LA BIBLIOTECA DEL FUTURO… 15 AÑOS DESPUÉS:

Current and future Trends in Library automation.

Marshall BreedingDirector for Innovative Technology and ResearchVanderbilt University LibraryFounder and Publisher, Library Technology Guideshttp://www.librarytechnology.org/http://twitter.com/mbreeding

25 September 2011 IX International Conference on University Libraries

Objective

Conference: In 1996 the General Directorate of Libraries celebrated its thirtieth anniversary with a series of lectures and panel discussions in which the central idea was to imagine the features of the library of the future at that time. In this conference we intend to analyze how the library of the future is being built and how it would be in 15 years from now, in 2026.

Technological resources Panel: To analyze the prospective of technological infrastructure and its implementation in library services and activities. 

Imagining Technical Infrastructure in Academic Libraries in 2026

Projections made on trends underway today

Disruptions can produce radically different long-term outcomes

Present an optimistic view that libraries will maintain key role in academic institutions

Acquire, manage, and deliver access to information in support of teaching and research

Assumptions regarding library collections

2011: Transition toward electronic and digital content

University Libraries increasing proportions of collections budgets toward electronic content.

E-Journals: 95%, E-Books minor factor Many libraries have programs to digitize

specialized local collections

2016: Growing dominance of digital

E-Journals: 100%, E-books increasing – few new print

acquisitions Legacy book collections mostly in print

Increasing availability of full-text for discovery (HathiTrust, Google Books, Open Library)

2026: Digital fully dominant

All new content acquired in electronic formats

E-Journals, E-books: all acquired and accessed electronically

Legacy collections fully digitized Full digitization of local specialized

collections

Need to reinvent how libraries manage collections and deliver services

Impact on Library Management Systems

2011: Integrated Library Systems Designed and developed to support print

collections Self-contained Communicate through library-specific

protocols Not programmed to manage electronic

content at the level of individual articles Not intended to manage collections of

digital objects New models of automation emerging…

2016: Transition to Library Services Platforms

New platforms take the stage Ex Libris Alma, OCLC Web-Scale

Management Services, Serials Solutions, Kuali OLE, (others?)

Basic design to manage resources of all formats and media

Reliance on collaboratively built and shared data models

Deployed through cloud technologies

What about Integrated Library Systems? (2016)

Continue to be operated in many academic libraries

Evolved toward increased capacity for managing electronic content

Supplemented by additional products specializing in managing electronic content and digital collections

2026: Mature infrastructure

Optimized for managing library collections of primarily digital and electronic content

Unified approach to resource management prevails Physical materials will represent a small minority of

active library collections Embrace standards of the broader IT environment

XML, RDF, open linked data Nice to be optimistic, but throughout the history

of library automation, changes have outpaced development.

Computing moves to the cloud

Software Delivery Methods

2011: Early transition

Legacy Client/server products dominate library automation

Most current implementations based on local computer hardware

Software as a Service offerings launched – pioneering phase

Internet Bandwidth continues to restrain adoption in many regions and sectors

2016: Service-based computing gains ground

New-generation products designed specifically for service deployment widely implemented

Legacy products evolve toward multi-tenant SaaS

Internet Bandwidth continues to restrain adoption in many regions and sectors

2026: Cloud computing as the Norm

Internet bandwidth plentiful Digital divide mostly closed on a macro

level Local servers rare, if not extinct End-user access exclusively delivered

through mobile devices, including new genres of devices not yet imagined

What about Open Source Software in 2026?

As computing moves to the cloud, license models become less relevant

Cooperative open source / community source projects will compete vigorously with commercially licensed products

Extensively, interoperability, and control gained through services oriented design (API)

Both models delivered primarily though providers Generally a service-driven economy rather than

license based Open source alternatives will be functionally

competitive with fully commercial offerings.

Tools and technologies for access to library collections and services

Discovery and Delivery

2011: The current state of discovery

Online Catalogs of ILS modules dominate, increasing numbers of academic libraries implement separate discovery products

Index-based search emerges Summon, Primo/Primo Central, EBSCO Discovery

Service, WorldCat Local Indexes growing, but incomplete. Based primarily on

citation-level metadata for articles, MARC for books Relevancy algorithms primitive Increasing numbers of publishers and providers

cooperate with library discovery services Open Discovery Initiative launched October 2011

2016: Discovery Services Mature

Majority of academic libraries implement index-based discovery

Most publishers cooperate with discovery services Marginalized if they don’t

Relevancy improves to include increased social and user-oriented factors

Basic services related to electronic assets Tools to allow users to consume library

content in more meaningful ways

2026: Full library experience through the Web

All library resources available through unified discovery services

Full content exposed: full-text of books and articles Visual retrieval of images and video Audio retrieval of audio an video

Sophisticated services offered along with discovery

Will be tightly integrated with management systems

Will academic libraries continue to operate physical libraries?

Impact on Library futures:

Physical spaces complement digital realities

Spaces for collaborative learning and research;

Services in support of research data management Organization, metadata, access,

preservation Aligned with mandates for transparent

research data Mature management and access to

library-provided content frees information professionals in the library for deeper collaboration with information needs of faculty in teaching and research