Author Archive: Marshall Breeding

Library Systems Report 2017

By Marshall Breeding | May 1, 2017

More statistics on sales performance, installations, and personnel for 2016 are available here. Consolidation deep and wide Library technology continues to consolidate horizontally and vertically. Horizontal consolidation—the merging of companies with similar business activities—shaped some of the larger players in the industry, such as Follett, and Infor Library and Information Solutions, Innovative Interfaces, Lucidea, OCLC, … Continue reading Library Systems Report 2017 →

Products related to makerspaces, like these from TeacherGeek, had a strong presence this year.

Hot Venue, High Tech

By Marshall Breeding | July 20, 2016

Though turnout was a bit lighter than usual (16,597 total attendance), many exhibitors mentioned that traffic was brisk. Vendors appreciated the opportunity to engage with current and potential library customers. Consistent with the consolidation of the industry, there were fewer booths, and many vendors showed off an ever-expanding portfolio of gadgets and devices. Technology products … Continue reading Hot Venue, High Tech →

Protecting Patron Privacy

By Marshall Breeding | May 31, 2016

Secure communication on the web provides two important benefits: identifying the website authoritatively enabling encrypted communications between the user’s browser and the server that provides the resource Encryption algorithms transform the data into a seemingly garbled form that, if intercepted, cannot be deciphered. The use of a secure communication protocol (HTTPS) provides the best approach … Continue reading Protecting Patron Privacy →

Library Systems Report 2016

By Marshall Breeding | May 2, 2016

Libraries have much at stake in products that align well with their strategies, resonate with their patrons, and facilitate the work of their staff. Previously established products are evolving to gain long-overdue modernization. In an era of web-based and cloud computing, library technology has held fast to aspects of the previous age of client–server computing. … Continue reading Library Systems Report 2016 →

EBSCO has contributed funding to a new open source library services platform aimed at academic libraries, with early versions expected to be ready by 2018.

EBSCO Supports New Open Source Project

By Marshall Breeding | April 22, 2016

If the yet-unnamed project sticks to its schedule and finds interest as lively as expected, it could open a new chapter in library technology at least as important as the advent of LSPs and the recent rounds of major company mergers and acquisitions. The initiative builds on the enthusiasm of academic and research libraries for … Continue reading EBSCO Supports New Open Source Project →

ProQuest to Acquire Ex Libris

By Marshall Breeding | October 6, 2015

Following the close, a new business group will be formed called Ex Libris, a ProQuest Company. This new entity will combine the portfolio of Ex Libris and the Workflow Solutions division of ProQuest and will be headed by current Ex Libris President and CEO Matti Shem Tov and a combined management team built from Ex … Continue reading ProQuest to Acquire Ex Libris →

SirsiDynix booth at ALA 2015 Annual Conference and Exhibition

A Look at Tech

By Marshall Breeding | July 23, 2015

One current trend in library technology aims to improve the engagement of patrons with libraries or to provide tools to help users work more effectively. In many respects, the technologies on display reinforced the theme of the “Library Systems Report 2015,” operationalizing the innovations brewing in recent years, including the increased adoption of Semantic Web technologies … Continue reading A Look at Tech →

Library Systems Report

By Marshall Breeding | May 1, 2015

Tied to the economy of libraries, the vendors that make up the library technology industry support a stable but highly constrained economic sector, with global opportunities. Library budgets may never recover to pre-recession levels, fueling interest in technology to improve their efficiency and the impact of collection resources. Products able to deliver efficiency, innovation, and … Continue reading Library Systems Report →

Library Systems Report 2014

By Marshall Breeding | April 15, 2014

This phase of the industry offers many choices, including both proprietary and open source license options, some based on cloud technologies and others that continue to rely on local hardware. Though a new generation of library services platforms has entered a phase of early adoption, the integrated library system remains viable, especially when extended to … Continue reading Library Systems Report 2014 →

Enabling Access, Engagement, and Efficiency

By Marshall Breeding | July 30, 2013

Technology, as always, was on display at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. Consistent with the strong attendance figures, activity in the exhibit hall seemed especially brisk this year. As the largest exhibition of library-oriented technology and content products worldwide, ALA Annual offers librarians a unique opportunity to review the latest offerings from nearly every … Continue reading Enabling Access, Engagement, and Efficiency →

Vendors Showcase Their Wares in Anaheim

By Marshall Breeding | July 16, 2012

Interested buyers found tech products that press beyond established boundaries as well as those that enable bread-and-butter library activities in the Anaheim Convention Center during the 2012 ALA Annual Conference. Products ranged from discovery services that aim to deliver access to the universe of library collections to new library management systems bringing together print, electronic, … Continue reading Vendors Showcase Their Wares in Anaheim →

Latest Library Links

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Chicago’s big plan to co-locate mixed-income housing with new, architecturally significant Chicago public libraries reached an important milestone this week. The board of the Chicago Housing Authority voted to authorize a pair of loans of up to $11 million each for two such projects: Chicago Public Library’s Independence branch at 4022-4036 N. Elston Avenue and the Northtown branch at 6800-6824 N. Western Avenue.

Curbed Chicago, June 21
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Lost L.A., the University of Southern California Libraries’ collaboration with public media company KCETLink, has earned two Emmy Award nominations. A three-episode pilot season of the TV series first aired in January 2016. It grew out of an existing partnership between the two organizations to share the history of the Los Angeles region through the member collections of L.A. as Subject, a research consortium hosted by the USC Libraries. It is possibly the first Emmy nomination for an academic library.

USC Libraries, June 16
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This world map by RSOE EDIS shows real-time occurrences of emergencies, hazards, alerts, and other notable events (for example, earthquakes, storms, explosions, epidemics, vehicle accidents, terrorist attacks). You can zoom in regions around the world, so it’s not just limited to the United States.

Emergency and Disaster Information Service
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Grant Brunner writes: “There is an absurd number of free-to-play games available for the PC, and with that comes both pros and cons. The huge variety means that there’s something to fit just about any taste, but the signal-to-noise ratio is abysmal. Instead of trudging through dozens of clones and halfhearted cash grabs, let us separate the wheat from the chaff for you. In today’s post, we’re highlighting 20 of the best free games on the PC.”

ExtremeTech, June 22
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Steve Zalusky writes: “Film scholars, archivists, and enthusiasts huddled in the dark movie theater with a steady stream of live organ music playing in the background. Those in the theater fastened their eyes on the flickering film screen, drawing on their pooled expertise and yelling out clues. Nearly 200 people had gathered for a labor of love and a test of their research skills and knowledge of film history June 15–17 at the Library of Congress’s Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Virginia.”

AL: The Scoop, June 22
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The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at the Library of Congress is enhancing its ability to serve its patrons through several major technological initiatives being advanced this summer. NLS is launching a new and improved website and a new multimedia education campaign—both designed to raise awareness of NLS’s remarkable free services. The new website is designed to accommodate blind and reduced-vision users, providing every visitor with an easy-to-navigate educational experience.

Library of Congress, June 21
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Justin Hoenke writes: “You may have been told that ‘blogging is dead’ and that the ‘library blog scene’ is irrelevant. My aim with this piece is to show you otherwise. The word ‘blog’ or ‘blogging’ is dead but that’s a good thing. Blogging was always just writing and publishing with a hip new fancy name attached to it. Here’s a good example from my library (Benson Memorial Library in Titusville, Pennsylvania) on why I believe why libraries should continue to write and share information with their communities.”

Justin the Librarian, June 22

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