The numbers of signed Axiell Arena contracts are steadily increasing. It is a fact that 60 libraries during 2009 signed a contract having Axiell Arena as their solution for the virtual libraries. And this trend will continue through 2010, where several contracts already have been signed – one of them being the big municipality Huddinge in Sweden. This brings the number of citizens, who during 2010 will have access to their virtual library – wherever they want and wherever they are – to be more than 2 million citizens.

The feed-back from the customers is that the product is extremely interesting, advanced but not difficult, fits the advanced customer, but also those customers, who do not have many resources, and besides the many basic features it has a lot of quite advanced features – who makes the product to more than just an OPAC – while it is full of web 2.0 features, which invite to interactions.

The Arena solution is live in three countries and the fourth is under way. In Sweden the Oxelösund library will be the latest addition, and they go live Saturday the 6th of March. It is at the same time the fist LIBRA.SE library who has taken the step to open of for their Arena. Several other LIBRA.SE libraries will have Axiell Arena and are under their way to design and construct their website, which gives the customers access to the library’s treasure chest, knowledge and discussions.

Axiell Arena is live at several other libraries in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. You can get an overview by looking at the references.
 

Mobile telephones will now be able to take a trip to the library. The Danish Gladsaxe Libraries pave the way for the library of the future in collaboration with IT suppliers Axiell Library Group and BridgeIT, enabling patrons to use the virtual library Axiell Arena via iPhone or Android. This is an epic breakthrough: a world premiere no less. 

The new application will be ready in the second quarter of this year and patrons will be able to search the library’s website and the library’s stock. They can receive updates on the items they have borrowed and return dates and they can also check whether they have any reservations or fines.

 “We are very pleased to be able to create state-of-the-art mobile solutions together with Gladsaxe Libraries. We developed the iPhone solution for Gladsaxe Libraries and decided to go one step further at the same time to create a similar application for Android. This makes Axiell the first supplier in the world to offer a mobile solution for both smartphone types,” says Boris Zetterlund, strategy manager at Axiell Library Group and he continues: “Patrons will be able to use Axiell Arena via their mobiles to open the door to the virtual library, regardless of time and place. This places libraries at the cutting edge of technological development and creates a platform for reaching new patrons as well as for the innovation of the role of the library.”

The application will be available in all countries where customers have Axiell Arena, the virtual library portal.
 

Read further in the press release.

Axiell, one of the world's leading suppliers of IT systems and services to the library sector, has been accredited as Microsoft Gold Partner. Gold Partnership is the highest level in Microsoft Partner Program and this means that Axiell Libra AB is among the companies in Sweden with the highest skills on Microsoft technologies. This accreditation means also that Axiell customers even more quickly can take advantage of the latest Microsoft technology.

To become a Microsoft Gold Partner is a sign of appreciation of that knowledge and skills Axiell has about Microsoft. As Gold Partner Axiell will will get earlier access to the latest Microsoft products and development environments before they are released on the market

Elisabet Svensson, product manager at Axiell Libra AB
- The partnership is a guarantee that we have chosen the correct technical platform for this type of applications. Our customers can feel pleased to have chosen us as a vendor when we have passed the advanced requirements of quality that Microsoft requires for its gold partners.

Anders Wedahl, ISV Developer Evangelist at Microsoft Sweden says that the partnership is well deserved:
- Axiell Libra AB is a very innovative company located in the technological edge and therefore it feels great to be able to offer them the best partner level that we have within Microsoft. They are very creative and quality-conscious and push forward the development of the library management system.
 

Piki area – which is a Finnish consortium consisting of 20 libraries around the area of Tampere – has signed an agreement with Axiell Kirjastot Oy to implement Axiell Arena.

It will be the first big area, where around 460.000 inhabitants In Finland will get access to the virtual library and a lot of new services provided by Axiell Arena.

"The virtual library is the solution for the future. It brings interactivity and helps us facilitating the use of the library," says Library Director of the Tampere Tuula Haavisto.

"Libraries have always played a central role in providing information to citizens. The role has continued also in the Internet age: where the libraries have been a spearhead in turning the library from being a bookhouse to modern information central, where use of the new information technology has been in front to the delight of the citizens. The next step is to provide citizens access to the virtual library with entirely new services, where interaction and knowledge sharing are handled in a modern way. We are thrilled with the Piki decision, and we look forward to seeing how the Piki libraries can position themselves with Axiell Arena and reach new library users.", Vice president in Ab Axiell Kirjastot Oy Seppo Lindström says.

Today we have more than 60 signed agreements on delivering Axiell Arena and 30 of these are with municipalities in Finland.