Library Technology Guides
provides comprehensive and objective
information surrounding the many different types of technology products and services used by libraries.
It covers the organizations that develop and support library-oriented software and systems.
The site offers extensive databases and document repositories to assist libraries as they consider new systems
and is an essential resource for professionals in the field to stay current with new developments and trends.
Relevant news items are posted daily on Twitter:
Participate in the 2020 International Library Automation Perceptions Survey
Please respond to this year's International Library Automation Survey conducted through Library Technology Guides. The survey measures the levels of satisfaction that libraries have in their strategic technology products and their perceptions of the quality of service and support that they receive. The results of this survey provide valuable information to libraries as they formulate technology strategies and to vendors as they refine their support services and product development.
The report based on the 2019survey, with links to previous reports is available:
I am now collecting responses for the 2019 edition of the survey. Please take this opportunity to register the perceptions of the library automation system used in your library, its vendor, and the quality of support delivered. The survey also probes at considerations for migrating to new systems, involvement in discovery products, and the level of interest in open source ILS. While the numeric rating scales support the statistical results of the study, the comments offered also provide interesting insights into the current state of library automation satisfaction.
Note: If you have responded to previous editions of the survey, please give your responses again this year. By responding to the survey each year, you help identify long-term trends in the changing perceptions of these companies and products.
As with the previous versions of the survey, only one response per library is allowed and any individual can respond only for one library. These restrictions ensure that no single organization or individual can skew the statistics. While all the individuals that work in a library may have their own opinions, please respond to the extent that you can from the general experiences of your library.
How to participate
The survey links each response to the listing for a library in the libraries.org directory. This connection provides the ability to correlate responses with the extensive library demographic data in libraries.org.
Find your library in libraries.org:
Select and view the listing for your library
Press the
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Complete the form and write in your comments!
When viewing the entry for your library in the libraries.org directory, please check for any incomplete or inaccurate information and let me know of any needed changes.
If your library isn't listed in libraries.org, please
submit its information.
OCLC Acquires Capira Technologies, Strengthening its Mobile Offerings
OCLC has acquired Capira Technologies, a small firm specializing in mobile apps for libraries. In a deal concluded on July 1, 2020, OCLC assumes responsibility for the company, including the development and support of its existing mobile apps. The four employees of Capira Technology also joined OCLC, including company founder Michael Berse.
(Smart Libraries Newsletter, October 2020)
Library Systems Report 2020: Fresh opportunities amid consolidation
The library technology industry took some significant turns in 2019. Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, acquired Innovative Interfaces and shifted the balance of power, strengthening Ex Libris’s position in technology for academic libraries and propelling it as a major player in public libraries. This move narrows the slate of competitors in an industry already offering few viable options for many libraries.
Technology for public library automation has been mired in stagnation. It takes a substantial level of development to both maintain existing products and build next-generation technologies for the emerging realities of a given library sector. Will Ex Libris opt to invent a new platform for public libraries, as it did for academics? How it responds may shape whether we see ongoing stasis or a new phase of innovation.
Consolidation can also accelerate the development of alternatives. Concern about the lack of options for academic libraries was a factor in the launch of the open source FOLIO project. This year FOLIO became more real when a library moved it into production for the first time; a cadre of major libraries is poised for implementation. Success among these early sites will shape whatever position FOLIO might hold in the next phase of academic library technologies.
New product categories have begun to emerge. Many companies look beyond the library as their sole audience for development and create products targeting their parent institutions or communities. Recent efforts include tech products that support teaching, such as reading-list applications, discovery services for open educational resources, and support for application program interfaces (APIs) and protocols that connect the library with student information systems. Interest in support services for higher-education research has increased. Research information systems have been available for quite some time, but this new wave of products positions libraries as research stakeholders.
Zepheira, a company that has played a prominent role in the promotion and implementation of linked data to libraries and related institutions, has been acquired by EBSCO Information Services.
Library Perceptions 2020: Results of the 13th International Survey of Library Automation
The thirteenth edition of the International Survey of Library Automation presents the latest data
on how libraries perceive the effectiveness of the strategic technology systems upon which they
depend for their daily operations and to fulfill the expectations of their patrons.
This report presents and interprets survey responses gathered from November 2019 through February 2020.
Repeating the survey annually reveals interesting trends and insights into the companies and products involved.
The survey focuses primarily on integrated library systems and library services platforms as the applications
used to acquire, describe, manage, and provide access to their collections. It also assesses the
quality of support given from the respective vendor and probes interest in migrating to new
solutions and attitudes toward open source alternatives.
Notable Observations
Survey responses suggest possible trends in the next phase of system selections for academic libraries.
Ex Libris Alma continues to be recognized for its sophisticated capabilities, especially among large and mid-sized institutions.
OCLC WorldShare Management Services is well regarded among mid-sized academics.
An increasing number of academic libraries mention interest in FOLIO as it enters the implementation phase of its product cycle.
