Over three hundred items are loaned out on average each week by the TU/e library. June 26 through 30 will be an exception because in that week the finishing touches will be made to the transition from VUBIS to WorldCat, the new library system with which TU/e will soon be working.

And it is about time too, says project leader Joost de Vletter. “Despite being regularly revitalized over the years, the system had become outdated. Everything used to be based on paper, on printed books, reports and so on. These days almost everything is available electronically. That's been a headache for many library systems; the workflows for ordering and managing paper and electronic titles were pretty much separate. In newer systems they have all been integrated.”

Users too (primarily TU/e students and employees, but also paying externals) will soon see changes. The search interface, for example, will change (“although in essence it greatly resembles Google”) and people will notice the greater range of search options, particularly those who use the system more intensively, says De Vletter.

Behind the scenes, preparations for the transition have been going on at TU/e for months. The go-live date for WorldCat at TU/e is July 3; in the preceding week users will have to manage without the library system. But that is an exam week and, according to De Vletter, those are typically quiet weeks in terms of loans: “The peaks in searches and loans always precede an exam week”.

If in that week someone does need something urgently, the vast majority of items are also available electronically, says the project leader, or alternatively people can always view them at the library.