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ERIC Number: EJ786486
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Apr-1
Pages: 8
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0363-0277
EISSN: N/A
An Industry Redefined
Breeding, Marshall
Library Journal, v132 n6 p36-43 Apr 2007
Activities in 2006 pointed to strategic shifts in library automation. The dynamics of the business environment changed rapidly from a fragmented industry to a highly consolidated one. Though the integrated library system (ILS) continues to represent the largest portion of revenue, products that deal with electronic content and deliver better web-based services to users are the focus of the current blitz of research and development and will increasingly define industry leaders. Ultimately, breakthroughs made by open source library automation systems may disrupt the business models of the industry. All of these factors combined set the stage for a fundamentally redefined industry in 2007. Some companies saw decreased revenues from core ILS products and increased income from new web-based interfaces and tools to manage electronic content. RFID products represented large revenue gains for others. Legacy system migrations represented 63% of overall ILS sales in 2006, though migrations among the midsized to large academic and public libraries are continuing to wind down. K-12 school and small public migrations are just heating up, fueled by thousands of libraries running aging standalone systems. Opportunities for new automation in the small public library arena abound for companies willing to offer products and services at an affordable price. This article includes profiles of companies that provide library automation products.
Reed Business Information. 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010. Tel: 646-746-6819; Fax: 646-746-6734; e-mail: ljinfo@reedbusiness.com; Web site: http://www.libraryjournal.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A