Anne Silva 631 9/10/2010 Preliminary Research in Selecting an Integrated Library System for a Public Library While looking at possible Integrated Library Systems for our library, I started with a broad view of the products out there and narrowed my search to a few that seem as if they’d best fit the needs of our users and our library. I used Pamela R. Cibbarelli’s Article “Helping you Buy ILS “ to start my preliminary decision making. I also used the University of Iowa’s plan and timetable available on their website. I first narrowed my search to ILSs that specialized in public libraries and included a few that weren’t directly marketed to public libraries but may serve our staff and users well because of certain features. I then looked at how long these products and their developers and distributors have been on the market. This was a preliminary step in exploring their longevity. I also looked at the number of sites, given in Cibbarelli’s article, that were using the software. The popularity of a given system helped analyze future success. My logic in this was that the more sites a product had the more money they were making and the less likely they were to go under. With the larger corporations who have more sites to answer to, if something should happen with respect to its financial institutions, it may work out better for a large group of users teaming together than a select few using a small system. I also consulted the individual products websites for information. The bigger companies are less likely to change names or undergo other major changes due to acquisitions and mergers, so this also played a role in my preference for the larger firms.
I then looked at features such as usability, updates and support, and library control over functions, options and system decisions. I also looked at the customizability of the product, with the theory that the more customizable products will be more likely to meet the needs of librarians and staff in different departments and the patrons in which we serve. After doing this, I narrowed my search to three possible Integrated Library Systems that I suggest for our library: Alexandria, Polaris, and SirsiDynix Symphony. I was drawn to Alexandria because of it’s very customer-friendly website, product-specific demos and ease of use. According to its website Alexandria, and COMPanion Corporation, the company that develops and distributes it, is debt free , works with over 10,000 libraries and has been distributing Alexandria for twenty years. They offer three different configurations, a central union, a distributed union, and a multidata station solution option. I recommend the latter because, as the website states, it only requires one server, one backup and one update spot, but also allows the librarians to keep their autonomy. Alexandria is most popular in elementary schools but because of its ease of use, aesthetics, and simplicity it may serve our patrons well. Polaris is another system I recommend. It’s in over 1,000 libraries worldwide and has been in existence for over thirty years. I found it’s extranet features and it’s sense of community between libraries very appealing. According to its website, it’s one of the first ILSs to implement an extensive program of metrics, resulting in most customer issues being resolved within twenty-four hours. Polaris seems to be very customizable and offers great features for users, such as a “did you mean” feature popular in Internet searching and the option to get due dates and updates by email.
My last recommendation is SirsiDynix Symphony, the next generation after Unicorn. SirsiDynix is one of the best-known names in the industry and a leader in ILS technology. It’s website boasts that it is present in more libraries than any other enterprise library system. It has more than 4,000 customers and is in over 20,000 libraries worldwide. One of the most attractive aspects of Symphony from a staff standpoint is the SirsiDynex Mentor, a self-paced tutorial for new users. It has a vast online account system for patrons, where almost anything can be done from a computer. It also has a great outreach system for patrons who cannot physically make it to the library to check out materials and allows for online sources to be accessed remotely. Again, Symphony was attractive because of the high level of customizability. In order to move into the more in-depth selection process, I recommend that a team be gathered to help make a final decision. I recommend that the team be made of people in different phases of their professional career and that at least one person from every department be on the team as to serve as the liaison between the ILS selection team and their department. I also recommend having open “town hall” style meetings where anyone who’s interested can come learn about the process and give their input. I would then divide research up among the team and then schedule a meeting to discuss results. Based on the evidence, I would recommend creating an RFP for the vendors who are most likely to meet our needs. I would schedule visits with libraries who use those systems that were still of interest. Next, I would contact the companies who distribute the products and ask for library specific demonstrations of the products, with a presentation geared toward how their products can help us overcome unique issues and requests within our library. This
meeting would be open to all and a formal system for input would be in place. Then I would call a team meeting, present the data and input, and then make a final decision. I have included a list of sources that may help in the decision making process.
Works Cited (And Other Useful Sources) “Alexandra Video Tour”. GoAlexandria. 20010. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. < http://goalexandria.com/tour/video.html> Cibbarelli, Pamela. "Cibbarelli's surveys: user-ratings of COMPanion's Alexandria software." Computers in Libraries 14.3 (1994): 30. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. Cibarelli, Pamela. "Products and Services by VENDOR: Cibbarelli's." 25. Information Today Inc., 2006. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. Cibbarelli, Pamela R. "Helping You Buy ILS. (Cover story)." Computers in Libraries 28.9 (2008): 6-53.Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. Koneru, Indira. "Integrated Library System: Selection and Design." DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology 25.5/6 (2005): 3-9. Library Lit & Inf Full Text. Web. 10 Sep. 2010. “Polaris Library Systems”. GIS Information Systems. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. < http://www.gisinfosystems.com/products-services/ils-system.html> “Products:Symphony” SirsiDynix. 2010. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. <http://www.sirsidynix.com/products/symphony> Cohn, John M. and. Kelsey, Ann L and Fiels, Keith Michael. (1992) Planning for automation: a how-to-do-it manual for librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lesson 3. How do you evaluate integrated library systems? ICT for library and Information Professionals: A Training Package for Developing Countriesâ&#x20AC;? United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. N.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. <www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/ictlip/module2>