1 -- ILS components

1. Are You Experienced?
Exploring User Experience
in Public Libraries
Integrated Library Systems
ILS Components

2. Why should you know about
your library system software?
Unless you depend on a
card catalog, the library
system software serves both
library patrons and staff.
Library staff, however, often
see only a small part of
it…and library users even
less.

3. If you don’t know the basics of library
system software, you will be unaware of its
possibilities…for you and your patrons.
Dynix OPAC menu
circa…a long time ago!

4. What is a library system?
Am. English: Integrated Library System (ILS)
Br. English: Library Management System (LMS)
A library system is the automation software a
library uses to conduct its business, from checking
out books to creating an online catalog.
The pieces of this software, often called
components, work together (thus “integrated”) but
can be discussed separately.

5. And the definition of a
typical ILS?
"...a computer-based information system
that uses a single bibliographic database
and a set of interrelated application
programs to automate multiple library
applications" (209)
Saffady, William. (1999). Introduction to
automation for librarians. Chicago: American
Library Association.
Note: Although Saffaday’s book is very old, the basic parts of an ILS
have remained the same for many years. I will use his classic
definitions where I can…just because I respect definitions that last!

6. So what does that mean?
In brief, an Integrated Library System is a set
of components that work together in order to
automate library functions.
An ILS often employs a staff client that is installed on a
staff member's computer, or else a web-based staff client.

7. What are the main
components of an ILS?
A modern integrated library system is made
up of many parts but its base is designed
around these components:
• Circulation
• Cataloging
• Acquisitions
• Serials
• OPAC

8. What is Circulation?
A system designed "to maintain records about
the withdrawal of specific books or other
library materials" (Saffady, 233).
i.e., The way a library keeps track of its
patrons and which library items the patrons
have checked out, have overdue, have
requested, etc.

9. Do you know some basic
Circulation functions?
Test yourself: What must a Circulation component track?
It must know certain information about registered library
users and how they “interact” with library items:
• name of patron
• address
• phone number
• expiration date
• date of last circulation activity
• borrowing category (adult, child, etc.)
• items in possession
• Items requested
• reading history
• Etc…

10. Polaris (iii) patron registration screen and status screen

11. Do you know some basic
Circulation functions?
Test yourself: When should Circulation block a check-out
transaction?
When…
• the borrower has overdues
• the borrower has fines
• the borrower has exceeded the check-out limit
• the borrower has an invalid ID
• the borrower is trying to check out reserved or held items
• Etc…

12. Do you know some basic
Circulation functions?
Test yourself: During check-in of an item, what must
the Circulation component automatically detect?
• if a hold has been placed on the item
• if the item is overdue
• if the item was returned to the wrong location
• Etc...

13. What Is Cataloging?
A system designed to describe all records in
a library and to mark them for search and
retrieval.
A cataloguer uses the Cataloging
component to create a bibliographic record
and (usually) an item record (or records) for
a library item.
How else would users know what the library
has in its holdings?

14. Polaris (iii) Cataloging:
A bibliographic record can
have one or more item
records attached to it (e.g.,
you may have more than
one copy of that item).

15. Do you know some basic
Cataloging functions?
Test yourself: What are common qualities of a
cataloging component?
It should. . .
• have its work reflected "real time" in the OPAC
• have import/export features
• allow editing of imported records
• permit access to an authority file
• allow creation of item templates
• Etc…

16. What is Acquisitions?
"...those tasks that support the procurement
of library materials that are published on a
nonrecurring basis, including books, technical
reports, government publications, musical
scores, sound recordings, and visual
material" (Saffady, 234).
Note: Materials published on a nonrecurring basis (recurring
items -- magazines -- are tracked in Serials).

17. Polaris (iii) Acquisitions:
Acquisitions involves
ordering, receiving, and
invoicing materials.

18. Do you know some basic
Acquisitions features?
Test yourself: What are the obvious advantages of
automated acquisitions over manual acquisitions?
• Manual systems can't create the financial and statistical
information needed for planning and management.
• Automated systems reduce labor-intensive clerical
duties and speed up paperwork.
• In an automated system, the OPAC can reflect
acquisition activity (e.g., if an item is “on order”).

