Page 75 - DLIS007_LIBRARY AUTOMATION

Library Automation

Notes 3. Library activities in all institutions are done through sharing disk space as well as computer
time.
4. The National Library of Calcutta conducted an experiment to computerize the Indian
National Bibliography in 1978.
5. There is no dearth of manpower in systems analysis and computer programming in India.

4.2 Criteria for Evaluation of Library Automation Software

The following factors should be taken into consideration at the time of evaluation of any library
automation package:
1. Vendor Validity: The reputation of software development group or the vendor is extremely
valuable. The following questions should be raised to judge the validity:
Is the vendor also a software developer, or is the vendor a distributor or an agent for
the software developer?

Is there an international presence or is the company localised?
How long has the software developer been in the library systems industry?
How long has the library system, you are interested in, been on the market?

Who are using their products? (Look for someone in close proximity and contact
them for their views on the product. If possible, make an on-site visit to see the
product in action.)

2. Services Availability Checklist: The services and utilities of any LMS should be checked
for the availability of following core, enhanced and value-added services:

Core Services: Acquisition, cataloguing, circulation, OPAC, serials control,
bibliographic format support, data exchange format support, article indexing, retro
conversion, standard report and system administration.
Enhanced Services: Customised report generation, GUI based user interface,
reservation facility, interlibrary loan module, multi-lingual support, union catalogue,
authority file support and controlled vocabulary, online help, online tutorial, power
search facility, internet support, intranet support, web access OPAC, multimedia
interface, barcode support and backup utility.
Value-added Services: Patron self-service through RFID and smart card (self-circulation,
self-reservation etc.), online user training/orientation, stock verification facility,
members photo ID card generation, barcode generation, fine calculation and receipt
generation, gate pass generation, bulletin board services and e-mail reports, electronic
SDI, CAS support, digital media archiving support.
3. Functional Checklist: The following general features are part of software module testing,
and each should be tested or conducted during the evaluation process:
Searching Capabilities (All modules)
Data Entry and Editing (All modules)

Bibliographic/item File and Maintenance
Bibliographic Interface Software
Authority Control

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