The Future of OPACs, ILSs & ERMs

Emporia State University SLIM, LI815

Lori Wamsley

OPACs by Jessica GagnonILSs by Melody BentfieldERMs by Daphne Tseng

OPACS – Future Needs

User Friendly Google User Needs and Expectations

Searchability

Keyword Boolean

Search Results

Relevance Display

Book covers Item Statuses Carry over terms

More Search Results

Scroll Back Colors – previously clicked Highlight keywords Call number browse feature

Self-Service

Intuitive Web 2.0 Ease of use – no training!

Current ILSs

Proprietary Ease of use Technological support Vendor endorsement Widely known Bundled with other

programs

Open-Source ”Free” as in ”free”

beer and ”free” speech

Growing vendor support and recognition

Modifiable to the needs of the library

Pros

Current ILSs

Proprietary Vendor may choose

to discontinue Modifiable only to a

certain point Costly Vendors may choose

to dictate uses and licenses

Excludes other ILSs

Open-Source Lack of technical

support or know-how for most libraries

Not as widely known Not necessarily able

to work with other platorms

Cons

ILS Emerging Trends

Recent ILS Development

WorldCat's new ILS WorldCat Local Eliminates many steps Convenient Monopoly?

What kind of control will OCLC gain with this new development?

On the other hand...

A push for Open-Source still exists Eliminates the middle-man and gives library

control Will systems like Koha develop quickly enough

to provide a healthy balance of open vs. closed systems?

Is there a future for the ILS?

As budgets decrease over time, what will be the best long-term investment?

Will a ”web-scale” (Breeding, 2009) program like WorldCat Local replace our current idea of an ILS?

Will Open-Source programs attempt to meet this growing demand to be more Google-like?

Why does library need ERMs?

multiple manifestations of the same resource, maintenance of volatile URLs, tracking and maintaining electronic holdings, and making resources accessible from within

the library as well as remotely.

Issues: For the ERM system

Consortium support and functionality Usage Data Resource Succession Data standards

Issues: For library world

user behavior and expectations 3% information seekers start with library

86% start with Google or other search engines Find information anyplace anytime when he/she want

Disintegration of ILS Pricing Intellectual property perpetual access and archiving

Let’s think about ERMs!

Can integrated library management systems “sufficiently meet the complex management needs of the online resources environment?”

(From:Beth Forrest Warner)

Is user-friendliness best achieved by a simple, Google-like interface that patrons say they want? Or is it user-centered to educate users-teaching them the best way to get the best results, even though they do not like having to learn something complicated?

(From:Tim Bucknall)

Reference

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Breeding, M. (2009, May). OCLC Enters Fray with New Library System. Library Journal, 134(9), 17. Retrieved July 7, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1719635381).

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