:en:Integrated library system

{{Short description|Software for library collections}}

{{Distinguish|Library (computing)|Library system}}

{{Automation}}

An integrated library system (ILS), also known as a library management system (LMS),Adamson, Veronica, et al. (2008). {{cite web |url= http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/resourcediscovery/lmsstudy.pdf |title= JISC & SCONUL Library Management Systems Study |access-date= 2009-01-20 |archive-date= 2012-07-03 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120703151709/http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/resourcediscovery/lmsstudy.pdf |url-status= dead }} {{small|(1 MB)}}. Sheffield, UK: Sero Consulting. p. 51. Retrieved on 21 January 2009. "... a Library Management System (LMS or ILS 'Integrated Library System' in US parlance)."

Some useful library automation software are: KOHA, Greenstone, Libsys, and Granthalaya.

{{cite web |url=http://blog.libraryjournal.com/tennantdigitallibraries/2008/04/16/picking-when-to-jump-part-2/ |title=Picking When to Jump, Part 2 |access-date=20 January 2009 |last=Tennant |first=Roy |date=16 April 2008 |work=Library Journal |publisher=Reed Business Information |quote=Across the pond they use the term library management systems (LMS) for what we call the integrated library system (ILS). |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315103030/http://blog.libraryjournal.com/tennantdigitallibraries/2008/04/16/picking-when-to-jump-part-2/ |archive-date=15 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}

is an enterprise resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned, orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed.

An ILS is usually made up of a relational database, software to interact with that database, and two graphical user interfaces (one for patrons, one for staff). Most ILSes separate software functions into discrete programs called modules, each of them integrated with a unified interface. Examples of modules might include:

  • acquisitions (ordering, receiving, and invoicing materials)
  • cataloging (classifying and indexing materials)
  • circulation (lending materials to patrons and receiving them back)
  • serials (tracking magazine, journals, and newspaper holdings)
  • online public access catalog or OPAC (public user interface)

Each patron and item has a unique ID in the database that allows the ILS to track its activity.

History

=Pre-computerization=

Prior to computerization, library tasks were performed manually and independently from one another. Selectors ordered materials with ordering slips, cataloguers manually catalogued sources and indexed them with the card catalog system (in which all bibliographic data was kept on a single index card), fines were collected by local bailiffs, and users signed books out manually, indicating their name on clue cards which were then kept at the circulation desk. Early mechanization came in 1936, when the University of Texas began using a punch card system to manage library circulation.{{cite book|last=Wallace|first=Patricia M.|title=Library Systems Migration: An Introduction|year=1991|publisher=Meckler|location=Westport, CT|isbn=0-88736-738-0|pages=1–7 [3]|editor=Gary M. Pitkin}} While the punch card system allowed for more efficient tracking of loans, library services were far from being integrated, and no other library task was affected by this change.

=1960s: the influence of computer technologies=

The next big innovation came with the advent of MARC standards in the 1960s, which coincided with the growth of computer technologies – library automation was born. From this point onwards, libraries began experimenting with computers, and, starting in the late 1960s and continuing into the 1970s, bibliographic services utilizing new online technology and the shared MARC vocabulary entered the market. These included OCLC (1967), Research Libraries Group (which has since merged with OCLC), and the Washington Library Network (which became Western Library Network and is also now part of OCLC).{{cite book|last=Wallace|first=Patricia M.|title=Library Systems Migration: An Introduction|year=1991|publisher=Meckler|location=Westport, CT|isbn=0-88736-738-0|pages=1–7 [4]|editor=Gary M. Pitkin}}

The Intrex Retrieval System ran on CTSS starting in the late 1960s.{{cite conference |doi=10.1145/1476793.1476862 |title=System characteristics of Intrex |last=Reintjes |first=J.F. |date=May 1969 |book-title=AFIPS '69 (Spring): Proceedings of the May 14–16, 1969, Spring Joint Computer Conference |pages=457–459 |location=New York, NY, United States |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |conference=Joint Computer Conference|doi-access=free }}{{cite conference |doi=10.1145/1476793.1476863 |title=An Experimental Computer-stored, Augmented Catalog of Professional Literature |last1=Marcus |first1=Richard S. |last2=Kugel |first2=Peter |last3=Kusik |first3=Robert L. |date=May 14, 1969 |book-title=AFIPS '69 (Spring): Proceedings of the May 14–16, 1969, Spring Joint Computer Conference |pages=461–473 |location=New York, NY, United States |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |conference=Joint Computer Conference|doi-access=free }} Intrex was an experimental, pilot-model machine-oriented bibliographic storage and retrieval system with a database that stored a catalog of roughly 15,000 journal articles. It was used to develop and test concepts for library automation.{{cite web |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED056732.pdf |title=Project Intrex – A Brief Description |last=Overhage |first=Carl F. J. |date=1971 |website=ERIC |publisher=MIT |access-date=March 8, 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED070506.pdf |title=Intrex Buffer-Controller Display System Operation and Software |last=Kehr |first=James E. |date=September 1972 |website=ERIC |publisher=MIT |access-date=March 8, 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED057829.pdf |title=The Intrex Retrieval System Software |last=Hurlburt |first=Charles E. |date=September 15, 1971|website=ERIC |publisher=MIT |access-date=March 8, 2022}} A deployment of three Intrex BRISC CRT consoles for testing at the MIT Engineering Library in 1972 showed that it was preferred over two other systems, ARDS and DATEL.{{cite report |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED060899.pdf |title=Project Intrex. Semiannual Activity Report, 15 September 1971 – 15 March 1972. |id=Intrex PR-13 |last=Overhage |first=Carl F. J. |date=March 15, 1972|website=ERIC |publisher=MIT |access-date=March 17, 2022 |quote=Since September 27, 1971, the BRISC has been available at the Engineering Library station on a two-hours a day basis.}}

