ERM and ILS

Introduction

In this section we dive deeper into electronic resource management systems (ERMS), integrated library systems (ILS), and library service platforms (LSP). Specifically, we seek to:

  • Understand the ILS and LSP. We define integrated library systems and library service platforms and highlight their roles in managing physical and digital assets.
  • Examine the modular structure of ILS/LSP. We look at how these products are structured into modules (acquisitions, circulation, cataloging, etc.) to handle library tasks and processes.
  • Learn about the evolution of user interfaces of these systems. We will discuss the transition from OPACs (online public access catalogs) to modern discovery systems, and how these systems enhance search capabilities and integrate external sources.
  • Introduce the role of ERMS (electronic resource management systems). We learn how ERMS assist in managing the digital assets and licenses of a library.
  • Explore the interconnectedness of systems. We specifically explore the relationship between ILS, LSP, and ERMS, and how they work together to manage a library's collection and provide access to users.
  • Provide access to practical applications of these systems. We will use real-life examples of these systems to see how librarians use them. This will provide insight into how the shift from print to digital resources has influence library organization and workflows.
  • Discuss trends and future directions. We will briefly touch on trends like the growing interest in open-source ERMS solutions and the impact of cloud-based systems on library management.

ILS, the Integrated Library System

ILS is an acronym for an integrated library system. We were introduced to the newer term library services platform (LSP) in the previous section. Although similar in ways (Breeding, 2015; Breeding, 2020), the latter are becoming more common because of how they handle electronic resources. The main distinction is that the LSP is more focused on digital and electronic resources, and the ILS is primarily an extension of the card catalog system model.

Regardless, both the ILS and the LSP are "used by librarians to manage their internal work and external services," such as "acquiring and describing collection resources, making those resources available to their users through appropriate channels, and other areas of their [resource management] operations" (Breeding, 2020, para. 1). We begin by discussing the modular structure of these systems.

The Modular Administration of Digital and Electronic Resources

ILS/LSP products are used for multiple tasks, and these tasks are divided up into modules. These modules are accessed in the ILS/LSP through an administrative interface. Some of the common modules among these products include:

In the above list, I've linked to the open source documentation from Evergreen, which is an ILS. LibLime's Bibliovation product offers comparably named modules for discovery, circulation, cataloging, serials, acquisitions, and systems administration. LibLime is a LSP. Other ILS/LSP solutions offer specific modules dedicated to other items in the list, or those functions might be integrated into one of the above modules.

New modules appear in LSPs that take advantage of LSP abilities and digital assets. For example, the Alma LSP provides modules dedicated to acquisitions, resources, discovery (via Primo), fulfillment, administration, and analytics. Such modules are a reflection of the LSP's focus on digital and electronic assets. Please take a moment and read about these modules in links provided. Specifically visit the Alma and LibLime links to learn more about their specific LSP products.

User Interface

Each of you are familiar with an ILS/LSP from a user perspective. Some of you are familiar with these systems from a librarian perspective. In your lifetimes, you have used OPACs (online public access catalogs) or discovery systems like InfoKat. You have likely conducted a search for a serial (e.g., journal), and you have most definitely borrowed a book from a library. The ILS OPAC or the LSP discovery systems makes these end user functions possible.

Until recently, the OPAC was the primary way to locate and access items in library collections. However, in LSPs the OPAC has evolved into a discovery system. This difference is based on what and how it searches its records and other factors. The Encyclopedia of Knowledge Organization describes the differences as such:

OPACs replicated and extended the functionality of the card catalogues they largely replaced in providing a finding aid to the books, journals, audiovisual material and other holdings of a particular library. The term discovery system has come into use in the early Twenty-first century to describe public-facing electronic catalogues which use the technology of the Internet search engines to expand the scope of the OPAC to include not only library-held content, including entries for journal articles and book chapters that were not typically part of traditional library catalogues, but also material held elsewhere which may be of interest to clients (Wells, 2021).

In other words, OPACS generally searched against pre-defined fields recorded in MARC (i.e., author, title, subject, etc.). These collections include print works but later electronic ones too held by the library. The form didn't matter as long as there was a MARC record for it. A discovery system can search additional text, if available. It can more easily link to items not in the library collection but which can be acquired through interlibrary loan.

