Louisiana: Status summary of statewide library initiatives

LOUIS is the online library system that automates and links 17 Louisiana academic libraries. The NOTIS Library Management System (LMS) is used to automate the catalog as well as the circulation, acquisition, and serial functions of these libraries. In addition, journal databases are shared and accessed by LOUIS participants via LOUIS OPAC menus. The LOUIS Office, a department of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Office of Computing Services, trains and supports the staff at each library in these endeavors. The NOTIS software and all LOUIS data are resident on the LSU mainframe (an IBM 9672‐R53 system 390 Enterprise server), and accessed using LaNet (Louisiana's wide area, multi‐protocol network); however, each catalog is maintained by the librarians at each university or college. Funding for LOUIS was initially provided by Louisiana Education Quality Support Fund grants from the Louisiana Board of Regents and the U.S. Department of Education. Ongoing implementation and support of the existing system, as well as investigation and implementation of additional library networking activities, are now funded by a combination of an appropriation of the Louisiana state legislature and membership fees from all LOUIS institutions.