CLSC 555 Information Systems Webliography: Integrated Library Systems
by
Nathan Verilla
| Overview Sites | Companies | Relevant Literature |
- Overview Sites
- Integrated Library System Reports, by Mary Dzurinko and Nina Platt
ILSR is the website of an online journal that provides news about the ILS market, as well as providing resources for organizations that might be in the market for a new ILS. The biggest strength of the site is its collection of sample RFPs and tech plans for organizations preparing a change in its ILS, as well as White Papers from ILS companies describing their products for potential customers. The biggest weakness of the site is that it is woefully out of date, having been last updated in May 2001.
- AcqWeb's Guide to Automated Library Systems, Library Software, Hardware and Consulting Companies, by AcqWeb
The AcqWeb site provides a comprehensive listing with links to the major manufacturers of library automation software. The site, however, contains no independent information of its own, but is rather an online directory of ILS companies. The site itself also does not differentiate the main customer bases of the companies, opting instead for an alphabetical list of the companies. One final weakness of the site is that it was last updated in 2001, and major changes have occurred in the ILS market in the past four years.
- Overview of Integrated Library Systems (requires Adobe Acrobat), by Marcia Deddens
This site is a draft of a paper written to provide an overview of Integrated Library Systems and the major players in the ILS market. The paper, while only in draft form, provides a quick overview of the ILS market circa 2002, with a reference to the more complete libinfo site and a brief overview of the offerings of three ILS companies. As with the two previously reviewed sites, this one is also out-of-date, but is slightly more current than the two sites above. The paper is written for an academic library audience, as the three companies reviewed provide ILS services mainly to academic libraries, as opposed to public or school libraries. A weakness of the site is that only three companies are reviewed, whereas the ILS market is much larger than three players.
- Andrew Osborne's Home Page, by Andrew Osborne
This is the most up-to-date ILS overview site, having been last updated in August 2004. Even though this site was not developed and is not maintained by an ILS-related corporation, it provides a comprehensive list with links to the websites of the players in the ILS market as of 2004. The site provides cross-referenced information about both systems and vendors, arranged alphabetically, but the site does not provide any analysis on the systems or the vendors. The only thing on the site that even resembles analysis is the pitch for the software company that sponsored the site. The site does provide a mailto link so more up-to-date information can be brought to the site author's attention, allowing for the the site to remain as current as possible.
- ILS Companies
In general it is difficult to impossible to find information about problems with a company's products on the company website. For more in-depth information on the products themselves, it is necessary to look to outside and independent literature pertaining to ILS vendors.
- Koha, by Katipo Communications, Ltd.
Koha is an open-source ILS. The software for the ILS is available for free download directly from the site, but the company charges for service and support of the ILS. The strengths and weaknesses of the Koha ILS are basically the same as any open-source software, as anyone can change the code and redistribute it in a form that may be unusable for other customers. Even though Koha is available to a worldwide customer base, there are very few groups and individuals who provide support for the ILS; problems with the software could result in either long waits for service or the need to hire a staff member with expertise in working with and re-coding open-source software. The company itself (Katipo Communications) is based in New Zealand, so the majority of service organizations for the software are located in Australia and New Zealand; the options for support staff in the rest of the world are very few.
- Dynix library automation systems, imaging, and cataloging software, by DYNIX
This is the homepage for one of the leading companies in the proprietary ILS market, and manufacturer of the Horizon ILS. According to Marshall Breeding, Dynix was the sales leader in 2003 with 168 overall contracts. Dynix provides a regionalized website for its customers worldwide; while the sites are generally similar, Dynix does not provide only a single site for its worldwide customer base. As is the case with any commercial ILS vendor, Dynix' website does not let potential customers know about any problems that might occur with its product, but serves mainly to provide the best possible picture of the company and its ILS products.
- Innovative Interfaces, by Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
This is the homepage for the company that led the ILS market in sales to new customers in 2003 with 96 new contracts. Innovative's ILS is Millennium, and the company claims customers in forty-two countries. The information on the site is very limited, with a lot of digging within the site required to find older information about the company. On the front page, Innovative provides information for potential customers based on the type of library, but information on how to prepare for a switch to Millennium is not easily available on the website.
- Endeavor Information Systems, Incorporated, by Endeavor Information Systems, Inc.
