Trends in Library Automation Marshall Breeding Director for Innovative Technologies and Research Vanderbilt University .

Trends in Library Automation

Marshall BreedingDirector for Innovative Technologies and Research

Vanderbilt University

http://staffweb.library.vanderbilt.edu/breeding

February 24, 2006Alaska Library Association

Annual Conference

Industry Trends

The business is becoming more brutal…

Feb 24, 2006 Trends in Library Automation

Fragmentation vs Consolidation

Library industry fragmented Industry entering phase of consolidation Library industry still fragmented

Many companies competing for a limited market with overlapping products with marginal differentiation

Sirsi + Dynix + DocuTek + DRA + NOTIS + MultiLIS + INLEX = SirsiDynix + ?

Library clients captured through acquisition Greater disparity between the smallest and the largest companies


Who owns the Industry?

Some of the most important decisions that affect the options available to libraries are made in the corporate board room.

Increased control by financial interests of venture capital SirsiDynix -> Seaport Capital + Hicks Muse Ex Libris -> Walden Israel + Tamar Technology Geac -> Golden Gate Polaris -> Croydon Company

Privately owned by Founders Innovative Interfaces The Library Corporation Keystone Systems

Division of Larger corporation Endeavor Open Text


Growth Strategies

Assembly & Acquisition: SirsiDynix BiblioMondo

Some companies continue to prosper and grow organically through steady sales of products to new libraries Innovative The Library Corporation Keystone


Libraries demand choice.

Room for niche players Domination by a large monopoly unlikely to be accepted by

library community


A New Role for OCLC?

Library-owned cooperative on a buying binge of automation companies: Openly Informatics Fretwell-Downing Informatics Sisis Informationssysteme PICA

Acquired a broad range of technology components Open WorldCat will grow into a much broader set of services


Key Issue

It’s essential for libraries to partner with a company that will be one of the survivors of the industry.

Very disruptive to a library’s automation strategy if its vendor is acquired.

Given the relative parity of library automation systems, choosing the right automation partner is more important than splitting hairs over functionality. Understanding of library issues Vision and forward-looking development


The Future?

A fewer number of larger companies Some weaker companies may allow themselves to become acquired Consolidated companies will consolidate product offerings

ILS Sales will decline Fewer opportunities for sales in US and Canada Focus on Non-ILS offerings Define a new ILS More International marketing

More cross-industry ownership Courseware + ILS? ERP/CRM + ILS?

Technology Trends


The ILS is not dead

Rumors of its demise are greatly exaggerated A well-functioning automation system is essential to the operation

of the library Libraries have never needed automation more than today The ILS does need to be redefined

Give primacy to electronic content Maintain solid support for print materials Designed to integrate with external systems Evolve into Service Oriented Business Application

Compartmentalize and contain resources invested in traditional ILS functionality to catch up with deficits in supporting electronic content


Comprehensive Automation

The goal of the Integrated Library Systems involves the automation of all aspects of the library’s internal operations and to provide key services to library users.

As the scope of libraries evolve, so must the scope and capabilities of the ILS


Resource Sharing

Limited budgets demand sharing collections Opportunities to make ILL more like circulation Fast delivery of physical items from non-local collections: remote

storage, consortium partners, ILL


Large-scale automation

Trend toward automation through consortia The days of single-library ILS implementations are waning An increasing portion of ILS sales involve independent libraries

joining a consortium to gain access to a shared automation environment

Small and mid-sized consortia are merging into larger ones ASP / Vendor-hosted automation

Take advantage of industrial strength hosting facilities Realization that small libraries do not have the resources to deal with

security, disaster planning, and other technical aspects of maintaining and ILS.


The ILS Crisis

The ILS, which had been steadily evolving for over 2 decades reached a crisis in about 2000. While libraries had evolved into new roles involving increasing electronic content, the ILS remained fixated on print and traditional materials.


Response to the Crisis

A bevy of add-ons: OpenURL Link Resolvers Metasearch environments Electronic Resource Management modules New front ends and portals

Replacement OPAC interfaces AquaBrowser Library Endeca Guided Search


Blindsided despite Obvious Trends

Libraries have been acquiring and creating electronic content since the emergence of the Web

One of the most fundamental changes in the nature of libraries, yet the automation systems fell behind in features needed to manage and deliver electronic content.


A fundamental failure

The emergence of these non-integrated add-on applications stand as an indictment that the ILS failed to evolve in step with changes in the library environment.

Libraries failed to demand adequate tools in time of need. Satisfied with ad-hoc solutions.

Vendors failed to incrementally evolve their core products to accommodate electronic content.

The ILS would be much different today if it gained these functions as native capabilities.


Threats and challenges -- general

Library users expect more than they currently receive. Google and other modern Web destinations set high user

expectations. Library offerings seem clumsy, complex, and ineffectual.


Threats and challenges – academic

Libraries struggle to find their place in the academic enterprise Organizationally: Role in academic support and

student life Virtually: Challenge to be both conspicuous and

transparent in the academic web presence Challenges: be a great destination among the Web

services the university offers its faculty and students

To deliver library services through non-library interfaces: campus portal, courseware, etc.


Threats and challenges – public

Increased pressure to: Reduce costs Share resources Increase service quality

Integrate with municipal or county IT infrastructure and support structures

Integrate with e-government systems Deliver access to more electronic content


Threats and challenges – schools

Automate at the district level rather than individual school libraries

Decrease IT support burdenSupport assessment and reporting

requirementsIntegrate library automation with other

school administration systemsSchool Interoperability Framework


Path to Recovery?

More systematic approach toward hybrid print/electronic collections

Adoption of technologies that support e-content OpenURL-based linking widely deployed Metasearch stands as the current kludge for unifying the OPAC and

ever-growing collections of electronic content Develop new search and information discovery models Redefine the library catalog

Not just the physical holdings

Library portal options still limited and immature New library interfaces with more comprehensive scope Library Web services that integrate into strategic higher-level

interfaces and portals

Questions and Discussion

Trends in Library Automation Marshall Breeding Director for Innovative Technologies and Research Vanderbilt University .

Documents

library automation libraries

library libraries

library clients

library community slide

library automation key

industry trends

libraryowned cooperative

library issues vision