Legal librarians manage a diverse set of information requirements from a diverse range of staff. It’s why they love an efficient and effective way to automatically inform their firm’s staff of the latest information of interest. A current awareness service (CAS) is necessary tool in their kit of user focused services.

3 Ways to Make New Employees Love Your Library

Senlin Ascends - How to Read a Book

Your integrated library management system (ILMS) fits everyone’s needs like a glove. You’ve ensured access to the library’s dynamic homepage is easy and honed your outreach processes. As a result, the organization’s existing staff recognize the library as the invaluable asset it is and are already love and support the library.

5 Reasons Why Your Data is Safe and Secure with Softlink IC

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Security awareness, and practices to protect our customers’ library and the organization’s data they manage, is something Softlink IC takes very seriously. In November 2020, we posted a blog discussing the security sins our Liberty integrated library management system (ILMS) customers should be aware of, as they continue to ensure their data is safe.

Access LinkedIn Learning™ Through Your Liberty Library

Published November 12, 2021

The range of resources and services today’s libraries offer continues to expand. As well as the usual digital materials, audio books and access to online databases, many now offer free access to online learning databases like Mango™ for learning languages.

Another online learning database Liberty libraries are offering is LinkedIn Learning. It is an easy to access, comprehensive online learning database. It delivers benefits for the organization and the organization’s staff. Better yet, it reinforces the library as central to the access of information and learning, and now LinkedIn Learning integrates with Liberty.

Is Your Current Awareness Service the Best it Can Be?

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The digital era is resulting in less direct physical interaction between library staff and the library’s users. Current Awareness is an increasingly ‘must have’ feature any integrated library management system (ILMS) as an effective way to keep the library, its staff, and services front and center in the minds of existing and future users.

Official Launch of Liberty in Vietnam

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Softlink IC is pleased to announce that on the 15th of September 2021, in conjunction with the Sao Mai Education Group, Liberty, our integrated library management system, was launched to libraries across Vietnam.

How to Promote Your Library to Your Target Audience

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Think of the major brands that are recognizable by their logo, their color scheme, the product they sell, and the message they deliver. Then think about whether your library is recognizable to your users and non-users in the same way. If not, you need to consider how you “brand” your library.

Alex the Alpaca Has His Own Instagram Account

Train - Freepik

We all know the feeling. That temptation to give in to a child who keeps bugging you about getting something they want. Whether it’s sweets, a new bicycle, or a mobile phone with all the bells and whistles, the nagging won’t stop before they get it, or you are fit to be tied. For the sake of peace, you give in, and so it has come to pass for our illumin representative, Alex the Alpaca. Yep, we at Softlink IC gave in.

The #gotknowledge 2021 Library Survey is Now Closed!

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The Softlink IC #gotknowledge library survey for 2021 closed on the 31st of August. We were delighted that as the month rapidly came to a close, we received a flurry of completed surveys to add to an already record number returned over the last 3 months. Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our survey, it is greatly appreciated.

Top 5 Library Management System Features You Can’t Live Without

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While Softlink IC’s integrated library management system (ILMS), Liberty, is chock-a-block with brilliant features, the 5 most popular library management system features of all time are a mixture of unsurprising but commonly required functionality in an ILMS, and a couple that are unique to Liberty.

How to Source eBooks for Your Library

Are you wanting to increase your library’s eBook offerings? You’re not alone. Libraries are increasingly offering digital as well as hard copy resources. EBooks are just one of a wide variety of eresources that are an increasingly common offering in all types of libraries, from specials to public. But where can librarians, who want to provide more eBooks to their users, buy them?

Using RSS Feeds to Boost Your Digital Resource Offerings

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Librarians love finding ways to increase information offerings to their users. There is so much content on the internet that is regularly created, posted, and broadcast, on a regular and semi-regular basis. There is much of that content, librarians would love to add to their catalog.

Beginner’s Guide to Reporting in Your Library

Reports are a librarian’s best friend and extracting verifiable data from their integrated library management system (ILMS) is increasingly non-negotiable. Reporting ensures you are all over the information you and your management team need. Best of all, reports prove the value of a library!

There’s another reason why reporting in your library is vital. Have you ever had to argue a case for increases to budgets, new technology, an up-to-date ILMS, additional eResources, or additional staff? Asking for more like David Copperfield with a bowl in his hands, won’t work for librarians any more than it did for him!

Softlink IC understands the real value of reporting. Our customers love Liberty’s Reporting and Analytics features. So, if you are a beginner and part of your responsibility is to produce various reports, where do you begin? Here are a few tips that may help!