19. What is Serials?
The procurement of "publications that are
issued in successive parts on a recurring
basis, usually, but not necessarily, at
regularly scheduled intervals" (Saffady, 241).
Magazines (aka periodicals) are considered
recurring even though the patterns may vary.

20. Polaris (iii) Serials:
The Serials component
tracks subscription
length, publication
pattern, expected
arrival, etc. of recurring
items.

21. Do you know some basic
Serials problems?
Test yourself: What factors complicate the automation of
serials control?
Serials processing tasks have many unpredictable events:
Bibliographic information is unstable. Changes occur in titles,
publishers, frequency of publication, numbering sequence,
size of magazine, etc.

22. What is OPAC?
Online Public Access Catalog
A "machine-readable collection of
bibliographic records that represent a library's
holdings" (Saffady, 218).
i.e., The digital “card catalog”!

23. Do you know some basic
OPAC advantages?
Test yourself: What are the online catalog's
advantages over the traditional card catalog?
•more types of retrieval operations possible
(Card catalogs had author, title, & subject cards.)
•an OPAC can be accessed by multiple users
(Can a crowd look at the same catalog card in a drawer?)
•file maintenance is not as labor intensive
(Have you ever had to type and file those cards?)

24. Do you know some basic
OPAC functions?
Test yourself: What should be some basic search functions
of an OPAC? You should be able to search by…
• author
• title
• subject
• keywords
• publisher
• publication date
• language
• media type
• LCCN
• ISBN
• Etc…

25. The OPAC is the only
component the patrons
see…

26. …and if patrons can’t find an item in the
OPAC, they assume it doesn’t exist.
The OPAC is an excellent inventory retrieval
tool…but only for those who know how to
use it and know what they are looking for!
And the OPAC is evolving much faster than
any other ILS component due to patron
expectations.

27. Are there other components?
An ILS can be made up of many more extra
integrated components…
• Media booking
• Report generation
• Community information
• Electronic Resource Management (ERM)
• MetaSearching
• Social networking
• Etc…

28. Try out a working ILS
Koha (PTFS) has a working online demo of
its popular open-source ILS:
ptfsdemo-staff.kohalibrary.com/cgi-
bin/koha/mainpage.pl
Log on as liblime (username) and liblime
(password). You can do any staff function – even
cataloguing! I won’t guarantee that someone else had not
messed something up, however, before you get there.

29. Where do I find out
about ILS vendors?
Library Technology Guides:
librarytechnology.org/
NOTE: Marshall Breeding
created Library Technology
Guides and serves as Editor
and Publisher of the site.

30. Where do I find out what is
going on in the ILS world?
See Marshall Breeding’s annual survey Perceptions at Library
Technology Guides (librarytechnology.org/), which appears early in
the year.

31. Also…
See Marshall Breeding’s annual article on the automated systems
marketplace; you can get access to these articles, which appear in
April every year, through Library Technology Guides
(librarytechnology.org/).

32. How do I find out
who has what?
Look at Breeding’s market share reports:
www.librarytechnology.org/us-marketshare-reports.pl

33. So convince me again why I
should know about ILSs…
If you don’t know anything about your ILS
components or your ILS vendor, how can
you make educated choices for you…and
for your patrons?
Know your current ILS and be ready to know
your next ILS (because they don’t last
forever).

34. "True Confessions" time
Names not given to protect the innocent.
I came to the Crawfordsville District Public
Library in late 1998. The staff there had just
chosen their very first ILS -- without knowing
what was what.

35. The system "worked," but the ILS ran on a
text-based OpenVMS operating system --
which is still around, by the way…and has
been since 1977.
But at that time
libraries were moving
toward platforms that
they could manage
easier.

36. And the staff client was based more on past
Windows 3.1 technology than the existing
Windows 95 and 98 technology.
What's the difference, you ask?

37. Library staff did not know that other ILS
products took advantage of better
multitasking possibilities, improved display,
etc.
OPAC aesthetics (and user expectations)
had also advanced.
The one recurring reason I heard for the
choice of ILS vendors?
"We liked the salesperson. She was nice"

38. So the library -- and its patrons -- worked several years
with a product that was behind others in functionality and
design.
At least the librarian
on the OPAC was
always smiling…