Endeavor is the maker of the Voyager ILS and primarily markets its products to academic libraries. The information on the website is lacking in details, but it does provide links to external stories involving the company's products. With a few clicks, it is possible to find archived news releases dating back to 1997, but the front pages of the website are very thin on relevant information about the company.
- Sirsi Corporation, by Sirsi Corporation
Sirsi was the largest employer among ILS vendors in 2003. While the other company websites profiled on this page seem to be product-oriented, the Sirsi website puts a major emphasis on the company's clients. The homepage itself is slow in loading, as it is heavy with graphics and animations; once again information is difficult to find within the page.
- Relevant Literature
- Open Source Integrated Library Systems: an Overview, by Eric Antcil
One of the more recent trends in software development has been the rise and increasing use of open-source software. Antcil's paper discusses the major players within the open-source ILS market and the impact that open-source integrated library systems could have on libraries as a whole. The paper provides a good overview of open-source ILS vendors circa 2003, but does not go into major detail about any particular vendor. The rise of open-source ILS vendors is an interesting development in the ILS market and is worthy of future study; this paper is a good step within the research of open-source integrated library systems.
- The Future of Integrated Library Systems: An LJ Round Table, by Brian Kenney
This paper calls upon the expertise and opinions of several librarians and the heads of many of the major players in the academic ILS market. The moderators pose excellent questions about the technological developments that have affected libraries in the recent past and will continue to affect libraries in the future. While the participants in the roundtable engaged in good discussion about the future of libraries and the ILS market, the makeup of the roundtable was heavily skewed toward executives of ILS vendor companies; it would have been interesting to have more librarians' opinions on the technology challenges confronting libraries both now and in the future.
- Trends in integrated library systems (full text requires Microsoft Word), by Catherine Ebenezer
The paper provides an extensive report on the technological developments that will continue to affect the operation of integrated library systems in the future. Ebenezer provides a breakdown of the technological advances both from within the ILS market itself and the general technological advances that ILS vendors have had to contend with in order to have their products remain functional and viable in the current technological environment. Ebenezer does not go into much detail about what commercial ILS vendors are doing to keep up with changes in technology, but does mention some of the features that distinguish vendors' products. The information is fairly current, as the article dates to 2003.
- Migration Down Innovation Up: Automated System Marketplace 2004, by Marshall Breeding
This is Library Journal's most recent update on the ILS market, reviewing the changes that occurred in 2003. This year's annual review also included a section on the changing needs of academic libraries in managing electronic resources and what products ILS vendors are providing to help librarians meet these new needs. The biggest weakness with this website comes not with its content, but with its appearance. The lines of text do not fit within the boundaries of the screen, requiring the reader to scroll horizontally to be able to read the entire article. This cosmetic failing is exceptionally glaring with the layout of the tables at the end of the article, as the rightmost columns of data are cut off.
- The Competition Heats Up, by Marshall Breeding and Carol Roddy
This is Library Journal's review of the ILS marketplace in 2002. The standard changes within the market and information about the leading companies is included, but what makes this year's review unique is that it provides some detail on trends among libraries making migrations to new integrated library systems. At the time of this article (2002), the majority of libraries running outdated systems had begun the migration process, and there was adequate information to make note of specific trends developing among migrating libraries. The review also included a section on the importance of public libraries to ILS vendors and the trends that appeared involving public libraries and ILS vendors, as well as the needs of variously sized and funded public libraries.
- Capturing the Migrating Customer, by Marshall Breeding
This is Library Journal's review of the 2001 ILS marketplace. This article dates to before the current wave of migrations, so there is no real reporting on migrations. The concentration of this year's review is on what ILS vendors were doing to fulfill the expanded online needs of libraries. Beginning around 2000, there became greater needs for online functionality of integrated library systems; since the legacy systems were not as well-equipped to handle these new needs, a large wave of migrations from legacy systems broke beginning in 2001. The tables in this year's review were arranged differently from those in subsequent years, as the companies were listed alphabetically and included all of a company's products in one section of the table, as opposed to arranging the companies in order of customers and sales. This layout is good for determining the parent company for a specific ILS, but it makes it difficult for a reader to determine the leading companies in the marketplace.
©Nathan Verilla 2005