Magisterial Services Library Goes Live With Liberty

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In late April, Papua New Guinea’s Magisterial Services Library installed Liberty to meet their need for a fully web-based integrated library management system (ILMS). Last week they completed training and are looking forward to working smarter with Liberty. Softlink IC is delighted to welcome them and we look forward to a long and successful partnership.

Marshall Breeding Kicks Off Successful User Group Meeting

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The Liberty Virtual User Group Meeting (VUGM) 2021 “season” kicked off on May 13. An enthusiastic group of users registered and attended an informative and fun afternoon. All Liberty users who registered for the VUGM will be sent a recording shortly so those who could not attend due to unexpected events will not miss out entirely!

It’s All About Accessibility for Library Management Systems

Published May 14, 2021

James Martin, Softlink IC’s Development Manager has a little accessibility challenge for our Liberty library management system (LMS) users.

Close your eyes. Now, try sending an email to your boss (this should be fun). How can you use a computer without being able to see the screen? How do you select a program? What use is a mouse? Once you get into a program, how do you find your way around? This is the problem facing millions of blind users worldwide.

Fortunately, there are tools and standards out there to help. There are also organizations whose sole focus is to define a consistent approach that software can implement to make a program accessible to everyone.

I Never Knew I Could Do That!

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The Liberty library management system is feature and functionality packed. So much so that many of these features can slip your memory! So we thought a few tips and reminders of a selection of time saving and effective functionality might be useful!

Not a ‘Spare Seat’ for the PNG Cataloging Workshop

Case study - Business

Last week’s Cataloging workshop was a great success. Softlink IC’s Aaron Rose delivered the virtual workshop to a packed ‘house’ of enthusiastic Librarians from Papua New Guinea. Many of the attendees even brought along members of their staff. The more the merrier!

For Librarians, Sharing Knowledge is Sharing Power

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It’s hard to imagine a time when most of us could not, relatively easily, access information. There was a time, when all the general population knew only what was told to them by those in positions of power. For those in power, controlling information, and therefore knowledge, was what kept them in their position. Fortunately, for many of us, times have changed!

The Future of Library Access and Digital Resources is Now

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A significant increase in access to libraries online – their homepage, search options and digital resources was already evidenced prior to COVID-19’s impact. This was borne out by the results of Softlink IC’s #gotknowledge2020 survey.

Haven’t Seen Liberty Lately? Here’s a Sneak Peek at What’s New

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Like libraries, Liberty, Softlink IC’s integrated library system (ILS) doesn’t rest on its laurels. There’s always new features and enhancements to be added to stay ahead of the game. If it’s been a while since you looked at Liberty, here’s a sneak peek at what’s new!

6 Reasons Our Cloud-based Library Management System is the One

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Let’s get down to the nitty gritty! There are library management systems (LMSs) and then there’s our Liberty cloud-based library management system. And, by the way, it’s been fully cloud-based for eons. Every LMS does the basics. Softlink IC’s Liberty takes those basics to a whole new level. Then there’s the ‘love to have’ features, many that have come standard for years. Bit of a trailblazer really.

Why Replace Your Legacy Library Management System?

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A surprising number of library and knowledge centers still use legacy library software. Yes, it may still work, but times have changed. New technologies and user expectations are making it increasingly risky to hang on to your old, custom built, or legacy library management system.

Are You Getting Real Value from Your Library Home Page?

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Are you taking the fullest advantage of your Liberty library management system (LMS) Home page? We know investing in library software to manage and promote your collection and services is significant, so getting real value is crucial!

A Sneak Peek at Softlink IC’s #gotknowledge2020 Survey Report!

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Softlink Information Centres (IC) would like to take this opportunity to once again, thank all who participated in our inaugural Softlink Information #gotknowledge2020 survey. The survey was designed to investigate and analyze work patterns, identify staffing, resource and budget trends, the services currently delivered and collect opinions on future trends.

Are You Committing One or More of These Top 5 Security Sins?

For Knowledge and IT Staff, ensuring the security of the operating systems they use and the data they manage is their most important responsibility. From their organization’s operating systems to software like integrated library systems (ILS), they are all about protecting user privacy and the organization’s data.

Despite the best intentions, security gaps can result. No one is perfect and we all need help sometimes. With that in mind, Softlink IC would like to share with you what we believe are the 5 top possible security sins that could be committed!

Dirty Data Cleaned Dirt Cheap!

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It is not an easy thing to ensure that data imported, or manually added, into your library management system (LMS) is clean. Having clean data is critical to ensuring the results returned from any search is a true reflection of your resources.

5 Ways Our Customers Get Their Organization Involved With Liberty

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Once Softlink IC’s customers decided it was well and truly time to implement Liberty as their new library management system (LMS) they identified 5 major tasks to ensure their users’ support. Picking their new system was the result of a lot of time, energy, and preparation so buy-in from everyone in the organization, not just the library staff, was crucial.