The migration away from legacy ILS products is in full swing.
Most libraries using Millennium, Voyager, and Aleph noted they are considering moving to new systems.
The number of libraries using these legacy products continues to diminish rapidly
and will fuel the churn of the next round of system selections.
Academic libraries considering migration mention Alma as one of their replacement candidates more than any other product,
though interest in FOLIO continues to build.
Products with steady or rising satisfaction scores and high migration indicators include Ex Libris Aleph, Ex Libris Voyager, SirsiDynix Horizon,
suggesting a higher likelihood that these libraries will choose thier next system from their incumbent vendor.
Both Millennium and Sierra show diminishing satisfaction scores, high migration indicators, and diminishing company loyalty ratings,
suggesting interest in moving away from the current vendor to other alternatives.
Libraries using traditional ILS products expressed varying levels of interest in migrating to new products.
About 15 percent of those on currently supported products, including Symphony and Library.Solution, indicated they were looking for a new system.
Libraries using modern web-based products have little interest in changing systems.
Biblionix Apollo received high satisfaction scores and very few libraries using it are considering alternatives.
Even through their satisfaction ratings are not superlative, libraries using Ex Libris Alma and OCLC WorldShare Management Services
expressed little interest in changing systems.
Open source products have been adopted in all library sectors.
Both major open source ILS products, Koha and Evergreen, show increasing levels of satisfaction, with variance depending on support arrangements.
Awareness of the FOLIO library services platform continues to increase with 104 libraries mentioning it among their migration candidates.
Several themes are evident in the last few editions of the perceptions survey.
Large libraries of all types have complex requirements and evaluate their systems on a much harsher
scale than smaller organizations.
Presenting results without regard to size categories would give misleading impressions.
Products designed for small libraries would not be sucessful among larger and more complex
institutions, despite superlative ratings by the small libraries that use them.
Conventional integrated library systems dominate public libraries,
with top scores going to proprietary products in the largest tier and to those based on
commercially supported open source software in the mid-size category. Small and very
small public libraries also favored proprietary ILS products.
In the academic library sector, survey results reveal notable patterns regarding
library services platforms. These products received strong marks in most categories
but are not rated as highly for managing print resources than legacy ILS products.
Small libraries give superlative scores--with little differentiation among question categories--to
products able to meet their basic requirements without complex features they don't need.
Consolidation Takes a New Form: BiblioCommons Acquired by Constellation Software
BiblioCommons, a Toronto-based company providing a suite of applications and interfaces for public libraries, has been acquired by Volaris Group, one of six operating companies of Constellation Software, Inc. BiblioCommons has become established as a major force in the public library sector, and its products have been implemented by an impressive list of libraries and consortia in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This transaction marks a departure from its status as a founder-owned company. Though BiblioCommons will continue to operate independently, it now falls under the ownership of a large multinational technology firm managing a diverse portfolio of technology and software companies. But unlike general private equity firms, Constellation has never sold the companies it acquires.
OverDrive, the largest commercial provider of e-books and other digital content to libraries, issued a Christmas Eve announcement of its pending change in ownership. The company's current owner Rakuten has entered into a definitive agreement to sell OverDrive to KKR, a major US-based investment firm. As digital lending continues its steady rise, this news sparks interest and raises questions for the library community.
Ex Libris Completes Sweep of Higher Education in California
Ex Libris has now sold its Alma library services platform to all three of the public higher educational systems in California. A recent announcement from the Systemwide Integrated Library System taskforce of the University of California libraries announced the final selection of Alma and Primo from Ex Libris, now part of ProQuest. The University of California system joins the California State University System and the Consortium of Community Colleges in the selection of Alma to provide shared infrastructure for the management of their collections and Primo for discovery and access. Each of these projects on its own would be considered massive; together these three systems represent an unprecedented level of involvement by the libraries in a single governmental jurisdiction with a single vendor.
In a move that further consolidates the library technology industry, Ex Libris has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Innovative Interfaces, Inc. from its private equity investors. Since December 2015, Ex Libris has been owned by ProQuest. In addition to its role as a major content provider to libraries, ProQuest is now responsible for a growing portfolio of library technology products, including major systems for resource management, content discovery, materials acquisition, reading list integration, and research services. While ProQuest faces major competition for each of its product categories, this move substantially strengthens its position in the sector and broadens its scope to include public libraries.
The Alma library services platform (LSP) from Ex Libris, now part of ProQuest, continues to make gains in the academic and research library sector. The product's steady stream of product releases deployed monthly and new implementations by library have become routine. The dominance of Alma in this sector must be seen as the backdrop or context for other events that spark interest but tend to have smaller impact. Alma has seen strong and steady adoption since its initial implementations in 2012, including some of the largest university library systems and regional or national consortia.
Library Technology Guides was created and is edited by
Marshall Breeding.
He is solely responsible for all content on this site, and for any errors it may contain.
Please
notify
him if you find any errors or omissions.
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