Libraries abroad: Hong Kong Public Libraries make use of HP technologies

Hewlett-Packard (НР) announced that it has signed a 10-year contract with the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China, to help the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) deliver public library services in Hong Kong.

Under the terms of the agreement, HP /quotes/comstock/13*!hpq/quotes/nls/hpq will implement and provide ongoing support for a new Integrated Library System (ILS) that is designed to maintain efficiency and support new library offerings to meet the increasing demand for Hong Kong Public Libraries’ (HKPL) services.

Virtua ILS, which HP is scheduled to implement at HKPL in 2011, is a Unicode-compliant offering from VTLS Inc., a global provider of library solutions. The system delivers a user-friendly, self-service experience to library visitors and includes a pilot implementation of Fastrac, a radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to enable automated management of book borrowing rights.