A discovery system can also integrate with bibliographic databases and return results indexed by those databases. This saves the user from having to know about specific topical databases. For example, UK Libraries provides access to nearly 750 databases, and having a discovery system that can access those is beneficial. However, this does not mean that a discovery system is aware of all of a library's collections or all of its databases. And it's not always clear what's left out.

In summary, some key differences for the user are:

  • OPACs primarily search cataloged fields in MARC records.
  • Discovery systems integrate external sources (like database) into the search process and are able to do some full text searching.

In Totality

From their ancient beginnings, these ILS/LSPs, as Stephen Salmon stated in 1975, are "non-traditional" ways of doing traditional things, such as "acquisitions, cataloging, and circulation," but which has now become fairly routine!

Electronic resource librarians might work extensively with specific resources or modules in order to administer the library's digital assets (e.g., contracts, etc.). However, all librarians use one or more of the ILS/LSP modules at some point. For example, when I worked in reference at a small academic library, I used the Millennium ILS to check out books to users, to fix borrowing issues, and to search for works in the OPAC. Later I primarily used the cataloging module when I moved to technical services. What a librarian uses frequently depends on the organizational structure of a library and their role in that library. As our reading by Miller, Sharp, and Jones (2014) show, the rise in electronic resources has influenced the ways librarians structure their organizations. Much of those organizational structure were originally informed by the dictates of a "print-based world".

In summary, the administrative interface includes modules to manage collections, patron accounts, etc. The end user interfaces are for people looking for information. Combined they make up the totality of the ILS/LSP software. In short:

  • an administrative interface is used by librarians to manage tasks provided through modules.
  • a public interface, such as an OPAC or discovery system, is used by librarians and patrons to access the library's collections.

While ILS/LSP solutions are essential for managing physical and digital collections, ERM systems play a pivotal role in managing the library's digital resources and their associated licenses.

ERMS, the Electronic Resource Management System

ERMS is an acronym for electronic resource management system. Its function is born from the need to manage a library's digital assets, for example, the licenses that a library has signed. In order to manage assets like licenses, the ERMS can keep track of the signatories, the terms of the license/contracts, specific documents related to these processes, and more.

Licenses will be discussed in a later section, but they deal with the terms of access, embargo periods, multi-user access limits, length of access, retention and archival of content, and more.

An ERMS may or may not be integrated with a library's ILS software. But it's more likely integrated in a LSP solution. The Alma LSP, for example, is a LSP that also provides electronic resource management. In short, a library that uses an ILS may be using a separate ERMS product. However, a library that uses an LSP may be using the LSP for electronic resource management.

Like the ILS/LSP, ERM software is generally divided into modules. These modules focus the librarian's work on particular duties to create workflows and knowledge management systems. In an ERM like the open source CORAL system, the modules include:

  • Resources: a module "provides a robust database for tracking data related to your organization's resources ..." and "provides a customizable workflow tool that can be used to track, assign, and complete workflow tasks."
  • Licensing: a module for a "flexible document management system" that provides options to manage licensing agreements and to automate parts of the process.
  • Organizations: this module acts as a type of advanced directory to manage the organizations that impact or are involved in the management of electronic resources, including "publishers, vendors, consortia, and more."
  • Usage Statistics: a module providing librarians with usage statistics of digital assets by platform and by publisher. Supports COUNTER and SUSHI. We'll cover COUNTER and SUSHI later in the semester, but as a preamble:
    • COUNTER "sets and maintains the standard known as the Code of Practice and ensures that publishers and vendors submit annually to a rigorous independent audit", and,
    • SUSHI is a type of protocol to automate collecting data on usage statistics.
  • Management: this module provides a document management system aimed at "storing documents, such as policies, processes, and procedures, related to the overall management of electronic resources".

Readings

In our readings this week, we have three articles that speak to ILS/LSP and ERM software solutions and the relationship between the two.

As Fournie (2020) notes, the electronic resource market is consolidating into a few heavyweights. Yet this trend does not have to force libraries into solutions that lead to vendor lock-in or acceptance of walled gardens. As such, there has been a growing interest in open-source alternatives, especially among libraries seeking more customizable solutions. In the process, Fournie (2020) describes two ERM solutions: Coral and Folio. The author's descriptions are helpful in understanding what these two software solutions are capable of providing.

