FEATURE Library Management Systems
Openness and user experience guide future library systems
Sharon Davies investigates library management systems in research libraries today, librarians’ and researchers’ experiences of using them, and future trends
L
ibrary management systems (LMSs) are in a time of transition, moving from legacy models to new-generation systems. Recent years have witnessed a growth of SaaS (software as a service) environments, cloud-based systems, increased integration and open-source LMS as libraries adapt to meet growing demands and user expectations. ‘We seem to be at something of a tipping point,’ observed Ben Showers, head of scholarly and library futures at Jisc. ‘In 2008 we published a joint library management systems report with SCONUL, which made it clear that there was a sense of stagnation within the library community. Existing systems were considered to lack the functionality required to meet the changing needs of libraries and their users, and weren’t easily able to talk to other technologies, meaning the library remained something of a data silo. ‘Six years on, there is a definite change in
the air. For most UK academic libraries there is now both a desire and an opportunity to move away from legacy systems and redundant back-office processes. The shift is being driven by technological advancements and shared community services that perpetuate best practice.’ Showers highlights examples of open-source LMS such as Knowledgebase+ in the UK and Kuali Open Library Environment (KualiOLE) in the USA.
Jane Burke, vice president, market development of ProQuest supported Showers’ observation: ‘Today’s research library collections and how users want to access them has fundamentally changed. It’s these changes that have led to the
Humanities, observed: ‘On cloud-based systems, I fear for the growing disintermediation of the library by technology companies whose goal is to serve shareholders, rather than academic constituents. We have already seen the dangers to privacy posed by cloud-based solutions in other areas. Furthermore, my feeling is that libraries should be actively developing their own open- source LMS platforms to be run in-house, so that we retain control of the technologies that surround our educational resources and so that we communally benefit.’
Impact of LMS changes on librarians
development of the next generation of LMS, which are beginning to be adopted by research libraries. These new solutions are fundamentally different in both technology and approach from earlier models.’
Characteristics of these new systems include web-scale discovery systems, management of print and e-resources, improved workflows, interoperability, the move from information management to analytics, and the growth of cloud-based systems.
There are several potential advantages of moving to cloud-based systems, as Tamir Borensztajn, vice president of discovery strategy at EBSCO, observed. ‘Some libraries are already moving their LMS to the cloud. The advantage for libraries is the ability to focus on core services rather than incur costs and require resources that may be associated with maintaining a system on-premise. Regardless of which LMS a library chooses, one has to keep in mind that modern systems based in the cloud typically offer web services and APIs to interoperate with other enterprise solutions. The cloud allows libraries to connect open systems, provide libraries with more choice, and deliver the best possible experiences to library users.’ However, a big concern for many libraries thinking about the cloud is security and the losing of its local control. Martin Eve of the University of Lincoln, and founder of Open Library of the
18 Research Information DECEMBER 2014/JANUARY 2015
The University of Manchester library has implemented the Ex Libris Alma LMS with a cloud-based SaaS system. Commenting on her experience of moving the university to the cloud, Lorraine Beard, head of digital technologies and services observed. ‘SaaS means the systems librarian is no longer managing hardware and database administration. The skills needed now are systems integration, management information, front-end interface development, application development and helpdesk management. There is also much less separation between systems staff responsible for the LMS and those responsible for e-resources.’
Beard listed the benefits of the new system
as ‘good workflow management; a web-based service, enabling access from anywhere; a suite of APIs allowing easy integration with other systems; and the reduced need for local infrastructure and support.’ But
such systems also come with their
challenges, as Beard noted. ‘It is much harder to significantly change the system to fit your organisation. It is a large business-wide system that is not that flexible and agile and requires significant upheaval to move away from.’ Gregg Silvis, associate university librarian for information technology and digital initiatives at the University of Delaware Library, explained how his library’s implementation of OCLC’s WorldShare Management services (WMS) has changed the way it manages its LMS and how this reduced the time required to perform routine tasks. He commented: ‘For years we have been
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