Smart Libraries Newsletter

As we enter a new year, I’d like to pause and consider some of the trends and events that I anticipate playing out in 2012. The predictions I made for 2011 largely held (see Smart Libraries Newsletter, February 2011). Given the momentum of developments and the issues currently in play, 2012 may turn out to be a very interesting year in the realm of library technologies.

--Marshall Breeding

Also in this Issue

• Endeca for Library Discovery: Implications of Oracle’s AcquisitionMySQL: Implications of Oracle’s Ownership
• Phoenix Public Library: Blending Discovery into the Web Presence
• A New Wave of Executive Management Changes
• Library Technology News in Brief

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In the current phase of library technology, it is common for discovery systems to be implemented in a manner loosely coupled with core automation systems.  We’ve evolved away from a time where the online catalog module of the integrated library system could stand as the primary search tool, at least for those with large and varied collections.  An increasing number of libraries have implemented discovery interfaces more loosely tied to the core ILS.  The discovery interface may or may not be produced by the same company as the ILS, and an interesting set of dynamics has emerged among the organizations offering these products, with the library often carrying the burden of making sure that everything works together smoothly. 
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As mobile access continues to rise, library software developers see a potential new market emerging. Libraries increasingly show interest in exploring these new products.  At this time, almost any vendor involved in producing library automation products has announced or delivered at least an initial offering that supports mobile users.  Most are taking tentative steps, testing the waters to both measure the market demand and to gain experience that will help inform future strategies regarding the types of products and the features and functionality best suited for mobile delivery.  

--Marshall Breeding

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The integrated library system has fallen onto hard times, especially when it comes to academic libraries. Over the last decade or so, libraries in colleges, universities, and other research organizations have been at the forefront a broad trend where electronic content has grown more and more dominant. Unfortunately, library automation systems have been slow to respond to this obvious and fundamental change. The essential model of the integrated library system, one comprised of functional modules such as cataloging, acquisitions, serials, circulation, and an online catalog, was conceived in the print era. It seems that now, the ILS has prevailed past the time when its functionality reflects the best way to organize a library’s strategic activities. Read More »

The two major stories featured in this issue of Smart Libraries Newsletter deal with two very different niches of library technology--e-books and RFID. In one story, we’ll learn about 3M Library Systems, a business that has until very recently been rooted in products and services that help libraries deal with their physical items, and is now taking a major leap into the e-book realm. In the other story, we’ll see how some of 3M’s competitors in the RFID and self-service arena have banded together into a new organization that meets or exceeds its scale. We’ll also see how both of these moves reflect strategies that make sense in the context of trends at play in today’s library world. Read More »

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The main feature in this month’s issue of Smart Libraries Newsletter is on Innovative Interfaces’ announcement of its new library automation platform. I continue to be impressed by how the library automation industry seems to be gearing up for a new phase, one where a new guard of systems is lining up to eventually replace at least some of the veteran systems in the ranks. We’ve been through this change before, several times. Read More »

In order to be prepared to write this newsletter and other projects, I’m constantly monitoring many different sources of information for library technology news. My main focus lately has been library automation products and discovery systems, but I keep an eye out for any technology story that might have an impact on libraries. I find it quite a challenge to synthesize all of this incoming information into a balanced representation of what is happening in the library automation industry as it cycles through different phases.

--Marshall Breeding