If you are not already part of a consorti- um but still want to share knowledge and solutions, you can benefit from reaching out to your network to establish com- munities of practice or working groups based on your region, sector or common interests.
For libraries: Review the consortia that you are currently associated with to ensure that you are fully utilising them and that they really represent value for money, weighing up the benefits of each approach for your library when it comes to procurement.
Access the community – speak to con- sortium member libraries or those within your network to understand how they are using the systems, share practices and discuss challenges.
For vendors: It is essential to under- stand the consortia available within your customer-base, their requirements, and acceptance periods for new suppliers. Where permission is provided, intro- duce libraries who are using the same systems to support the development of communities.
Managing costs with LMS Good library management systems have features which can support libraries in understanding and managing their costs, including:
l acquisitions modules with workflow automations/integrations to make pro- curing new resources easier and more efficient
l electronic Resources Management (eRM) modules to enable monitoring of electronic resource subscriptions, usage statistics reporting and cost per use analysis to enable libraries to assess which resources are most and least cost-effective
l collection management tools like stock rotation to enable resources to move around different branches to get the most out of sharing resources and targeting titles at branches with the most circulation or demand
l reporting and analytics tools to give snapshot and ongoing analysis of cus- tomer trends and behaviours. Reporting should also be used to demonstrate how libraries engage hard-to-reach custom- ers/users and groups of users that the overarching organisation sees as a priority for the library to work with.
Library software should also be open to integration with other platforms and systems. It should be designed with good and open APIs – ideally free to use so that third parties can get involved in connecting systems or plugging in useful additional applications. An example of this would be enabling good interconnec- tivity with eBook providers, membership
registry systems, interlending provid- ers, the Public Lending Rights, internal organisation systems, and so on.
For libraries: Review your existing systems to assess if you have these fea- tures available and how to make the most of them where you do.
When considering new LMS solutions, ensure that the features and third-party app integrations you need are included and that staff are confident in using them.
For vendors: Review the systems that you offer and the platform integrations available to ensure they meet the needs of public libraries, and where they can be adapted if they currently do not. Listen to your customers to understand what reporting, analytics, and modules could benefit them, and provide training to ensure they are confident in using it.
Member engagement
Engaging users and encouraging access to services is a priority for libraries, and it should be for library software too. Library software can support libraries with mem- ber engagement through:
l integration with reading challenge campaigns
l integrated or native event management tools with marketing communications
l easy to use content management systems so that libraries can build compelling web pages and content around the online catalogue
l responsive design should be core to web interfaces so that customers/users can access the library online whatever device they are using
l well designed and easy to use mobile apps for mobile users
l effective ‘discovery’ platforms to as- sist users in finding the resources they want and making recommendations
l provide clear sign-posting and information on other services that the library provides and council resources.
For libraries: Review your existing systems to assess if the features you have can support the engagement of your users, and that staff are utilising them. When considering new LMS solu- tions, ensure that the member engage- ment features you need are included and that staff are confident in using them.
For vendors: Review the systems that you offer to ensure they support user engagement functions. Listen to your customers to under-
stand what member engagement activities they undertake and the needs of their user-base, ensure that training covers how to get the most out of the supporting features.
Open source software
Open source software is software that is publicly available for anyone to use, inspect or modify the source code. The principles behind it include collaboration, transparency, responsive development, and community, many principles which are shared with the library world. Using open source software can give devel- opers much greater control to respond to requests, creating new features and improvements. Due to this open nature, there are no proprietary licenses with
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