The implementation of a next generation library management system at the University of Malta Library

Abstract

In today’s day and age of advanced information technology, next generation library systems are becoming increasingly significant within libraries, particularly academic ones. Indeed, many libraries across the world are revaluating the performance of their library technology systems, designed for the accomplishment of daily library operations. The core component driving such activity, has been the adoption of integrated library systems (ILSs), which focus on the applications that libraries use to acquire, describe, manage and provide access to their collections. Few years ago, at the core of libraries were print resources, and ILSs were built accordingly to meet such collection needs. However, libraries today have exponentially expanded their collections, the vast majority of which now embody electronic resources. Since it has been revealed that a good number of integrated library system (ILS) products are unable to reconfigure well enough to handle the integration of workflows for both print and electronic resources, a new set of products has emerged. These next generation library systems, also known as library services platforms, address the latest offerings in computer technologies and architecture, and offer a radical approach in order to streamline the management processes and workflows of electronic resources. The aim of this long-essay is to carry out a study on the implementation of a next generation library management system, Alma, at the University of Malta (UM) Library. To address this aim, three objectives were constructed. The objectives seek to establish the need to implement a next generation library system, explore the process of the implementation project and identify the support and training required. A qualitative case study approach, with the common practice of open-ended questions were employed for this study. Subsequently, as many libraries are still in the process of implementing a new library system, this study could also be of contribution to other academic libraries as it will provide insights on the experience of the UM Library.