Fujitsu Awarded £25m Contract With Northern Ireland Library Authority To Replace and Manage ICT Infrastructure in All Libraries
UPDATEMay 11: SirsiDynix Selected by NI Library Authority
From Fujitsu:
Fujitsu has announced that it has won the £25m [$38.7 million/USD] managed services contract for Libraries NI, the single Public Library Service for Northern Ireland.
Under the five year contract, Fujitsu will replace and manage the entire ICT [information and communications technologies] infrastructure in every public library across Northern Ireland, improving IT speeds, providing Wi-Fi access and creating an effective platform for modern “virtual library” services.
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Carál Ní Chuilín, Minister for the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, said: “I know the importance of the library service to so many people and I am delighted to be able to provide £25million over the next five years for this contract to help Libraries NI to greatly improve the public computer and internet facilities it provides. Libraries offer invaluable resources and services and we must ensure these are available, utilising new and emerging technology, to as many people as possible. This contract is also intended to contribute to the vital work being done by Libraries NI to deliver DCAL’s priorities of promoting equality and tackling poverty and social exclusion.”
Irene Knox, Chief Executive of Libraries NI, said: “This new contract will provide cutting edge library services to the people of Northern Ireland whether it is in a local public library, a mobile library or online. We want to provide our customers with a rewarding experience every time they visit and the new enhanced services such as Wi-Fi access and improved IT speeds will help to deliver this to our users. Fujitsu was able to demonstrate a great understanding for the task at hand and we are confident that they will help us to transform our library services for the benefit of our library users.”
Read the Complete Announcement
Learn More About Libraries NI
- Ninety-six branch libraries;
- Eighteen public mobile libraries;
- Ten Homecall Service vehicles;
- The Mellon Centre for Migration Studies based in the Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh;
- The Irish and Local Studies Library, Armagh
Filed under: Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Public Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.