A principled approach to
selecting an automated
library system
Alan Manifold
Introduction
Libraries have been selecting automated
systems long enough now for a number of
traditions to have developed around the
process. Most of these traditions are helpful and
appropriate, although Thompson (1985) has
shown how every step in the standard selection
process can go wrong. The nature of automated
library systems is changing, however, as is their
place in the overall structure of libraries. Also,
libraries themselves continue to evolve to meet
the needs of modern information seekers. This
dual transformation puts a different spin on the
system selection and implementation process
than was seen as few as five years ago.
One reason the literature contains so much
information about how to structure system
selection is that the process must be attuned to
the special needs and features of the individual
library. In this article, I attempt to take a step
back from the specifics of the process and look at
some principles that can guide you through the
creation of an appropriate process for your
library. Too much focus on the specifics tends to
cloud the wider context in which these processes
must fit and confuses more than illuminates the
process. Fixing the principles firmly in one's
mind while developing a selection process can
make the process stronger.
At the same time, some basic components to
any selection process must be included in order
to make an informed decision. The needs of
your library will guide you in how to include the
various components into your own selection
process. Each library can structure a process
that weaves the various components together in
a distinctive pattern to achieve the desired
result. Some libraries might join multiple
components together to form one step in the
process. Other libraries might create several
different steps that collectively constitute one of
the components. Again, it is best to take a look
at the components generally, rather than
copying another institution's process wholesale.
The Purdue University Libraries recently went
through a system selection process, resulting in
migration to a new system. The process used at
Purdue was different than any we had seen
elsewhere, although it shared many aspects of
other processes described in the literature. The
similarities and differences among various
The author
Alan Manifold is Systems Implementation Manager for the
Purdue University Libraries and is also a private consultant in
the area of library automation. manifold@purdue.edu
Keywords
Libraries, Automation
Abstract
Nothing can guarantee that an automated system selection
process will be successful, but adherence to a set of
common-sense principles can help in securing a successful
outcome. The focus of the process has to be on the long
term and must take account of the institutional context into
which the system will fit. With the shift towards user
empowerment, the involvement of users in the selection
process is increasingly critical. The components of the
selection process can be envisioned and combined in many
different ways. The process used by the Purdue University
Libraries serves to illustrate one way the process can play
itself out.
Electronic access
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emerald-library.com
119
Library Hi Tech
Volume 18
.
Number 2
.
2000
.
pp. 119±129
# MCB University Press
.
ISSN 0737-8831