The purpose of this paper is to inform librarians about the advanced features of the next generation library systems called library management services. It is time to ask if and when a library should move on to the new system.
The author looked into each new system for evaluation and analysis.
The next generation library systems include Alma from Ex Libris, Intota from Serials Solutions, Kuali OLE from the Kuali Foundation, Sierra from Innovative Interfaces, and Worldshare from OCLC. The new systems are designed with many advanced features such as electronic resources management, license management, user driven acquisitions, trial database management, statistic reporting, and more.
A search for relevant literature from the past three years has yielded no publications or data on the evaluation and analysis of the new library systems. Therefore, the information in this article is original.
