Integrated library system

An integrated library system (ILS), also known as a library management system (LMS), is an enterprise resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned, orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed.

An ILS usually comprises a relational database, software to interact with that database, and two graphical user interfaces (one for patrons, one for staff). Most ILSes separate software functions into discrete programs called modules, each of them integrated with a unified interface. Examples of modules might include:

• acquisitions (ordering, receiving, and invoicing materials)
• cataloging (classifying and indexing materials)
• circulation (lending materials to patrons and receiving them back)
• serials (tracking magazine and newspaper holdings)
• the OPAC (public interface for users)

Each patron and item has a unique ID in the database that allows the ILS to track its activity.

Larger libraries use an ILS to order and acquire, receive and invoice, catalog, circulate, track and shelve materials. Smaller libraries, such as those in private homes or non-profit organizations (like churches or synagogues, for instance), often forgo the expense and maintenance required to run an ILS, and instead use a library computer system.^{[citation needed]}

History

Pre-computerization

Prior to computerization, library tasks were performed manually and independently from one another. Selectors ordered materials with ordering slips, cataloguers manually catalogued items and indexed them with the card catalog system (in which all bibliographic data was kept on a single index card), and users signed books out manually, indicating their name on cue cards which were then kept at the circulation desk. Early mechanization came in 1936, when the University of Texas began using a punch card system to manage library circulation. While the punch card system allowed for more efficient tracking of loans, library services were far from being integrated, and no other library task was affected by this change.

1960s: the influence of computer technologies

Following this, the next big innovation came with the advent of MARC standards in the 1960s which coincided with the growth of computer technologies – library automation was born. From this point onwards, libraries began experimenting with computers, and, starting in the late 1960s and continuing into the 1970s, bibliographic services utilizing new online technology and the shared MARC vocabulary entered the market; these included OCLC (1967), Research Libraries Group (which has since merged with OCLC), and Washington Library Network (which became Western Library Network and is also now part of OCLC).

1970s-1980s: the early integrated library system

The 1970s can be characterized by improvements in computer storage as well as in telecommunications. As a result of these advances, ‘turnkey systems on microcomputers,’ known more commonly as integrated library systems (ILS) finally appeared. These systems included necessary hardware and software which allowed the connection of major circulation tasks, including circulation control and overdue notices. As the technology developed, other library tasks could be accomplished through ILS as well, including acquisition, cataloguing, reservation of titles, and monitoring of serials.

1990s-2000s: the growth of the Internet

With the growth of the Internet throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, ILS begun allowing users to more actively engage with their libraries through OPACs and online web-based portals, where users could log into their library accounts to reserve or renew books as well as authenticate themselves for access to library-subscribed online databases. Inevitably, during this time, the ILS market grew exponentially. By 2002, the ILS industry averaged sales of approximately US$500 million annually, compared to just US$50 million in 1982.

Mid 2000s-Present: increasing costs and customer dissatisfaction

By the mid to late 2000s, ILS vendors had increased not only the number of services offered but also their prices, leading to some dissatisfaction among many smaller libraries. At the same time, open source ILS was in its early stages of testing. Some libraries began turning to such open source ILSs as Koha and Evergreen. Common reasons noted were to avoid vendor lock in, avoid license fees, and participate in software development. Freedom from vendors also allowed libraries to prioritize needs according to urgency, as opposed to what their vendor can offer. Libraries which have moved to open source ILS have found that vendors are now more likely to provide quality service in order to continue a partnership since they no longer have the power of owning the ILS software and tying down libraries to strict contracts. This has been the case with the SC LENDS consortium. Following the success of Evergreen for the Georgia PINES library consortium, the South Carolina State Library along with some local public libraries formed the SC LENDS consortium in order to share resources and to take advantage of the open source nature of the Evergreen ILS to meet their specific needs. By October 2011, just 2 years after SC LENDS began operations, 13 public library systems across 15 counties had already joined the consortium, in addition to the South Caroline State Library. Librarytechnology.org does an annual survey of over 1,500 libraries and noted in 2008 2% of those surveyed used open source ILS, in 2009 the number increased to 8% and in 2010(most recent year available) 12% of the libraries polled had adopted open source ILSs.

Examples

Open-source

• Evergreen
• CDS Invenio
• Koha
• NewGenLib
• PhpMyBibli
• Greenstone
• OpenBiblio

Proprietary

• Ex Libris Group, Aleph and Voyager (latter acquired from Endeavor Information Systems in 2006)
• Millennium, former Innopac, from Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
• SirsiDynix, Symphony -- current version and Unicorn -- a legacy system.
• Library•Solution, Library•Solution for Schools, and CARL•X from The Library Corporation
• LibraryWorld
• NOSA
• EOS International
• SydneyPLUS International
• Talis (UK and Ireland)
• Horizon from former company Dynix, later absorbed by SirsiDynix
• Virtua, former VTLS, from VTLS Inc.
• Voyager from former company Endeavor Information Systems, later acquired by Ex Libris
• (Polish) MOL, Patron and MOLIK - interface created for children

Legacy

• NOTIS

See also

• Library computer system
• OPAC
• List of next-generation catalogs
• History of Library Automation

Further reading

• Rubin, Richard E. Foundations of Library and Information Science. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 2004.

External links

• Library Technology Guides, a site that includes a directory of companies that produce integrated library systems and a directory of libraries that includes data on the ILS used in each library
• A historical chart of major ILS vendors
• MARC Records, Systems and Tools : Network Development and MARC Standards Office, Library of Congress
• College Center for Library Automation
• Higher Education Library Technology,(HELibTech) a wiki supported by SCONUL (Society of College National and University Libraries) that covers many aspects of library technology and lists technologies in use in UK Higher Education
• Local Government Library Technology, (LGLibTech) a wiki that covers many aspects of library technology and lists technologies in use in UK public libraries