Introduction

CDS/ISIS is an Information Storage and Retrieval system designed specifically for the computerized management of catalogues and databases. Since the introduction of CDS/ISIS the National Library has developed an integrated library system which allows for the automation of the circulations, acquisitions and serials management in libraries. The National Library has a dedicated team of experts who provide installation, training and troubleshooting to CDS/ISIS clients Island wide.

Jamaica Union Catalogue (JUC)

The National Library of Jamaica is mandated by legislation (National Library of Jamaica Act, 2010) to “promote the modernization of libraries within the National information System.” As part of this process the Library has been distributing the library management software CDS/ISIS in Jamaica since 1989. Libraries are encouraged to computerize their operations using this very low cost software as this allows for the easy exchange of data and provides the foundation for the building of the Jamaica Union Catalogue.

System functions

The major functions provided by CDS/ISIS allow you to:

* Define many databases each of which may have different data elements
* Enter new records into a given database
* Modify, correct or delete existing records
* Automatically build and maintain fast access files for each database in order to maximise retrieval speed
* Retrieve records by their contents, through a sophisticated search language
* Display the records or portions thereof according to your requirements
* Sort the records in any sequence desired
* Print partial or full catalogues and/or indexes
* Develop specialised applications using the CDS\ISIS integrated programming facility

Other Functions

* Easy access to multimedia content i.e. web links, e-mails, document and image files
* Data Entry control options – Pick list; Improved record validations
* Import/Export Options – ISO 2709; XML
* Dictionary capabilities – Dumping of terms to printer or file; Prefix management
* Erase database option
* Plug-in ready – External 32-bits plus-ins
* Multilingual