FEATURE Library Management Systems


evaluate and select other applications based on their merits and not because they simply “fit” by default within a particular LMS vendor’s existing offering.’


Scott Anderson, information system librarian


and associate professor at Millersville University of Pennsylvania agreed: ‘From my perspective, it’s much more plausible and better to have open platforms and services that can talk to each other versus being forced into combinations that are vendor centric’.


Another important future trend set to define future library systems is the increased focus on the user experience. Showers observed: ‘One emerging trend being explored by libraries to enhance user experience is gamification, where game mechanics are incorporated into non-gaming contexts. Both the University of Huddersfield’s Lemon Tree and University of Manchester’s BookedIn are good examples – turning the borrowing of books into a social game where you compete against fellow students to collect points and unlock achievements. ‘It’s this increased focus on the user that will define the future library system. The relationship between the student and the system will become more intimate, with the user data informing the development of the service, in a continuous, cyclical process. It is essential that, as the expectations and needs of the user evolve, libraries and systems are resilient and responsive enough to adapt to this constantly shifting landscape.’ Andersen of Millersville University added: ‘What users want is what you and I want when we


interact with Google, Amazon, or a social media site. We want logical functionality, reasonable authentication, and connectivity to resources or services that work without undue hassle. Humans seek paths of least resistance and if an LMS helps with that, that’s great.’


Silvis of the University of Delaware library added: ‘One thing that we have tried to do at the University of Delaware is to make our content


‘As we look to the future, openness will be an


increasingly defining


element of the LMS’ Tamir Borensztajn, EBSCO Information Services


discoverable in Google. I therefore imagine in years to come the public interface for library systems will be Google. I’m aware of all the search and related issues related to this but it’s about our users. For example, a college student grows up with Google and then goes to college and has to use a different search system. After college they go back to using Google. Google or a successor to Google is the key because this is where people search. Libraries are where people discover and retrieve resources so it’s going to take a partnership between the two to achieve this.’ Expanding on Silvis’s point, Andrew Pace,


executive director, networked library services at OCLC added: ‘We know that not all discovery is happening in the library and we know that a lot of discovery is not happening on library systems. We should be looking to syndicate beyond Google to the open web like Google Scholar, and services such as Mendeley and Researchgate. ‘Other future trends includes change in metadata management. Moving from record- by-record management to more entity-based management that will provide rich benefits not only to cataloguing but also to discovery,’ said Pace. ‘Also, we’ve done a lot to bring print and licence together in our management workflow. Therefore the bringing of print and licence together more with digital would be good.’ Burke of Proquest noted: ‘Some examples I envision for the future include that it will be possible from within the system to see availability and pricing before purchasing resources. It will be possible to request materials directly from another library from within the solution and authority control will be fully automated instead of manual. Reporting on the usage of resources will be easier and richer because of the platform and discovery services will become richer because it will be possible to add reviews. This is a very exciting time in library automation. The model is changing dramatically, and the new model offers many possibilities.’


Sharon Davies worked as a freelance journalist for many years before moving into librarianship. She is currently doing a masters in librarianship at the UK’s University of Sheffield


PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT Focus: Library Management Systems SPONSORED CONTENT


Report from OCLC focuses on return on investment


Optimizing Your Library’s Return on Technology Investment is a new report from OCLC. It documents conversations with library leaders about the tension between delivering innovation in a fiscally challenging environment. It looks specifically at the concept of return on investment (ROI) and promotes the idea that opening up the spectrum of ‘returns’ for consideration can help build a robust business case for new library technology investment without limiting innovation. The roll-out of WorldShare Management Services has


informed the cooperative’s view that positive aspirational, economic and operational outcomes await libraries taking the first steps towards a new generation of library management technology. In one interview entitled ‘Optimizing


Fiscal ROI’, Rene Erlandson, Director at University of Nebraska Omaha, states ‘…we selected WorldShare Management Services (WMS) because as budgets grew tighter, we needed to get the best possible return on funding. We’ve reduced our server and software


20 Research Information DECEMBER 2014/JANUARY 2015


costs, redeployed four staff members to other areas and eliminated one FTE staff position through staff retirement, and so far we’re saving more than $150,000 annually.’ The savings enabled the university


library to deploy funding in other key areas, which have generated further returns through improved satisfaction of students and faculty staff. Forecasting how savings made from decommissioning legacy hardware and software might be redeployed to strategic areas like e-collections, can


help build the initial case for replacing outdated library technology. Optimizing Your Library’s Return on


Technology Investment offers the reader the thoughts of library leaders from around the world as we negotiate the changing needs of our users. To download the paper go to http://connect.oclc.org/roireport


l www.oclc.org l uk@oclc.org


@researchinfo www.researchinformation.info


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