Make Life Easy for Users with Softlink IC’s Single Sign On Module

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Many of our Softlink IC customers have taken advantage of our Single Sign On (SSO) module. It makes life so much easier for Liberty and illumin users. It benefits you, your staff, and your library’s users. So what is SSO and what are the benefits of using it as your authentication method?

5 Reasons Businesses Need Librarians

Information on the web may be easy to find quickly. But is it the information your organization needs? Is it from a valid source, up-to-date and accurate? Is it applicable to the organization’s requirements? That is what a librarian, using a functionally rich integrated library system (ILS) or research management system (RMS) will deliver efficiently. Organizations need librarians to gain an advantage in an increasingly competitive business environment.

Our Top 4 Working from Home Tips for Liberty and illumin Users

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Did you expect to love the flexibility of working from home or is it your idea of a nightmare? Have you found that you are enjoying your new work environment but finding it more of a challenge than you expected? Are you juggling other tasks like childcare or home schooling, or tempted to “just do xyz because it is distracting me”?

5 Steps on the Journey to a New Library Management System

Is your current library management system having trouble coping with the exciting challenges your knowledge center staff face? Is a new library management system the answer? If so, Softlink IC believes Liberty is the system for you. It will meet your current and future needs. But we do understand you might want to do a bit of research and evaluation before you take our word for it!

6 Easy Steps for Switching to Liberty!

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So you have decided Liberty is your ideal new library management system. What’s stopping you from taking the plunge? Is it tempting to stick with your clunky old library system because it might be easier than changing it?

4 Important Email Notifications You Should be Sending Your Library Users

Regular contact with your library and information center users is vital. This means keeping them informed of research services, reminding them about their loaned items, or planned events. It reinforces your value to them. Making sure you keep in contact via email is the ideal way to do that. If you use our Liberty Library Management System, it’s a breeze.

Liberty Makes Managing Copyright Obligations in the Digital Era Easy

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Technologies grow in complexity. The number of digital collections in libraries is expanding. Managing the copyright obligation of those resources is a significant task for library staff. Liberty, Softlink IC’s library management system (LMS), includes a Copyright module. It is designed to make it easier for library staff to manage copyright obligations.

Our Liberty and illumin APIs Make Liberty and illumin do the Work

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Integration, automation, and positive user experiences is the aim of Softlink IC’s Web Services APIs. They enable integration of your existing complementary systems and resources with Liberty and illumin. Both solutions have a full API to ensure your library achieves a greater return on investment.

Need Cost Effective Cloud Storage for Your Digital Resources?

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Do you already have a large number of digital resources? Do you have more resources that, in an ideal world, you would love to digitize, but storage is an issue? Our hosted Liberty users are finding Softlink IC’s Massive Knowledge Repository (MKR) solution is the answer.

Market Your Library with Liberty

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Increase the library’s presence in your organization! Market it. It is a great way to promote your library’s resources and services. Your Liberty library management system can help. With Liberty, it is easy to design an attention-grabbing Home page. You can also send Interests emails to your borrowers. Ones that include cover images and look professional.

Libraries and Knowledge Centers are My “Thing”. So Who am I?

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Who am I? I represent Softlink IC because, like me, libraries and knowledge centers are their thing. illumin and Liberty, two fantastic information and research management systems are the results of their passion. We at Softlink IC believe libraries are a vibrant and critical part of our communities, workplaces, and learning centers.

Does Your Law Firm Have the Competitive Research Edge?

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Information is power. It can be the difference between winning and losing. That’s why your law firm needs access to the right information and FAST! Leveraging the information sourced by your knowledge researchers, using the most up-to-date library management tools, will give your firm the competitive research edge.

So How’s Your Current Library Reporting Tool Working For You?

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Statistics are important! For knowledge specialists, generating your resource center’s vital statistical data can be very time-consuming when you don’t have the right library reporting tool. An Excel spreadsheet has many uses, but recording statistics in a spreadsheet is not an efficient and cost-effective way to spend your valuable time.

Is Your Vendor Just a Vendor or Your Partner?

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More than 35 years of interacting with all types of libraries throughout the globe has taught Softlink IC a thing or two about building long-lasting partnerships with our clients. We have learned well because we never wanted to be just a “vendor”. Softlink IC is a valued partner to our customers over the long term.

4 Steps to Promote Your Corporate Library

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So there you are – the proud manager of a beautiful new corporate library. You’ve done all the hard work. The steps you’ve taken to get to this point have been many. The last thing you want is all that hard work wasted. You want the library to be used to its full potential! For that, you need buy-in across the organization.

