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An integrated library system, or ILS, is an enterprise resource planning system for a library. Most sizable First World libraries have an ILS system installed. An ILS is designed to coordinate and automate such library functions as the online catalog, the circulation system, and the acquisitions system. In the United Kingdom, ILSes are sometimes referred to as Library Management Systems. Larger libraries use ILSes to order and acquire, receive and invoice, catalog, circulate, track and shelve materials. Most ILSes separate software functions into discrete programs called modules, which are then integrated into a unified interface. Examples of modules include: acquisitions (ordering, receiving, and invoicing materials), cataloging (classifying and indexing materials), circulation (loaning materials to patrons and receiving them back), serials (tracking magazine and newspaper holdings), and the OPAC (public interface for users to look up materials). Smaller libraries, such as private homes or non-profit organizations (e.g. churches & synagogues), often forego the expense and maintenance required to run an ILS, and instead use a library computer system.
History ILSes were often known as automation systems or automated systems in the 1970s and early 1980s. Before the advent of computers, libraries usually used a card catalog to index its holdings. Computers were used to automate the card catalog, thus the term automation system. Since the late 1980s, windows and multi-tasking have allowed business functions to be integrated. Instead of having to open up separate applications, library staff could now use a single application with multiple functional modules. As the Internet grew, ILS vendors offered more functionality related to the Internet. Major ILS systems now offer web-based portals where library users can log in to view their account, renew their books, and be authenticated to use online databases. Commercial Open-Source | ||||||||
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