| Other Information | The MnPALS Consortium seeks a shared, standards-based library management system (LMS) that will
meet the diverse needs of its member libraries and their patrons. The Consortium includes a variety of
institution types and sizes with widely differing patron, staff, and collection profiles, operational
requirements, and workflows. MnPALS libraries require an LMS with the flexibility to accommodate
individual institutional preferences within a common framework that reflects and supports their
commitment to collaboration.
The desired LMS will connect patrons with member libraries’ collections, services, and expertise and
with the larger information universe. The public interface will be easy to use, fostering creativity,
flexibility, and serendipitous discovery. The discovery service will respond to the needs of all users, from
the novice to the expert, applying searches across different resource silos to find high quality, relevant
content. Search results will be fast and accurate. The interface will allow individual libraries and the
Consortium to customize the user experience.
The LMS will provide library staff with opportunities to improve quality and efficiency. MnPALS seeks
a unified set of services that will exceed traditional integrated library system (ILS) capabilities, streamline
workflows, and eliminate redundancies associated with legacy systems that were designed primarily for
management of print collections. The desired LMS will include functions which, until recently, have
appeared most often as separate, standalone products. It will support the acquisition, description,
maintenance, and discovery of all library formats, facilitate management of electronic resources, and meet
the diverse circulation and resource sharing needs of member libraries.
Maintaining data security and patron privacy is a core goal for MnPALS libraries. The desired LMS will
provide robust protection against unauthorized use of library content or of patron data, make available
only such information as may be functionally necessary to perform transactions and usage analysis, and
retain patron-specific data only as long as relevant library policies and practices require.
Staff of MnPALS libraries require an LMS that offers powerful and flexible analytical tools and delivers
both standard and customized statistical data and metrics. The Consortium seeks to eliminate information
silos within different service units and provide properly authorized staff members with access to any
components of the LMS that they may need to compile reports.
MnPALS libraries have a long history of working together to help shape the software that they share. The
Consortium requires a vendor with an agile development process that will respond to member libraries’
input as they continue to adapt to changing needs throughout the life cycle of the LMS. |
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