Voyager ILS

The Folger used Voyager as its ILS (Integrated Library System) from 1996 to 2022, when it was replaced by TIND. Voyager included an online catalog (known as Hamnet at the Folger), modules for Acquisitions, Cataloging, and Circulation, plus additional administrative tools. The online catalog transitioned to a web-based interface in the early 2000s, but the other modules remained client-based, installed on individual computers.

Voyager at the Folger

The Folger was a relative latecomer to library automation, largely because the Online Public Access Catalogs ("OPACS") of the 1970s and 1980s were too basic to describe rare books and special collections adequately. In September 1994, the library put out an RFP for vendors, and received about half a dozen responses. Over the next year, the OPAC Steering Committee met with representatives from each vendor, contacted other libraries who had implemented their products, and compared pricing, implementation timelines, and product capabilities to evaluate their choices. In December 1995, the Folger selected Voyager, an Endeavor Information Systems product, and began planning for roll-out in the coming year.[1]

Voyager was chosen because its features best fit the needs of a special collections library. For example:

  • full control over public display and search indexing of MARC data in the online catalog
  • de facto unlimited field length and number of fields for descriptive metadata
  • ability to preserve circulation history for security purposes

The Acquisitions and Cataloging staff went through a training period on the new system in June 1996.[2] The front-facing OPAC component went online in January 1997.[3] Throughout 1997, the Folger gradually refined its use of Voyager, and increased its licensing to allow for more simultaneous users of both its back-end and front-end components.

  1. "Summary of Folger Endeavor Decision," [1996?], Folger internal files.
  2. Memo to Acquisitions & Cataloging Staff, 7 June 1996, Folger internal files.
  3. Letter from Folger Librarian to IRLA President, 20 January 1998, Folger internal files.