Integrated Library Systems Moving to the Cloud: Fair Skies or... Joseph R. Matthews, author and library consultant

2. Agenda
Integrated Library System
Cloud-based Computing
A library eco-system in the Cloud

3. I L S

4. The ILS
Serials Control
Circulation
OPAC
Acquisitions
Cataloging

5. Electronic Resource
Management
Digital Asset Management
Repository
Link Resolver
Authentication
Metasearch
Discovery Service
Citation Managers

7. Change
Library customers are at the network level
Library customers able to adopt and discard tools
that make sense for them very quickly
Libraries (and vendors) seemingly unable to do
anything other than operate at glacial speed
(compared to network level offerings)

8. What’s Hot – @ the Network
Level
Cloud
Integrated Ecosystems

9. … the integrated library system (ILS), has not changed
much for the past two decades.
Library staff becomes even more frustrated with the
ILS
It is obvious we are at the tipping point for a dramatic
change in the area of library automation system.

10. • OPAC customer must
go to the information
• Web destinations
deliver information
• OPAC tied to a
specific place
• OPAC is good at
books

11. Not an afterthought
Exploding digital content
Multiple & different user
interfaces
ILS is library-centric
OPAC single search box?

12. Not a starting point
High quality data
Library data rarely repurposed
– not working very hard
OPAC is really a data-driven
Web site

13. Content Management System
Content resides in data tables
Queries assemble content
Style sheets determine how
content is displayed

14. Same Infrastructure
Bibliographic and
authority records
Web sites
Mobile devices
Multi-media
RSS feeds
XML and other easily
shared data extracts

15. Set My Data Free

16. Set Your Interface Free

17. Set Your Search Free

18. Library Services Platform

19. Discoverable data
Accessible data
Searchable data
User-focused systems
Single point of entry
New ways to present
& share information

20. “. . . in an environment of change while overall
mission and values may remain the same, new
and shifting goals become the norm.

21. As goals shift in a changing environment, so does the
need to think about how to marshal the means to meet
them. This may need reorganization, new staff skills,
changing priorities, reallocation of staff and
resources . . .

30. Benefits
Reduced costs
Displaces the need for local hardware and software –
computing power has become a commodity
Ability to quickly add IT resources – scalability, flexibility
Mobility
Improve security
Agile (as needed) software releases
Focus on adding value

31. Gartner Hype Cycle for
Technology

33. ILS in the Cloud
EOS.Web
Ex Libris Alma
Innovative Interfaces Sierra
OCLC WorldShare Management System
SirsiDynix Blue Cloud
Kuali Open Library Environment

38. Performance standards
System reliability
Response times
Software testing

39. Security features
System failures
Disaster recover
Data backup
Multiple broadband
connections
UPS

40. Customer support
Training
Maintenance
Limits

43. there may be significant advantages (in terms of
both cost and efficiency) in moving more
acquisitions and licensing data and processes
to the network level where they can be shared
with other libraries.

44. Mix & Match

46. The emergence of a new genre of library services
platforms that comprehensively manage library
resources across all formats, based on service-oriented
architecture with web-based interfaces
designed for deployment through SaaS, stands to
reshape the industry over the next decade.

47. User Needs
The focus needs to be on the
“jobs-to-be-done”

49. Suggested Readings
Marshall Breeding. Cloud Computing for Libraries. Chicago: ALA
Editions, 2012.
Edward Corrodo and Heather Moulaison. Getting Started with Cloud
Computing: A LITA Guide. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2011.
Carl Grant. The Future of Library Systems: Library Services Platform.
Information Standards Quarterly, 24 (4), Fall 2012, 4 – 15.
Robin Hastings. Making the Most of the Cloud: How to Choose and
Implement the Best Services for Your Library. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow
Press, 2014.
Erik Mitchell. Cloud-Based Services for Your Library. Chicago: ALA
Editions, 2012.

50. Contact
• Joe AT JoeMatthews.Org