=1970s–1980s: the early integrated library system=

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The 1970s can be characterized by improvements in computer storage, as well as in telecommunications. As a result of these advances, "turnkey systems on microcomputers", known more commonly as {{em|integrated library management systems}} (ILS) finally appeared. These systems included necessary hardware and software which allowed the connection of major circulation tasks, including circulation control and overdue notices.{{cite book|last=Kochtanek|first=Thomas R.|title=Library Information Systems: From Library Automation to Distributed Information Access Solutions|url=https://archive.org/details/libraryinformati0000koch|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|location=Westport, CT|isbn=1-59158-018-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/libraryinformati0000koch/page/4 4]|chapter=1 – The Evolution of LIS and Enabling Technologies}} As the technology developed, other library tasks could be accomplished through ILS as well, including acquisition, cataloguing, reservation of titles, and monitoring of serials.{{cite book|last=Kochtanek|first=Thomas R.|title=Library Information Systems: From Library Automation to Distributed Information Access Solutions|url=https://archive.org/details/libraryinformati0000koch|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|location=Westport, CT|isbn=1-59158-018-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/libraryinformati0000koch/page/5 5]|chapter=1 – The Evolution of LIS and Enabling Technologies}}

=1990s–2000s: the growth of the Internet=

With the evolution of the Internet throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, ILSs began allowing users to more actively engage with their libraries through an OPACs and online web-based portals. Users could log into their library accounts to reserve or renew books, as well as authenticate themselves for access to library-subscribed online databases. Education for librarians responded with new focus on systems analysis.Boyce, Bert R. and Heim, Kathleen M. "The Education of Systems Analysts for the Nineties." Journal of Library Administration v. 9 no. 4: 69–76. Inevitably, during this time, the ILS market grew exponentially. By 2002, the ILS industry averaged sales of approximately US$500 million annually, compared to just US$50 million in 1982.

=Mid 2000s–present: increasing costs and customer dissatisfaction=

By the mid to late 2000s, ILS vendors had increased not only the number of services offered but also their prices, leading to some dissatisfaction among many smaller libraries. At the same time, open-source ILS was in its early stages of testing. Some libraries began turning to such open-source ILSs as Koha and Evergreen. Common reasons noted were to avoid vendor lock-in, avoid license fees, and participate in software development.{{cite conference |author=Ganseman J |title=Refactoring a Library's Legacy Catalog: a Case Study |conference=IAML 2015 |year=2015 |url=http://wiki.muziekcollecties.be/images/IAML2015_JG.pdf |location=New York City, US}} Freedom from vendors also allowed libraries to prioritize needs according to urgency, as opposed to what their vendor can offer.{{cite journal|last=Hamby|first=R.|author2=McBride, R. |author3=Lundberg, M. |title=South Carolina's SCLENDS optimizing libraries, transforming lending|journal=Computers in Libraries|date=Oct 2011|volume=31|series=8|pages=6–10}} Libraries which have moved to open-source ILS have found that vendors are now more likely to provide quality service in order to continue a partnership since they no longer have the power of owning the ILS software and tying down libraries to strict contracts. This has been the case with the SCLENDS consortium; following the success of Evergreen for the Georgia PINES library consortium, the South Carolina State Library along with some local public libraries formed the SCLENDS consortium in order to share resources and to take advantage of the open-source nature of the Evergreen ILS to meet their specific needs. By October 2011, just 2 years after SCLENDS began operations, 13 public library systems across 15 counties had already joined the consortium, in addition to the South Carolina State Library.

