Abstracts
Trends in Integrated Library Systems: How Can Our Systems Deliver the Users What They Really Want?
Tuesday 5 May 2009,1130 – 1200
Presenter: Rodney Foley
University of Tasmania, TAS
Presenter Biography
Rodney worked for 10 years in software development and desktop support at the Education Department in Tasmania. For the past 4 years he has been Library Web and Applications Manager for the University of Tasmania Library. He recently project managed a library systems environmental scan to determine a systems roadmap for UTAS which will best support the clients needs.
Abstract
Integrated Library Systems (ILS) are large and complex, and have traditionally been one of the more slowly evolving areas of Information Technology. Most current Integrated Library Systems are based on outdated concepts and platforms designed to meet the needs of libraries in the 1990s when library holdings generally were print-based. They do not easily handle electronic resources which now consume the majority of a Library’s materials budget, nor do they provide simple and enhanced resource discovery which users expect.
The large commitment of time, money and resources required to implement a new library system has discouraged many libraries from considering alternatives to their current system and vendor. This entrenchment of the status quo, the complexity of the product, and the lack of competition in the library systems market has limited the implementation of new technology within the traditional library system.
The rapid acceptance of Web 2.0, and its library equivalent “Library 2.0”, has required libraries to be more focussed on meeting the expectations and needs of their clients. It has also highlighted the major role that clients should play in an environment to support teaching and learning, where users wish to participate in sharing evaluation of resources with their peers, and influence the way in which library resources should be presented to them. In particular higher education students are aware of what can be achieved through technology, and they now expect the library to use this technology to meet their expectations.
In an environment where universities are more accountable for their funding, libraries must ensure that they extract the greatest value from their resources, and in particular their expensive licensed scholarly electronic resources. This requires the provision of high quality management reporting from library systems.
In the last year there has been a noticeable change in the relationship between some libraries and their ILS vendors. This has been caused to some extent by dissatisfaction with some vendor services and support, and a belief on the part of some libraries that the traditional ILS model needs to be reviewed. The emergence of several newer companies which have embraced the concepts promoted by Web 2.0/Library 2.0 has demonstrated how a library can better meet its clients’ needs and expectations.
In 2008 the University of Tasmania undertook a library systems environmental scan to consider the Library’s needs for systems to support the vision of UTAS Library’s services over the period 2009-2014. This paper will use information from that scan to report emerging issues and trends, and will try to predict what can be achieved over the next 5 years. These trends include:
- open source integrated library systems
- modularisation of library systems to allow libraries to integrate components from different vendors
- improved resource discovery tools
- Service Oriented Architecture
- integration of the ILS with other university and external systems
