Documents, Databases, News, and Commentary

Libary Perceptions 2020: Results of the 13th International Survey of Library Automation

The thirteenth edition of the International Survey of Library Automation presents the latest data
on how libraries perceive the effectiveness of the strategic technology systems upon which they
depend for their daily operations and to fulfill the expectations of their patrons.
This report presents and interprets survey responses gathered from November 2019 through February 2020.
Repeating the survey annually reveals interesting trends and insights into the companies and products involved.
The survey focuses primarily on integrated library systems and library services platforms as the applications
used to acquire, describe, manage, and provide access to their collections. It also assesses the
quality of support given from the respective vendor and probes interest in migrating to new
solutions and attitudes toward open source alternatives.

Several themes are evident in the last few editions of the perceptions survey.
Large libraries of all types have complex requirements and evaluate their systems on a much harsher
scale than smaller organizations.
Presenting results without regard to size categories would give misleading impressions.
Products designed for small libraries would not be sucessful among larger and more complex
institutions, despite superlative ratings by the small libraries that use them.

Conventional integrated library systems dominate public libraries,
with top scores going to proprietary products in the largest tier and to those based on
commercially supported open source software in the mid-size category. Small and very
small public libraries also favored proprietary ILS products.
In the academic library sector, survey results reveal notable patterns regarding
library services platforms. These products received strong marks in most categories
but are not rated as highly for managing print resources than legacy ILS products.
Small libraries give superlative scores–with little differentiation among question categories–to
products able to meet their basic requirements without complex features they don’t need.

(Library Technology Guides, March 5, 2020)

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ProQuest to Acquire Innovative Interfaces

In a move that further consolidates the library technology industry, Ex Libris has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Innovative Interfaces, Inc. from its private equity investors. Since December 2015, Ex Libris has been owned by ProQuest. In addition to its role as a major content provider to libraries, ProQuest is now responsible for a growing portfolio of library technology products, including major systems for resource management, content discovery, materials acquisition, reading list integration, and research services. While ProQuest faces major competition for each of its product categories, this move substantially strengthens its position in the sector and broadens its scope to include public libraries.

(Smart Libraries Newsletter, January 2020)

FOLIO Crosses New Thresholds

The initiative to develop FOLIO as an open source library services platform has been underway since 2016 and has continued to cross important milestones. The software has continued to advance in its functionality and completeness, leading to its first production migration, selections in formal procurement processes, with other libraries waiting in the wings for future implementation.

(Smart Libraries Newsletter, November 2019)

Ex Libris Acquires RapidILL

In a move that expands its exiting involvement in resource sharing for academic libraries, Ex Libris has acquired RapidILL from Colorado State University. This acquisition expands the company’s existing strategy to develop resource sharing products based on its Alma library services platform. RapidILL will continue as a service available to all libraries regardless of the automation systems used. Ex Libris and Colorado State University position this acquisition as an opportunity for RapidILL to see faster software development and to expand its presence globally.

(Smart Libraries Newsletter, August 2019)

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Library Systems Report: Cycles of innovation

The library technology field continues to see modest growth overall, though that growth is unevenly distributed among companies. Large companies with expanding portfolios of products and services are giving new shape to the landscape. Despite the dominance of a few globally diverse and large companies, midsized and small companies continue to hold their own and in some cases thrive. Massive companies such as Follett, ProQuest/Ex Libris, and EBSCO represent formidable competition for any challenger in their markets. SirsiDynix and Innovative Interfaces continue to retain and attract diverse libraries to their evolving integrated library system (ILS)–centric product portfolios.

It’s a complex industry, with different business and technology trends running simultaneously, often along divergent paths. Economic prospects are low risk, with adequate room for new business opportunities. It is an industry of established companies and few start-ups. It resists new entrants or even the advancement of local or regional companies to the global sphere. The global market for library companies must be seen in the context of client saturation. Almost all libraries that fall within the ranks of eligible customers have at least some level of automation infrastructure in place. In such a zero-sum economy, the success of one company comes at the direct expense of another.

(American Libraries, May 1, 2019)

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Perceptions 2018: An International Survey of Library Automation

This twelfth edition of the International Survey of Library Automation presents the latest data
on how libraries perceive the effectiveness of the strategic technology systems upon which they
depend for their daily operations and to fulfill the expectations of their patrons.
This report presents and interprets survey responses gathered from November 2018 through February 2019.
The survey focuses primarily on integrated library systems and library services platforms as the applications
used to acquire, describe, manage, and provide access to their collections. It also assesses the
quality of support given from the respective vendor and probes interest in migrating to new
solutions and attitudes toward open source alternatives.

3,549 libraries completed this year’s survey, providing sufficient data to focus the analysis
more on each category of library type and size rather than aggregating across all responses.
Libraries of different sizes and types bring different expectations to their systems, making
it essential to segment survey results to make meaningful comparisons and extract trends.
The functional requirements of public, academic, school, and other types of libraries overlap
to a certain extent, but in other areas each has distinctive, if not contradictory, functionality.
Some of the products represented in the survey have been designed for specific sectors.
For those used by multiple types of libraries, the analysis of the survey results by size
and type of organization provides an opportunity to observe any differences in satisfaction
across these categories.

Several themes are evident in the last few editions of the perceptions survey.
Large libraries of all types have complex requirements and evaluate their systems on a much harsher
scale than smaller organizations. Conventional integrated library systems dominate public libraries,
with top scores going to proprietary products in the largest tier and to those based on
commercially supported open source software in the mid-size category. Small and very
small public libraries also favored proprietary ILS products. In the academic library
sector, survey results reveal interesting patterns regarding the newer generation of
library services platforms. These products received strong marks in most categories
but are perceived as less capable for managing print resources than legacy ILS products.
Small libraries give superlative scores–with little differentiation among question categories–to
products able to meet their basic requirements without complex features they don’t need.

I appreciate the time given by all the libraries that responded to the survey
this year and in its previous iterations. Each response contributes to a growing body of
data available for the broader library community to explore as they consider their options
regarding these strategic technology products. Libraries have always relied on recommendations
from their peers as they make system decisions. This survey provides a large aggregation
of evaluative data that can complement more in-depth conversations that libraries
considering a system would have with specific reference sites.

(Library Technology Guides, February 10, 2019)

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