GENESIS — a new beginning or a new generation

GENESIS, from SCG, the supplier of the well established library management system BookshelF (sic), is one of the first library management systems to run as a Windows product with a graphical user interface (GUI), and as such is one of the front runners of the next generation of library management systems. The article commences with a brief review of the characteristics of GUI‐based systems and proceeds to examine the characteristics of GENESIS. GENESIS is based on a new database environment but retains the same package of modules as BookshelF: Catalogue, Circulations, Thesaurus, System Definitions, Acquisitions, Serials, Management Reporting and System Administration. The GUI interface is simple and easy to use. GENESIS has many of the features that will characterise a new generation of library management systems.