Changing+Library+Systems

The Higher Education Library Technology (HELibTech) wiki has information about those (HE) institutions that are in a procurement process of have recently completed one. These institutions can be a useful resource in considering the issues around library system change.
 * THIS IS A STUB/STARTER PAGE. Feel free to edit to add resources you feel would be helpful. Anyone can edit this page -you just have to 'join' the wiki **
 * This page is dedicated to articles and other resources to help in thinking about changing systems**.

=Jisc Library Systems Programme **#jisclms**= This programme of work is an attempt to develop a practical vision fortoc a future library systems infrastructure to support institutions in their continuing mission to provide users with access to a range of services and content that supports their teaching, learning and research. This work will support libraries in their strategic planning for new systems developments and deliver a visionary 'roadmap' for the development of world-class systems to meet the needs and expectations of users in UK colleges and universities.

Library Systems Support and Guidance
The Project The LMS Change project is part of the JISC funded Library Systems Programme which ran between June 2012 and February 2013.The project took a phased approach to assess past, present and future as pects of HE Library Management Systems (LMS) requirements, seeking to develop an understanding and instantiation of future library systems infrastructure.


 * Synthesis: review of previous reports, project outcomes and experiences from the library systems environment in the UK and overseas.
 * Landscape: engagement with the ‘pathfinder’ projects from the current JISC programme, with the collaboration partners and with other relevant initiatives and entities within the wider environment.
 * Evaluation and scoping: analysis of the emerging options in order to scope the proposed service(s) and infrastructure.

It was agreed from the start that the ambition of the project should be to produce a single yet necessarily multi-faceted resource for library services – so we hope what you find here is useful. In addition, along the journey, the project maintained a blog at http://lmschange.info and used the hashtag #jisclms.

=Software Selection Methodology for Integrated Library Systems= Authored: Malcolm Ramsay and Edmund Chamberlain Prepared for LYRASIS with funding from the 2011-2012 Mellon Foundation Open Source Support Grant by Cottage Labs. Cottage Labs is a limited liability partnership, registered in Scotland with the number SO303454

//"Choosing the right systems to manage information in your library is a major task and the first step is to ensure you ask the right questions. This guide focuses on the decision process in selecting an Integrated Library System (ILS) for your library. It is part of a larger Software Selection Methodology toolkit for those involved in implementing library systems".//

=Articles and other resources=

Focus on the user.
By Ken Chad Published in UKSG eNews 13 December 2013 The impetus to be more and more ‘customer driven’ or ‘consumer focused’ seems relentless and almost universal. ‘Consumerization’ has taken on a specific meaning in terms of information technology. It represents the growing tendency for new technology: “to emerge first in the consumer market and then spread into business and government organizations.” The consumer market is now seen as the primary driver of information technology innovation. Ken looks at a methodology to help organisations be more user focussed

The library management system is dead–long live the library ecosystem.
By Ken Chad. Published in CILIP Update September 2013 In increasingly complex information landscapes, is it time to stop thinking in terms of the library management system or integrated library system, or even a ‘library services platform’–and instead start talking about an ‘ecosystem’.

Library infrastructure: value for money?
This short presentation by Ken Chad (at the Jisc Library System Programme Workshop on 15th July 2013) looked at the value and business case for making changes to library technology infrastructure.

'Re-evaluating your LMS: a case study.
By Helen Thomas & Bethan Bartholomew. SCONUL Focus 55 August 2012 Article describing where they are in the process (August 2012) NOTE: Cardiff Metropolitan University currently user the Capita (was Talis) Library management systems From the conclusion:

//'The LMS review team will be presenting the options available for the LMS soon and I can see the value in all the options – staying with the current system (possibly making the move into the cloud) or changing to a completely different system whether open source or proprietary. One of the main advantages I can see of sticking with our current system is that the staff are already highly skilled at using the system and know its quirks well. Admittedly we all get frustrated at times and, as one of the staff consulted commented, is it a case of ‘better the devil you know’? I’m not entirely sure it is, as moving to a new system would be the perfect opportunity to review how the original system was set up and the rules, permissions and processes used. And although we can start, and have indeed started reviewing some of these aspects already, a new system would also provide an opportunity to start with a clean slate. The visits to other universities have, however, highlighted the fact that no one system is likely to be perfect, and whatever we decide to do we shall need to revisit the issue in the not too distant future, either to keep up with developments or as part of a larger shared service project.'//