1. Clientless and cloud-basedDiffer

1. Clientless and cloud-based
Different from the ILS, which is based on the client/server architecture, the next generation library system is in the cloud and therefore, does not require local client installation. Librarians are given a URL to log in remotely to the system. While all the systems are hosted services in the cloud, Encore also offers the option for local installation. Intota is subscription-based and offers “software as a service” (SaaS). SaaS is a modern business model with reduced cost for local support and system administration (Table II). The benefits of a clientless and cloud-based system are obvious, namely, reduced local maintenance and seamless systems upgrades without down time. The daily backup, system fine tuning, and server security are all done by the hosts. The access to the system is no longer limited to those workstations with the client software. The library staff has the freedom to access the system and perform their jobs from any networked location. On the other hand, such a setup will increase a library’s dependency on the internet. When the internet is down or the local network is out, the library will be cut off from its system.
2. Role-based login and unified workflows
While an ILS requires library staff to login to separate modules for tasks based on the division of work or library functions, all the new systems provide a platform for role-based unified workflows. Each user will have a role and an associated set of rights and permissions to perform certain tasks. The role is generally defined by those who have access to the system administration. The system identifies a librarian’s role by his login to a dashboard where all the tasks associated with the role are displayed. Therefore, an acquisitions librarian who also does occasional cataloging may log into see a list of buttons or links for acquisitions and cataloging tasks. Someone else who does system administration and who also works as a circulation supervisor may have circulation and system administrative buttons or links on his or her dashboard. A dashboard may also display statistics related to one’s work. A librarian can customize the dashboard by adding or deleting tools and tasks. Figures 2 and 3 are examples of the dashboard from Alma. Figure 4 is an example of Kuali OLE dashboard (Kuali Foundation, 2012). Role-based dashboard for unified workflows provides librarians a convenient approach to perform jobs that may traditionally get scattered in different modules.
3. The knowledge base
At the center of the new library systems is a knowledge base which stores important information needed for a library’s daily operations. The data in the knowledge base may include publisher and vendor profiles, information about electronic databases including their profiles and holdings, supply lists and pricing, as well as bibliographical records from member libraries and other big entities such as the Library of Congress and CONSER. The knowledge base serves as the information center for all library activities. An acquisitions librarian can search for an item that the library does not own, find the price and supplier, and click on the order link to purchase it directly from the publisher. A cataloging librarian also taps into the knowledge base for bibliographic records and cataloging guidelines or standards. An interlibrary loan and circulation librarian may use it for
borrowing and referral from member libraries. The knowledge base is the central intelligence or the brain of the next generation library systems that provide links to the outside world such as publishers, vendors, items, and other libraries. The current ILS does not have a knowledge base. Many tasks are done outside the ILS in disparate places. Kuali OLE, the only open source librarysystem,alsohasaknowledgebase called the Global Open Knowledgebase which is being developed thanks to a Mellon grant. For an open source system, the continued support and
updating of a knowledge base may be a challenge. The potential danger of a knowledge base lies in the fact that each system may develop its own knowledge base with different content and coverage. Therefore, libraries of one system may be limited in whatever the knowledge base offers within that system. It may be equally hard to compare knowledge bases across the systems. On the other hand, a knowledge base may be transferable across the systems. A library may have the option to use a system with the knowledge base developed for another system.
4. Electronic resources management
The most impressive aspect of the next-generation library systems is the ERM. The current ILS handles electronic resources the same way as print materials. Libraries have to seek ERM somewhere, and thus end up working in, or duplicating effort in disparate systems. Information about collections is fragmented or is at times in silos. One of the challenges today involves managing electronic full-text journals in databases. It is a daunting task to catalog the electronic journal titles in the databases, and therefore, they may not be in the OPAC. Even a discovery tool does not cover all the e-journal titles a library owns from its
subscription databases. This hinders, not expedites, information retrieval. The new systems make purchases and additions of electronic journals to a library’s collections simple. To acquire a database, one must first search for it in the knowledge base or choose the database from a pull down menu because the knowledge base already has the information. A click on the “Order” link in the database profile page will bring up a blank purchase order. After filling in the PO, another click on “Send” will send the purchase order directly to the vendor. An acquisitions librarian maintains a list of newly acquired databases and can add the database and related holdings to its collections within a few minutes. In Alma, the button is labeled “Activate”
and in Worldshare it is labeled as “Add Holdings”. Figure 5 is a snapshot of Worldshare where a librarian can add a database and all its e-journals by checking “In My Holdings”. Figure 6 is a snapshot of Intota and its ERM performing similar tasks (Burke, 2012). Once a database is activated, all the bibliographic records of the e-journals in the database will appear in the discovery layer. When the subscription is cancelled, and the database is deactivated, all the titles of the e-journals in the cancelled database will be withdrawn from the discovery layer. The same can be said about e-book collections. Here is an area where the division between cataloging and acquisitions is blurring. The ERM in the new system makes the acquisitions and cataloging of electronic materials much easier. It consolidates electronic and print materials into one workflow and one place for searching.
5. License management
All the next-generation library systems come with license management. Electronic resources librarians store license information in one space together with license terms and limitations. The location where the physical license is stored is recorded, and an electronic copy of the license may be attached as a PDF file. Each license can be linked to the corresponding databases and can be easily found. One can even set up an alert through the database subscription clerk prior to the expiration date of a database. Even though the license information has to be manually added, it is an improvement over using hanging folders as storage of license information. Some license management allows the standard journal usage statistics to be imported. So far, license management serves as a center to store license related data. It does not perform real-time control over the number of simultaneous access to a database. Nor does it serve as a proxy for off-campus authentication. The license management function in the new systems is purely informational.
6. User-driven acquisitions
“User-driven acquisitions” is a new concept that Intota has incorporated into its design. This is not a standard feature in all the new systems. When a user searches an item that his home library does not have, the discovery layer will display the item as available from its knowledge base that contains both regional holdings (shared data among a group of Intota libraries) and supply lists from publishers. A pop up form will allow the user to make a request to purchase this item. Based on his login identity, his request (along with many other requests by other patrons) will end up on the request list on the acquisitions librarian’s dashboard in his home library. The acquisitions librarian can choose a decision from a pull down menu as to what he or she wants to do with the request. The option may include “Order” or “Reject”. The requests can be filtered by price, patron status, and other criteria. This is a highly useful feature as user-driven acquisitions are becoming more popular among academic libraries. Figures 7 and 8 are snapshots from Intota. Figure 7 shows the pop up form in the discovery layer for patrons to fill out. Figure 8 shows the patron request list and related functions (Burke, 2012).
7. Trial database management
All libraries have trial databases from time to time. Trial database management is a feature in Alma. This is not a standard feature in all the new systems. In trial database manager, a list of databases for trial is displayed on the dashboard. Each trial database has a survey attached to it. Alma has a set of pre-composed questions in the survey that can be attached to each trial database. The user libraries can also add questions to the question pool or choose questions from the pool for use in a particular survey. All the questions in the pool may be reused for other trial databases. The patron data contains e-mails. Therefore, it is easy for the system to send out the survey to users by email. Users’ responses are automatically calculated and displayed with pre-composed recommen