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The Commonwealth Secretariat supports 56 member governments on policy, governance, human rights, and sustainable development. Soutron replaced Inmagic Genie in ten days, integrated with Active Directory via Single Sign-On, and automated the indexing of PDF documents that had previously been lost in unindexed file stores.
With staff delivering programmes across Commonwealth countries and critical documents buried in unindexed file stores, the Commonwealth Secretariat needed a web-based knowledge management system that was accessible from anywhere, integrated with their existing IT infrastructure, and simple enough for staff who just want a search box that does the work behind the scenes. Soutron delivered all three, and has served three generations of librarians at the Secretariat since.
The Commonwealth Secretariat provides guidance on policy making, technical assistance and advisory services to Commonwealth member countries. They support governments to help achieve sustainable, inclusive and equitable development.
Their work promotes democracy, rule of law, human rights, good governance and social and economic development.
“Soutron continues to help us deliver our vision.”
Nsekanji Pelekamoyo
Head of Library & Knowledge Services
Soutron has supplied library automation services to the Commonwealth Secretariat for over three generations of librarians that have led the development of the Secretariat’s Library services.
In 2012, when Soutron introduced a new totally web-based Library System built on Microsoft technologies, it was chosen to replace Inmagic Genie.
The Commonwealth Secretariat preferred the power of a purposefully designed web system that integrated with Active Directory. Single Sign On and integration with internal IT systems was essential and IT wanted to be confident of the security of the system and adherence to new web standards.
Nsekanji Pelekamoyo, Head of Library & Knowledge Services says, “We were looking for a system that would reduce the complexity of finding information and at the same time meet our budget. Soutron enables the organised sharing of information within the organization, thereby increasing efficiency, improving performance and adding value by allowing users to discover other related information.
“Our staff are constantly on the go delivering programmes in various Commonwealth countries, a web-based system really supports accessibility from whichever country they find themselves in. Ease of use and intuitiveness are big drivers; the system has to be straightforward because users want simple interfaces with simple search boxes that do a lot behind the scenes”.
They were seeking a solution that would help them realise the vision for the Knowledge Centre, which is; to provide information resources and services that are essential to support Commonwealth Secretariat staff, member Governments, academics, students and other key audiences identified in the Communications Strategy and to respond to and help develop new and better ways of working around information, records and knowledge management.
Nsekanji adds, “Soutron continues to help us deliver our vision”.
Delivering results for intergovernmental / international organization and policy research libraries like The Commonwealth Secretariat in London.
Nsekanji joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in 2012, after the Soutron Library System had been installed. Her background and knowledge of IT systems and knowledge services from previous positions proved valuable and she immediately saw the opportunity to exploit the Soutron database technology.
Many important documents were held in PDF format in file stores without indexing or any consistent way to find or access the information in them. For all intents and purposes the content was lost. By bringing these into the same search function as other library materials, it would save staff considerable time and effort when researching topics.
The Commonwealth Secretariat used project disciplines and set up an internal project to examine documentation sets to determine how they could best be indexed and brought into the library catalog and maintain security levels.
One of the strengths of the Soutron system is the ability to ingest large amounts of documentation in PDF format, assign metadata and fully index the content. Graham Partridge, Research and Development Director at Soutron, provided expertize to design workflows. He worked closely with Nsekanji, who defined the terms of the project, while he set up automated loads and checks to correctly identify and sequence documents. This type of content is distinguished from other types of materials and has its own security profile, record templates and display formats.
The result has been the creation of workflows for staff to place important Secretariat documents in folders that are then automatically indexed in the catalog. A single point of access is available and this saves considerable time and effort in locating documents.
The audit trail and log of actions shows who has accessed and downloaded any document and the library has the facility to require certain documents to be unavailable for general download but instead have to be requested. The workflow does not interfere with the normal routine of staff who create reports and documents and this has made the system more acceptable given how easy it is to administer. Nsekanji says, “The Soutron solution has improved how we catalog our Board of Governors Meeting papers. The ability to relate records allows users to discover other information relating to their search topic, that they may not have been aware of.
“The Commonwealth Secretariat is involved in diverse activities, from helping countries with trade negotiations to encouraging women’s leadership, building the small business sector, supporting youth participation at all levels of society and providing experts to write laws. For this reason, several different papers and reports will be presented for discussion at the Board of Governors meetings, the ability to create several parts to a record allows us to see at a glance all reports that were presented at a particular meeting.
“This adds value to the user search experience by organising information in a way that increases efficiency and allows the user to find information quickly”.
Document security is paramount within the Secretariat. Nsekanji says, “We have confidence that our key organization records are cataloged in a systematic manner and can be found easily. The ability to manage the security of documents means only those that have the right to view documents will view them. This is very important to us especially when documents are classified ‘confidential’. When management have trust in the system, they value the work and services that the Knowledge Centre provides”.
To learn more about The Commonwealth Secretariat and the services they provide, visit their website:
www.thecommonwealth.org
To find out how you can migrate to a fast, secure, cloud-based information management system to support your knowledge center, book a 20 minute discovery call with us today, see below.
“When management have trust in the system, they value the work and services that the Knowledge Centre provides.”
Nsekanji Pelekamoyo
Head of Library & Knowledge Services
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The first step is to learn more. Here's how we can answer your questions:
Yes. The Commonwealth Secretariat migrated from Inmagic Genie to Soutron in ten days. The migration was straightforward and immediately gave the Knowledge Centre access to serials management, document management, and Active Directory integration via Single Sign-On that the previous system could not provide.
Yes. Soutron can ingest large volumes of PDF documents, assign metadata, and fully index their content within the catalog. The Commonwealth Secretariat used this capability to bring previously unindexed documents from file stores into the main search function, making content that had been effectively inaccessible to staff fully discoverable.
Yes. Soutron integrates with Active Directory and supports Single Sign-On, giving staff seamless access to the knowledge centre from within existing IT infrastructure. The Commonwealth Secretariat required SSO and Active Directory integration as a core requirement of their selection process.
Yes. Soutron provides granular security permissions at the record level, allowing knowledge centers to restrict access to confidential documents to authorized users only. A full audit trail logs all document access and downloads. The Commonwealth Secretariat uses these controls to manage classified documents and Board of Governors meeting papers within the same system.
