Follett’s Destiny® Now Integrates SAFARI Montage® Video

Latest Version of Destiny Library Manager™ Lets Students See SAFARI Montage Video-On-Demand in Their Search Results

McHenry, IL (October 29, 2008) - Incorporating Video-On-Demand in lesson plans and student research projects just got easier, thanks to a feature in the latest version of Follett Software’s Destiny Library Manager which gives students more direct access to videos on SAFARI Montage. Follett Software Company and SAFARI Montage recently announced the new feature.

Destiny 9.0 now supports searching of SAFARI Montage digitally delivered videos. When Destiny users load the MARC Records for SAFARI Montage into their database, those records will appear in Destiny search results. Students and teachers will see the URL for SAFARI Montage titles right in title details. Clicking on the URL takes the user directly to the district’s SAFARI Montage server. Users can even add reviews or recommend these titles.

“School libraries and media centers are trying to make the transition from being mere book repositories to becoming a ubiquitous resource that impacts student learning 24/7,” according to Follett Software Company President, Tom Schenck. “Being able to streamline digital content like SAFARI Montage videos into Destiny search results makes Destiny a more powerful tool to help build tomorrow’s school libraries,” Schenck said.

“The integration of SAFARI Montage and Destiny Library Manager is a Win-Win-Win, with the biggest win being for our co-customers who benefit from SAFARI Montage titles appearing in normal Destiny search results,” said Andrew Schlessinger, CEO, Library Video Company and SAFARI Montage.

Destiny Library Manager 9.0 customers can now purchase MARC records and customized integration for their SAFARI Montage content from SAFARI Montage. These records will be customized with each school's local holdings in Destiny 9.0. The new feature that links SAFARI Montage MARC Records and Destiny 9.0 is included at no additional charge for SAFARI Montage and Destiny co-customers.

Less Searching, More Learning

One of the Destiny users that will benefit from the new integration is the Baltimore County Public Schools, the nation’s 25th largest school district with an enrollment of over 100,000 students. The district uses Destiny Library Manager as a central point of access for all sorts of digital content, including ebooks, web pages, information databases, on-line courseware and, of course, streaming video.

Della Curtis, Coordinator of Library Information Services for the district, likes the way that the integration of SAFARI Montage titles within Destiny makes information more accessible for students. “Seamless integration of technology assets owned or licensed by our school district is a critical management component to achieving our goal of providing an accessible information landscape for our educational community.” Curtis said. “Reduced time required for ‘searching’ for print, visual and multimedia can now be applied to using resources and ‘creating meaning.’”

Integration of video into library search results is just another step in creating the district’s vision of a more advanced ‘information architecture,’ Curtis said. “We’re moving forward in realizing the vision of a digital curriculum that is a ‘click away’ to knowledge assets owned, licensed by the school district and/or targeted public domain content,” she said.

About SAFARI Montage

Library Video Company’s SAFARI Montage system is the award-winning, broadcast-quality, Video-On-Demand solution for school districts which comes preloaded with educational video titles from the industry’s leading video publishers, including Schlessinger Media, PBS, The History Channel, National Geographic, Scholastic, Disney Education, BBC, Sesame Street and more. SAFARI Montage WAN Manager — the only Wide Area Network Digital Media Management solution — provides maximum flexibility for a school district to upload and manage all of their district’s digital video from a central location. This ground-breaking product gives school districts the ability to upload their own video content at the district level and easily disseminate it to all classrooms throughout the district. www.SAFARIMontage.com

About Destiny Resource Management Solution

Destiny Library Manager is part of the award-winning Destiny Resource Management Solution™, an integrated suite of browser-based applications that streamlines the control of instructional assets, allowing K-12 districts to devote more time and resources to student learning. The solution includes Destiny Library Manager, Destiny Textbook Manager™, Destiny Media Manager™ and Destiny Asset Manager™. Districts can choose to deploy the system in its entirety or select those modules that address top resource and information management priorities.

About Follett

Follett Software Company is the partner that over half of America's school districts trust to help them manage everything from library resources and school assets to information for data-driven decision making. Follett Software Company helps districts of all sizes track and use information and resources more efficiently so their dollars are best leveraged to help each and every student.

Follett Software is a subsidiary of Follett Corporation – a $2.5 billion, privately-held company that provides products, services and solutions to the educational marketplace. Follett Corporation was founded in 1873 and has its headquarters in River Grove, Illinois. www.FollettSoftware.com

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