Librarytechnology.org does an annual survey of over 2,400 libraries and noted in 2008 2%[https://librarytechnology.org/perceptions/2008/ Perceptions 2008: an International Survey of Library Automation]. Librarytechnology.org. Retrieved on 2013-08-17. of those surveyed used open-source ILS, in 2009 the number increased to 8%,[https://librarytechnology.org/perceptions/2009 Perceptions 2009: an International Survey of Library Automation]. Librarytechnology.org. Retrieved on 2013-08-17. in 2010 12%,[https://librarytechnology.org/perceptions/2010 Perceptions 2010: an International Survey of Library Automation]. Librarytechnology.org. Retrieved on 2013-08-17. and in 2011 11%[https://librarytechnology.org/perceptions/2011 Perceptions 2011: an International Survey of Library Automation]. Librarytechnology.org (2012-01-28). Retrieved on 2013-08-17. of the libraries polled had adopted open-source ILSs. The following year's survey (published in April 2013) reported an increase to 14%, stating that "open source ILS products, including Evergreen and Koha, continue to represent a significant portion of industry activity. Of the 794 contracts reported in the public and academic arena, 113, or 14 percent, were for support services for these open source systems."[http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2013/04/ils/automation-marketplace-2013-the-rush-to-innovate/ Automation Marketplace 2013: The Rush to Innovate]. Library Journal on thedigitalshift.com (2013-04-13). Retrieved on 2014-02-03.

=2010s–present: the rise of cloud based solutions=

{{Expand section|date=June 2021}}

The use of cloud-based library management systems has increased drastically since the rise of cloud technology started.{{cite journal |last=Mitchell |first=Erik |date=March 2010 |title=Using cloud services for library IT infrastructure |journal=The Code4Lib Journal |issue=9 |url=https://journal.code4lib.org/articles/2510 |issn=1940-5758}}{{cite book |last=Breeding |first=Marshall |date=2012 |title=Cloud computing for libraries |series=The tech set |volume=11 |location=Chicago |publisher=American Library Association |isbn=9781555707859 |oclc=783520712}}{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Weiling |last2=Cai |first2=Huibin (Heather) |date=January 2013 |title=Embracing the shift to cloud computing: knowledge and skills for systems librarians |journal=OCLC Systems & Services |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=22–29 |doi=10.1108/10650751311294528}}{{cite book |last=Bilal |first=Dania |date=2014 |chapter=Software architecture |title=Library automation: core concepts and practical systems analysis |edition=3rd |location=Santa Barbara, CA |publisher=Libraries Unlimited |pages=133–136 |isbn=9781591589228 |oclc=503073120}} Subsections: On-site software hosting; Cloud software hosting; Software-as-a-Service (Saas); Single-tenant software hosting; Remote software hosting. According to NIST, cloud computing can include a variety of "characteristics (e.g. self-service, resource pooling, and elasticity), management models (e.g. service, platform, or infrastructure focus), and deployment models (e.g. public, private)", and this is also true of cloud-based library systems.

Software criteria

=Distributed software vs. web service=

Library computer systems tend to fall into two categories of software:

  • that purchased on a perpetual license
  • that purchased as a subscription service (software as a service).

With distributed software the customer can choose to self-install or to have the system installed by the vendor on their own hardware. The customer can be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the application and the data, or the customer can choose to be supported by the vendor with an annual maintenance contract. Some vendors charge for upgrades to the software. Customers who subscribe to a web (hosted) service upload data to the vendor's remote server through the Internet and may pay a periodic fee to access their data.

=Data entry assistance based on ISBN=

Many applications can reduce a major portion of manual data entry by populating data fields based upon the entered ISBN using MARC standards technology via the Internet.

= Bar code scanning and printing=

With most software, users can eliminate some manual entry by using a barcode scanner. Some software is designed, or can be extended with an additional module, to integrate scanner functionality. Most software vendors provide some type of scanner integration, and some print bar-code labels.

Comparison of open-source ILS platforms

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: smaller; text-align: center; width: auto;"
style="width: 12em"|Software

! Developer

! Year of release

! Year of latest stable release

! Written in

! Main purpose

! License

Koha

| Koha Community

| 2000

| 2024

| Perl

| ILS

| GPL-3.0-or-later

PMB

| PMB development team

| 2002

| 2024

| PHP

| ILS

| CECILL-2.0

NewGenLib

| Verus Solutions

| 2005

| 2024

| Java

| ILS

| GPL

Evergreen

| Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS)

| 2006

| 2024

| Perl, C, XUL

| ILS

| GPL-2.0-or-later

OpenBiblio

| OpenBiblio development team

| 2002

| 2024

| PHP

| ILS

| GPL-2.0-or-later

See also

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Further reading

  • {{cite web |last=Breeding |first=Marshall |date=2014–2021 |title=Library systems report archives – American Libraries Magazine |url=https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/tag/library-systems-report/ |website=americanlibrariesmagazine.org |publisher=American Library Association}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Rubin |first1=Richard E. |last2=Rubin |first2=Rachel G. |date=2020 |orig-year=1998 |title=Foundations of library and information science |edition=5th |location=Chicago |publisher=ALA Neal-Schuman, an imprint of the American Library Association |isbn=9780838947449 |oclc=1138996906}}