Oslo’s Deichman libraries go live with new Danish library solution
On Tuesday 28 March, 21 public libraries in the City of Oslo were connected to their new library system solution, Cicero. Transferring the data relating to almost two million library items, the profiles of 500,000 borrowers and all the accompanying data went exactly according to plan. Not a single user became aware of the data transfer as it was happening.
The 22 Deichman libraries in Oslo each have to keep track of numerous loans and users – 1,700,000 books and other loans and 500,000 borrowers to be precise. Therefore, there was a tangible air of excitement on Tuesday morning after all the relevant data had been transferred from the libraries’ own IT system to the new library system Cicero, which has been developed by Systematic.
“It’s always slightly hair-raising when a new system is rolled out. Together with Deichman’s employees, we’ve been working intensively in the run-up to going live to ensure a smooth transition for all the libraries and their employees as well as all the users,” says Maria Stenholdt Christensen, Program Manager at Systematic.
According to Maria, the main success criterion is if no one realises that the switch from one system to the other has occurred.
Fortunately, she and her colleagues at Systematic are dab hands at it by now, and both the timing and the budget were adhered to throughout the process.
“On Monday, we shut everything down and started the data transfer. By Tuesday morning, the data relating to almost two million items of library material had been transferred, with the exception of 21 items, which for various reasons hadn’t been included in the transfer. It was an unequivocal success, and we’ll definitely make sure that the 21 outstanding items are transferred as well,” she promises.
Delighted with successful go-live and innovative IT system
In 2022, the Deichman libraries decided to replace the IT system which they had developed themselves with a tried-and-tested standard library solution as a future-proof platform for supporting loans of books and other materials, procurement and other functions. The choice fell to the Danish company Systematic’s Cicero solution, which is used by all public and school libraries in Denmark and by more than 400 libraries in Sweden.
"We’re really happy that we now have a new and innovative library system. Since the autumn, we’ve been working hard to implement the new system and train our employees in how to use it, and therefore it’s wonderful to see that, after just one day, the system is functioning well."
Cicero is developed for the community
The contract which the Deichman libraries have signed with Systematic enables every municipality in Norway to buy access to the agreement. Of 428 Norwegian libraries, 230 want to become ‘optional libraries’, which entitles them to buy and connect to Cicero, and there are many advantages for them in doing so,” says Jakob Ilum Damsgaard, Director at Systematic Library & Learning.
“Cicero has been developed according to best practice principles, and all the integrations are built to international standards for the library area, which makes it very easy for everyone to connect to it. Cicero is continually being developed to support the Cicero community; in other words, when one of our library customers has a new functionality developed in the system, it is made available to all the other customers who might want the function,” says Jakob Ilum Damsgaard
In Norway, Cicero is tailored to national requirements with regard to both language and integrations, and Merete Lie will continue to develop the system together with Systematic.
“The system will continue to be developed, which will help us to improve the level of service and communication we provide for borrowers,” she says.
About Cicero Library Solution
Cicero handles 12 million unique users a year, and about 7 million active loans a day. The system is extremely stable, even when it is being accessed by approx. 100,000 unique users daily.
Cicero is one of the world’s most modern library systems, and was developed by the Danish software company Systematic in 2015, and is used today by all Danish public and school libraries as well as by libraries in Sweden and Greenland.
Cicero is a complete software package that is specially designed for modern libraries. Moreover, Cicero’s ‘software-as-a-service’ design ensures that the solution is constantly updated and maintained.
Cicero’s natural integration with Norwegian library infrastructures dispenses with many routine tasks while ensuring correct data extraction for, among other things, national statistics and direct communication with central loan registers.
Cicero also ensures smooth workflows, for example with procurement, handling library materials, managing book loans etc. and general system administration. The solution has an adaptive, web-based user interface which makes it possible for users to use Cicero via a smartphone, tablet or PC. In addition, Cicero has a business intelligence tool that gives libraries valuable insights into their own data.
