Opening Up Library Automation Software -- Breeding, Marshall [Library

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L i b r a r y T e c h n o l o g y G u i d e sKey resources in the field of Library Automation

Computers in Libraries [February 2009]

Opening up library automation softwareBreeding, Marshall.

Copyright (c) 2009 Information Today

One of the major themes that I’ve observed in the recent

era of the library involves the demand for more openness in

all aspects of the technology infrastructure. Libraries often

articulate frustration at automation systems that fail to

offer adequate access to the data and functionality of their

automation systems. Libraries increasingly resist rigidly

closed automation products that do not provide flexible

access to the data and provide ways to connect to other

products. Today’s library automation environment favors

systems that can deliver, in one way or another, products

that break away from closed, proprietary systems to allow

libraries more liberal access to their data. Open source

software has caught on in a big way within the library

automation arena, but we’ll see that this is not the only

approach possible as libraries seek options to gain more

access and control over their data and other aspects of their

technology environment.

One of the major themes that I've observed in the recent era of the library

involves the demand for more openness in all aspects of the technology

infrastructure. Libraries often articulate frustration at automation systems that

fail to offer adequate access to the data and functionality of their automation

systems. Libraries increasingly resist rigidly closed automation products that do

not provide flexible access to the data and provide ways to connect to other

products. Today's library automation environment favors systems that can deliver,

in one way or another, products that break away from closed, proprietary systems

to allow libraries more liberal access to their data. Open source software has

caught on in a big way within the library automation arena, but we'll see that this

is not the only approach possible as libraries seek options to gain more access and

control over their data and other aspects of their technology environment.

The need to protect a library's investment in its data provides one of the key

drivers for increased openness. The data that describes the collections andreflects the operations of the library represents one of a library's most important

assets. The value of the cumulative investment of library personnel to create a

database that accurately reflects its collection probably outweighs the value of

the software used to produce and maintain that data. Likewise, data endures

longer than any given software product. In the course of a library's automation

history, it will likely migrate through multiple automation systems, yet the data

created should pass intact from one to the next.

An interest in interoperability with other software products and information

systems also fuels demand for openness. Libraries increasingly expect to do more

ing up library automation software -- Breeding, Marshall [Library T... http://www.librarytechnology.org/ltg-displaytext.pl?RC=%

26-5-20



with their data than simply use it within a single automation product. A typical

library technology environment includes multiple interrelated systems, many of

which need to access data and functionality from others. In order for multiple

systems to communicate with each other and work together efficiently, library

automation products need to embody a high level of interoperability.

What's Wrong With Closed Systems?A software product, such as an ILS, comes delivered with interfaces needed for

the full operation of the system. Through these supplied interfaces, the librarycan carry out its daily activities, constantly updating a variety of databases in a

well -controll ed manner. Most products will also provide utilities that allow the

library to produce reports on most aspects of the underlying data.

A closed system comes supplied with interfaces that allow library personnel to

operate all aspects of the system, often including reports and utilities for viewing,

printing, and exporting data. Yet, having to operate within the interfaces,

reports, and utilities provided with the system may not provide the level of

flexibility needed by many libraries. A closed, proprietary system limits the ways

the library can access the underlying data. The library remains dependent on the

creators of the software to extend the functionality of the system and to access

or manipulate its data in ways not supported in the delivered interfaces.

What Constitutes Openness?A fully open system allows the library to access any aspect of its data and extend

its functionality without the intervention of the company or organization that

created the system. Products that embrace openness allow the library to work

with the system in ways not originally anticipated by its creator. Open systems

reduce barriers. An open system gives the library more control over its own data

and makes it less dependent on any given company.

Openness is all about giving libraries access to their software and their data. Open

systems aim to help the library gain access to its data above and beyond themeans provided by the original developer. It involves libraries having greater

ownership of their data and less vulnerability to any given company or software

developer. Increased openness results in products that are less isolated and

self-contained and that can easily connect with other systems.

Support for Standards Results in OpennessWithin the library automation arena, the requirement for the support of national

and international standards results in at least a minimal level of openness.

Libraries have a long history of developing standards and protocols that provide

access to major categories of library data and functionality. Provided that

libraries insist that any library automation software comply with any relevant

standards, they gain some of the benefits of an open system. Standards such asMARC 21, Z39.59, NCIP, and OAI-PMH provide some examples of how standards

have engendered more open library automation systems.

