Blog #2 ILS Systems

Overview of ILS
Deddens’ Overview of Integrated Library Systems is a brief look at three companies and their respective offerings in the field of academic integrated library systems. In the article, Deddens first gives a somewhat vague interpretation what an ILS is.
After the introduction, there is, what seems to be, a company outline of options from each of the three ILS providers (MAPS, III, and Endeavor). All three companies, essentially, offer the same products. They all focus on three things: XML harvesting, metadata creation, and access to digital resources.
Endeavor seemed outdated. The company didn’t offer anything new, in that everything there has been seen before. Access to e-books, e-journals, etc. just isn’t good enough. While efficient, it is not groundbreaking in any way.
“MAPS” within Sirsi was different. Sirsi is usually seen as more public than academic. However, it does complete the same tasks as Endeavor. It’s everything you’d expect to see in an ILS.
Now, III was the best example of an ILS provider in the article. III offers the same things as the others. But, two things stick out. III offers support for Dublin Core storage and the ability to index and add trusted websites to the ILS. This is not to say that the other vendors don’t offer these tools. Perhaps they failed to mention this. III’s ability to do this is impressive. It shows that the vendor has a better understanding of the needs of the users and custodians of the ILS.

Dismantling Integrated Library Systems
Andrew Pace’s Dismantling Integrated Library Systems, is not exactly what the title of the article suggests. It isn’t as drastic. He is simply making the point that in order for ILS systems to remain relevant, they must adapt to changing trends and advances in technology. In order ILS systems to do this, they must dismantle, both literally and figuratively.
They must literally dismantle their current systems and, a.) update the ILS and integrate new technologies or b.) start anew. Pace makes a good point that the current array of ILS systems is quickly falling out of date. There are so many new options and abilities that the ILS systems can create or integrate to make searching, researching, and general information seeking and keeping entirely better.
The good news for ILS systems and their creators and custodians is that the field is wide open, waiting to be pounce upon.


M. Deddins (2002). "Overview of ILS" EDUCAUSE http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/DEC0201.pdf
A. Pace (2004). "Dismantling Integrated Library Systems" Library Journal. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA374953.html

Toward a Twenty-First Century Library Catalog - Blog #1

To be honest, this article was a snoozer. While the title seemed interesting, the content was yesterday's news. It feels like Academics as well as the "Baby Boomers" think they've caught on to something new once its existed for a few years.

The crux of the article is the idea that library catalogs are still functioning the way they did in the eighties. They are, of course, obsolete. It is overwhelmingly difficult to find exactly what you want. This can be said of academic databases as well. If you're not well versed in "Controlled vocabulary" and "Boolean terms," you're out of luck.

To remedy this problem, NC State Univ. decided to try using a catalog that bases itself on, essentially, popular search engines. It encompasses ratings, like terms, similar searches, and corrects spelling.

I like this idea. I'm actually a bit confused as to why it hasn't been done before.
The conclusion was that integrating the more user-centric approach, as opposed to a rigid librarian based one, was a better option.