Marshall Breeding’s “Library Systems Report 2019” is now available from American Libraries. Charts with statistics/data from the report are also available.
From the Introduction to the Report:
The library technology industry, broadly speaking, shows more affinity toward utility than innovation. Library automation systems are not necessarily exciting technologies, but they are workhorse applications that must support the complex tasks of acquiring, describing, and providing access to materials and services. They represent substantial investments, and their effectiveness is tested daily in the library. But more than efficiency is at stake: These products must be aligned with the priorities of the library relative to collection management, service provision, and other functions.
Source: American Libraries
Outdated automation systems can reinforce work patterns that no longer reflect priorities as core library activities change. Bursts of innovation can create new products better aligned with current library realities. The products that emerge out of these creative booms then become mainstays that support the next phase of library operations. The academic library sector can be seen as a cycle of innovation that began eight years ago with the inception of an automation product substantially different from previous systems. The trajectory of innovation for public and school libraries has followed a different course, characterized by incremental change layered on top of longstanding systems with aging architectures.
The report is organized into the following sections:
- The State of the Industry
- Sales Performance
- Innovation and Evolution
- Overdue: Web-Based Interfaces
- Discovery
- Multisector Players
- Open Source Businesses And Strategies
- Academic lLibraries
- Public Libraries
- School Libraries
- Special Libraries
- Looking Forward
Direct to Full Text Report
Direct to Charts
6 pages; PDF.
See Also: Library Systems Report 2018
See Also: Library Systems Report 2017
See Also: Direct to Marshall Breeding’s Library Technology Guides
About Gary Price