The evolving family of MARC (M Achine -Readable Cataloging) standards has been

established for many years to ensure that bibliographic, authority, and holdings

records can be transported out of one system and into another. The Z39.50

protocol provides a standard approach for search and retrieval for information

systems and has been very effective as the basis for library applications such as

federated search among information resources, virtual union catalogs for library

consortia, search and selection of MARC records from bibliographic services or


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peer libraries, and other scenarios.

NCIP (NISO Circulation Interchange Protocol), and its predecessor SIP, provides a

standard framework that addresses data and functionality involved in circulation

transactions, including patron and item records.

The Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) specifies

an approach for the mass extraction of records from an information resource. This

protocol has become especially relevant for the new genre of discovery interfaces

that usually involve transferring all of the records from the ILS to a new search

platform.

It's important to remember the great benefits that have been achieved through

the development of library standards and in the efforts developers have invested

in implementing them. These standards provide both interoperability and data

protection. An ILS that can import and export MARC records, for example, should

ensure that a library can migrate to a new system with at least its bibliographic

database, even if the incumbent vendor is unable or unwilling to assist in the

process.

Unfortunately, similar standards do not exist for many of the other categoriesmanaged within a library automation system. Even when employing a system that

implements all the relevant standards, libraries find that they still face many

limitations. Another step in the direction of openness involves the support for APIs

with more comprehensive scope regarding data and system services.

The API Approach to OpennessApplication Programming Interfaces, or APIs, provide a powerful means of access

to the data and functionality of a library automation product, depending on the

comprehensiveness of data and functionality addressed. An API allows

programmers to access the functionality of a software product. It also allows an

organization to work beyond the user interfaces and utilities provided by the

products developer and write its own programs that interact with its data andservices.

Technically, an API is a layer of software that responds to other computers, using

pre-established protocols and commands, to perform specific tasks. APIs operate

within the realm of computer- to-computer interactions and are not something

that the end users of the system would see. An API allows a programmer to write

scripts to extend the functionality of the system or to extract data in ways not

specifically created by the original system developer.

The usefulness of an API depends on the level of comprehensiveness at which it

addresses the data and services of the system and the quality of itsdocumentation. The more that the original software creator opens up the system

by providing APIs to all aspects of the system, the more power the library gains to

use its system in any way that it might need.

An API as part of an ILS is a powerful tool and must be used with great care. Some

companies have been reluctant to provide an API, especially to the extent that it

allows data modification, since they don't want to be responsible for problems

caused by an errant script that creates a system problem or data corruption. In

today's environment, which highly values openness, the provision of APIs has

become an important competitive factor and is seeing much wider deployment.


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Throughout the history of library automation, I have seen a steady advancement

toward more open systems. The first generation of library automation products

was entirely proprietary. They ran on hardware platforms and operating systems

created by one company that were completely incompatible with those from

competing companies. Geac, for example, created the GLIS to run on its own line

of mainframe computers, but it used a programming language specific to these

computers as well as a proprietary database. The next phase of library

automation ran on operating systems such as UNIX using programming languages

and databases that that could be easily ported to multiple hardware platforms.The 1990s saw increased implementation of ILS products on more standard

database environments such as Oracle - environments that allow libraries full

access to the underlying data and some interoperability with other business

applications in the organization that shared this database platform.

In the early days of library automation, when proprietary systems dominated, the

need for standards was paramount since other means of interoperability and data

exchange weren't possible. Today's focus on APIs, web services, and open source

systems makes possible a level of openness far beyond what was feasible in earlier

times. In today's world where libraries face incredible challenges to be ever more

interconnected within their broader organizations, in cooperative arrangements

with other libraries, and with their users, we need to constantly work toward

higher levels of openness.

Publication Year: 2009

Type of Material: Article

Published in: Computers in Libraries

Publication Info: Volume 29 Number 02

Issue: February 2009

Publisher: Information Today

Place of Publication: Medford, NJNotes: Systems Librarian Column

ISBN: 1041-7915

Permalink: http://www.librarytechnology.org

/ltg-displaytext.pl?RC=13803

Record Number: 13803

Last Update: 2009-05-24 09:13:41

Date Created: 2009-02-08 14:09:58

New Search Library Technology Guides

Maintained by Marshall Breeding

Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Copyright 2007


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