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The purpose of this paper is to inform librarians about the advanced features of the next generation library systems called library management services. It is time to ask if and when a library should move on to the new system.

The author looked into each new system for evaluation and analysis.

The next generation library systems include Alma from Ex Libris, Intota from Serials Solutions, Kuali OLE from the Kuali Foundation, Sierra from Innovative Interfaces, and Worldshare from OCLC. The new systems are designed with many advanced features such as electronic resources management, license management, user driven acquisitions, trial database management, statistic reporting, and more.

A search for relevant literature from the past three years has yielded no publications or data on the evaluation and analysis of the new library systems. Therefore, the information in this article is original.

This is a case study on the opportunities provided by Open Source library systems and the experience of delivering these systems through a shared service.

This chapter derives from desk research, interviews, and direct involvement in the project. The format is a case study, setting out a detailed timeline of events with information that can be applied in other settings.

This chapter presents reflections on the value and limitations of collaboration amongst libraries and librarians on an innovative approach to library systems and technologies. It also presents reflections on lessons learned from the processes and detailed discussion of the success factors for shared services and the reasons why such initiatives may not result in the outcomes predicted at the start.

Libraries and IT services considering Open Source and shared service approaches to provision will find material in this study useful when planning their projects.

The nature of collaboration and collaborative working is studied and observations made about the way that outcomes cannot always be predicted or controlled. In a genuine collaboration, the outcome is determined by the interactions between the partners and is unique to the specifics of that collaboration.

The case study derives from interviews, written material and direct observation not generally in the public domain, providing a strong insider’s view of the activity.

Recently emerged Software as a Service (SaaS)‐based services show that it is possible to curtail cost on operation and maintenance and also to reduce additional expenses required for system upgrades. It also allows creating new values by consolidating resources of individual users on a provider's platform, which is effectively applicable to library networks for resource sharing. The aim of this study is to present a next‐generation SaaS‐based library management system and its operational model. In addition, the paper seeks to discuss the availability of knowledge‐based services for the system.

First, this study analyzes trends in open library environments, as well as issues in the operation of library management systems. Second, it examines differences between reference models of SaaS and those of ASP solutions, and case studies on recent applications of the approaches are also performed. Third, the study forecasts effects expected when the SaaS model will be fully applied to the library network. And finally, the study presents functional requirements and an operation model of SaaS‐based library management systems.

In this study a model of a SaaS‐based system which can apply library network is presented. The model is composed of: SaaS platform comprising application service layer, common service layer and service resources; network service platform to support information sharing between participating libraries and local libraries clients.

The SaaS‐based system will enhance the economic efficiency of local library operations and make available new functionalities on an on‐demand basis. Also, its feature, such as sharing a single platform among several libraries, facilitates resource sharing and knowledge‐based services.

Dissatisfaction with the online public access catalog (in particular) and the integrated library system (in general) have prompted a variety of responses from libraries and library automation vendors. The purpose of this paper is to summarize and examine these responses to get some sense of the library automation market's “trajectory.”

The approach is to write a discursive essay on: the “broken” online public access catalogs; a review of the literature about online catalog features, limitations and remedies; customer (library) responses; (library automation) vendor responses, including a review of recent market surveys, and an attempted meta‐analysis of some of those surveys; and an attempt to redefine the ILS.

The findings suggest the market “trajectory” is towards products other than the “traditional” ILS. Literature describing ILS faults and remedies may be productively applied to these other products.

The attempted meta‐analysis is not statistically valid, so it can only be used as “loosely” descriptive of the library automation market. The impact and potential utility of social computing tools is not addressed.

A redefined ILS includes the wide range of services libraries provide or attempt to provide, rather than operating within the narrow definition of the traditional ILS. The essay provides a wider range of products for inclusion in requests for proposals for new library systems, and suggests new criteria to evaluate library systems as a whole, and the constituent parts of such systems.

The findings, if applied to the creation of new requests for proposals for new library automation products, may make it easier for libraries to state their needs, and for vendors to create new systems to meet those needs.

The infrastructure for supplying information resources to higher education and research has gone through dramatic changes during the last 15 years. The amount of electronic resources available and library systems that handle them have multiplied leaving libraries in a challenging situation. There is a changing definition of library collections, changing business models for owning and accessing materials as well as a shift in the architecture of library systems. As new unified services for libraries, where information resources and systems are merged, there is a need for libraries to re‐evaluate the current situation and what led up to it. The evaluation is still in progress but this paper seeks to summarize Chalmers' evaluation so far, highlighting key findings, trends and possible strategies for the future.

Chalmers University Library has initiated a system survey with the ambition of reviewing current workflows, quantifying and defining the crucial elements of today's systems with the goal of finding what is actually needed in the near future.

The process of mapping out the current systems situation, looking at usage statistics and emerging technologies/trends has helped the library in identifying different strategies for facing the next generation of library systems.

Libraries looking for a migration path to a library services platform can use the Chalmers case study to benchmark and compare situations. The library system landscape is shared by many in similar situations all trying to figure out when and if to migrate their systems.

The Chalmers case study is an assessment of the library system landscape for one library. When mapped out the drawbacks of dealing with multiple information silos and trying to push and pull data between systems is apparent. There is a real need for change based on current workflows.

The purpose of this article is to describe the impressive features of the new integrated library systems in development.

The article highlights this next wave of ILS development, and its alignment with library practices and workflows.

The article is optimistic about the nature of these technology developments.

The article provides an overview of these new systems. The article also updates readers on the status of the copyright infringement case pending against Georgia State University.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the various features and functions of Koha, Libsys, NewGenLib and Virtua with the help of specially designed evaluation checklist and rank them based on features/functions of integrated library management system (ILMS).

The evaluation approach taken in this paper is similar to that of Singh and Sanaman (2012) and Madhusudhan and Shalini (2014) with minor modifications, comprising 306 features/functions and categorized as ten broad categories.

The paper explores different features of open source (OS) and commercial ILMS, which reveals that Virtua got the highest total score of 218 (77.86 per cent), followed by Koha ILMS with 204 score (72.86 per cent). Interestingly, NewGenLib got the lowest total score, that is, 163 (58.21 per cent). ILMS under study are lagging behind in exploiting the full potential of the Web 2.0 features, including cloud computing features, and needs to be addressed in their future development.

It is hoped that both the OS and commercial software will attend to the lacunae and soon develop fully functional Web 2.0/3.0 and cloud-based technologies.

The findings of this paper will not only guide the librarians in the selection of a good ILMS, which can cater to the needs of their libraries, but also abreast the knowledge of evaluation of ILMS for the students of Library and Information Science. And the findings will help the ILMS vendors to know the limitations of their ILMS, so that they can overcome the limitations faced by users and improve their products.

Libraries in Africa are adopting technology at a fast pace. However, literature has provided enough evidence of the many challenges libraries on the continent are facing in the use of the adopted information technology of which information systems (ISs) are major components. Literature also does not provide evidence of IS standard, policy or guideline at both national and international levels as a benchmark for the use of these systems. Therefore, this paper aims to propose an IS standard guideline as a guide for libraries in Africa to develop IS policies, standards or guidelines to help in effective use of IS in libraries.

The researchers based their proposed standard guideline on the findings from their earlier research works and evidence from other existing literature as has been reviewed in this paper.

Findings from the literature revealed that libraries in Africa face a number of challenges in the use of IS which can be categorised into four main areas, namely, financial challenges, technological and infrastructural challenges, human resource challenges and organizational challenges.

This paper proposed an IS standard guideline to serve as a guide for libraries in Africa to develop IS policies, standards or guidelines to help in effective use of IS in libraries.