The readings by Miller, Sharp, and Jones (2014) and Bahnmaier, Sherfey, and Hatfield (2020) provides context about how these technologies impact librarianship. Miller et al. (2014) describe a case study that shows how electronic resources have impacted organizational structure, job titles, budgets, and more. Likewise Bahnmaier et al. (2020) discuss aspects of this and reflect on changes in library staffing and how this raises the importance of the library-vendor relationship.

Conclusion

With that background in mind, in this week's forum, I'll introduce you to the following systems:

We will see what services and modules they provide, and how they function. Be sure to visit the links in this page, especially any documentation. I'll ask that you log into the relevant services, test the demos sites, or watch the demo videos. This will help get some hands-on experience with them and also demystify what each do.

Further Reading

Addendum

In prior semesters, we read articles by Wang and Dawes (2012) and Wilson (2011). I replaced those readings back in the Fall 2022 semester, but for those interested, I briefly describe them below.

In the article by Wang and Dawes (2012), the authors describe the "next generation integrated library system", which should meet the criteria that include the ability to merge ILS software with ERM software. ERM software solutions exist because integrated library systems (ILS) failed to include functions to manage digital assets. Basically, the ILS was still behaving with a print-mindset, so to speak, and was growing stagnant. Around the time the article was published, more ILS and ERM software began moving to the cloud, as was common in other software markets. This changed the game because it placed a burden on software companies to maintain their software. Based on demand and need, the LSP was created as a next-generation ILS that included ERM functionality. So it's likely that even though the LSP might replace the ILS/ERM combo someday, it could be that we'll live in a dual world where some libraries use a LSP and some use the LSP/ERM combo. Currently, this is often reflected in library types: academic libraries are moving more towards LSPs while public and other libraries use ILSs and other solutions to manage their electronic resources.

Despite the technical aspects of these solutions, at its basic, both ILS/LSP and ERM software solutions focus on managing assets (books, serials, realia, etc) so that librarians can organize and users and librarians can retrieve those assets. There's no requirement to use any solution offered by a library vendor, and that's the point of the Wilson (2011) article, which shows how regular software can be used to function as a homegrown solution for creating and implementing an ERM work flow.

References to Readings

Bahnmaier, S., Sherfey, W., & Hatfield, M. (2020). Getting more bang for your buck: Working with your vendor in the age of the shrinking staff. The Serials Librarian, 78(1–4), 228–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/0361526X.2020.1717032

Fournie, J. (2020). Managing electronic resources without buying into the library vendor singularity. The Code4Lib Journal, 47. https://journal.code4lib.org/articles/14955

Miller, L. N., Sharp, D., & Jones, W. (2014). 70% and climbing: E-resources, books, and library restructuring. Collection Management, 39(2–3), 110–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2014.901200

Additional References

Anderson, E. K. (2014). Chapter 4: Electronic Resource Management Systems and Related Products. Library Technology Reports, 50(3), 30–42. https://journals.ala.org/index.php/ltr/article/view/4491

Breeding, M. (2015). Library Technology Reports, 51(4). Chapters 1-5. https://journals.ala.org/index.php/ltr/issue/view/509

Breeding, M. (2020). Smart libraries Q&A: Differences between ILS and LSP. Smart Libraries Newsletter, 40(10), 3–4. [https://librarytechnology.org/document/25609][breeding2022]

Hosburgh, N. (2016). Approaching discovery as part of a library service platform. In K. Varnum (Ed.), Exploring Discovery: The Front Door to your Library’s Licensed and Digitized Content. (pp. 15-25). Chicago, IL: ALA Editions. https://scholarship.rollins.edu/as_facpub/138/

Salmon, S. R. (1975). Library automation systems. New York: Marcel Dekker.

Wang, Y., & Dawes, T. A. (2012). The Next generation integrated library system: A promise fulfilled? Information Technology and Libraries, 31(3), 76–84. https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v31i3.1914

Wells, D. (2021). Online public access catalogues and library discovery systems. In B. Hjørland & C. Gnoli (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Knowledge Organization (Vol. 48, pp. 457–466). https://www.isko.org/cyclo/opac

Wilson, K. (2011). Beyond library software: New tools for electronic resources management. Serials Review, 37(4), 294–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/00987913.2011.10765404