Top 6 Tips to Get Your Library Ready for the Holiday Season

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It’s getting close to that time of the year and some of us are well-organized. But, for those who aren’t quite there yet, there are a few tips we think would be helpful. After all, this holiday season only comes once a year, so those once a year tasks are not necessarily high on the “remember to do” list even if, for some of us, that holiday season arrives more quickly than we ever thought possible!

Design Thinking Toolkit for Libraries. What Is It? Download It!

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Remember the feeling you had when you stepped foot into your library for the first time? Nervous excitement aside, everywhere you looked, you saw opportunities to make a difference. The feeling that you could make all the changes you wanted – all well before your first anniversary in the job.

Why Should You Host Your Library System in the Cloud? Here are 12 Great Reasons

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Many library system vendors like Softlink Information Centres offer the option of hosting their customers’ systems in “the cloud”. It takes the stress out of managing the technical “stuff”. Libraries and knowledge centers benefit greatly from this option. We have whittled the advantages down to twelve, grouped into three categories. They explain why most of our Liberty and illumin customers are in the cloud.

Trust a Librarian in the Battle to Protect User Privacy

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Did you know that reading choices can tell a lot about someone? They can reveal religion, sexual preference, and political beliefs. It is precisely this type of information that has been used to target people in the past. It still is today, and no doubt will be in the future. That doesn’t mean librarians will stop fighting the battle to protect user privacy from the invasion of surveillance.

Top 5 Tips to Get Your Library Ready for the Holiday Season

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So you think you’ve ticked off all the Christmas season preparations? OK we believe you. But, just in case there’s one or two things that may have slipped your mind – after all it only comes once a year (or seemingly more often for those of us less close to our actual day of birth), we thought we’d provide you with a little checklist.

Appraisal Institute Solves Business Challenges With Liberty and illumin

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The Appraisal Institute, based in Chicago, is a global association of professional real estate appraisers, with 19,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide. The Institute funds and operates the Y.T. and Louise Lee Lum Library, which provides members with reference services in all areas of real estate appraisal.

Library Software – Making Libraries Accessible to Everyone

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Just as we have the right to freedom of action and expression, we should have the right to gain knowledge. This means making knowledge accessible to everyone. Our levels of physical or learning ability, should not bar us from accessing knowledge.

7 Ways Law Libraries Save Law Firms Money

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Law libraries accommodate all manner of resources, both digital and physical, to help lawyers in their research. More and more, law firms are relying on the internet, online databases, and web-based services for research, but there is still a need for physical publications.

Tips to Succeed as a Solo Librarian – Part 2

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Some further tips for you as a solo librarian! You will be fulfilling many functions — tasks that in a much larger library would be undertaken by different departments. There is quite a bit on your plate; on top of that, you are dealing face to face with members of the public and fielding requests, overseeing circulation of resources, and developing library reference collections.

How live chat can benefit librarians!

Providing real-time support is an important part of customer service for all companies. The emergence of the live chat feature by library software vendors is making customer support even more effective. It provides their customers with the advantage of access to real-time support without having to wait on the phone, or wait for an email reply to a query.

How Software Can Help Support the Changing Role of Academic Librarians

Like many industries, new technologies have resulted in the implementation of significant change. The academic library is no exception. The academic library is no exception. Academic librarians are re-thinking their management of collection, curation, and acquisitions. As a result, changes to the librarian’s role are dramatic.

Tips to succeed as a Solo Librarian

Being a solo librarian can be difficult. Even experienced librarians find it very challenging to run and manage libraries all by themselves. Those who take on the role require not only the willingness but an understanding of the diverse skills that they will need to acquire to successfully manage the role. After all, many career opportunities nowadays require solo librarians.

Liberty Highlights Video

Liberty is a high performance Library Management System that will grow and change with the needs of your organisation. Liberty enables vital information to be discovered and delivered anywhere, anytime through modern digital devices. Watch video below for highlights.

Mobile Apps in the Law Library

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Released as Library Link in 2013, Softlink’s enhanced mobile app for libraries has been renamed Liberty Link, and we are excited to be bringing it you for ALLA 2018!

Plan Before You Scan: Considerations for launching a digital archive project

The American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR)’s new photo archive project aims to bring a collection of 30,000 photos documenting the archaeological and cultural heritage of the Middle East to the public eye. But where do you even begin to digitize 30,000 slides, negatives, and prints?

ACOR is one of the many diverse libraries who use Softlink’s Liberty library management system. In 2016 they were awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Education through the competitive American Overseas Research Centers grant program which will support the ACOR Library Photographic Archive. As a guest blogger for Softlink, Corrie Commisso, Senior Archival Consultant for ACOR, shares her experiences with launching the digital archive project.