Change as a service – challenges and effects of a new paradigm for library systems and content infrastructure

Journal article, 2012

Purpose – The infrastructure for supplying information resources to higher education and research has gone through dramatic changes during the last 15 years. The amount of electronic resources available and library systems that handle them have multiplied leaving libraries in a challenging situation. There is a changing definition of library collections, changing business models for owning and accessing materials as well as a shift in the architecture of library systems. As new unified services for libraries, where information resources and systems are merged, there is a need for libraries to re-evaluate the current situation and what led up to it. The evaluation is still in progress but this paper seeks to summarize Chalmers' evaluation so far, highlighting key findings, trends and possible strategies for the future. Design/methodology/approach – Chalmers University Library has initiated a system survey with the ambition of reviewing current workflows, quantifying and defining the crucial elements of today's systems with the goal of finding what is actually needed in the near future. Findings – The process of mapping out the current systems situation, looking at usage statistics and emerging technologies/trends has helped the library in identifying different strategies for facing the next generation of library systems. Practical implications – Libraries looking for a migration path to a library services platform can use the Chalmers case study to benchmark and compare situations. The library system landscape is shared by many in similar situations all trying to figure out when and if to migrate their systems. Originality/value – The Chalmers case study is an assessment of the library system landscape for one library. When mapped out the drawbacks of dealing with multiple information silos and trying to push and pull data between systems is apparent. There is a real need for change based on current workflows.