(31 Mar 2021) This fourteenth iteration of the International Survey of Library Automation was conducted during an extremely challenging period for libraries. The global COVID-19 pandemic imposed widespread disruption. Libraries abruptly closed their physical facilities and expanded their digital offerings. It is not a surprise that the number of responses to the Library Automation Survey were fewer than previous years. This year 2,849 libraries responded to the survey, a bit lower than the 3,234 recorded last year. The survey aims to capture meaningful information regarding the core technology systems on which libraries depend to manage their operations and to deliver access to their collections.
Notable observations include:
- Survey responses suggest ongoing success for Alma among academic libraries, given its generally respectable satisfaction ratings, strong loyalty scores, and top placement among migration intentions among libraries planning a change from legacy systems. Though not yet implemented widely enough to gauge satisfaction, migration intentions suggest FOLIO as Alma’s strongest competition going forward, though interest in OCLC WorldShare Management Services and Koha remain strong.
- The decline of legacy products accelerates. Improving satisfaction rankings for both Voyager and Aleph, including rising loyalty scores, and migration intentions favoring Alma suggest most may stay within the Ex Libris camp, though many also express interest in FOLIO, WMS, and Koha. Libraries using Millennium show a continued decline in satisfaction ratings, loyalty scores, and migration intentions favoring Alma and FOLIO rather than Sierra. Especially in the academic library sector, the trajectories of libraries moving from legacy products will shape the next phase of implementations of the current flagship products.
- In the public library sector where traditional ILS products prevail, responses indicate moderate interest in changing to new systems, though with no prevailing indicators of migration targets. Symphony (17%), Horizon (34%), Polaris (7.3%), Library.Solution (10.3%), Sierra (31%), VERSO (9.8%)
- Libraries using modern web-based products have little interest in changing systems. Biblionix Apollo received high satisfaction scores and very few libraries using it are considering alternatives (1.1%). Even through their satisfaction ratings are not superlative, libraries using Ex Libris Alma (3.4%) and OCLC WorldShare Management Services (8.8%) expressed little interest in changing systems.
- Open source products have become a routine option in all library sectors. Both major open source ILS products, Koha and Evergreen, show increasing levels of satisfaction, though a bit uneven depending on support arrangements. OPALS used mostly in school and academic libraries, earns superlative scores. Awareness of the FOLIO library services platform continues to increase with 88 libraries mentioning it among their migration candidates.
Explore more from the full report here.
