6th entry
Discuss on how useful an Integrated Library System (ILS) as a Management Information System (MIS)
Management information system “is a computer system that provides management and other personnel within an organization with up-to-date information regarding the organization's performance” (Encyclopedia.com). Raw data will have its maximum impact and value when captured, analyzed, stored, manipulated and made accessible. An information system designed and developed for this purpose will generate output information that is profitable for the organization at every unit and department. The strategic, useful, timely and operational information output will help the management in making good and wise decisions that are beneficial or profitable to the organization.
Advantages of MIS
In the context of the library, an automated library system is a management information system designed to help the library function at its optimum based on well managed information. MIS is meant to help and provide library managers and their staff with internal and external data and the right tools to analyze those data; helps managers in effective decision making and also aids in the daily library operations (from lecture notes).
The advantages of an MIS are as follows (Management-Hub.com):
- It aids managers in planning by providing relevant and appropriate information in effective decision making process, thereby improving quality of operations.
- It processes and manages large amount of data and output them into “summarized form”, thus helping mangers by providing concise, accurate and useful information.
- Various specialized activities are integrated and each department of those activities is kept informed of the others’ activities, hence promoting awareness and bringing coordination within the organization.
- Provides management with better control of operations and helps in the evaluation and improvement of performance.
Usefulness of an integrated library system
Since 1980s, libraries have been using Integrated Library Systems (Deddens 2002, 1; Richardson and Hopkins 2004, 2). It was “part of text-based mainframe systems” (Deddens 2002, 1). That meant the system was local and used within a library.
By the 1990s, library automation changed in tandem with the advancement of technology. According to Cohn, Kelsey and Fiels (2002, xvii-xviii), due to the advance in technology, “library user entered cyberspace, and came to expect the local information provider – the school, public, college, or special library – to provide the launching pad.” Systems were no longer confined within local use but to also provide access to other resources; library automation “assumed a wider frame of reference – namely that of enabling the library user to reach beyond what is “merely” local to an information and knowledge base that is truly global and interconnected.”
Well, it would not be an overemphasis on my part to stress again that integrated library system as a management tool would facilitate the librarian in:
- Using data effectively from reports generated by the integrated system.
- Assist the librarian in making decision from its information output.
That seems to be the main purpose of the ILS as MIS, that is, assisting library managers in effective decision-making.
Types of management information produced by an integrated library system useful for managers/librarians in decision-making from the following modules (from lecture notes):
- Collection, development and maintenance
- Able to identify number of volumes, copies and titles available in the collection.
- Keep track of serials subscriptions with regard to receipt and claims of missing issues.
- Keep track of serials vendor’s performance so as to help in deciding whether to look for better services.
- Record and identify items received from source/s, important if items received are not satisfactory and need to be returned.
- Circulation
- Generates report comparing actual use of materials with types of materials requested or ordered.
- Generates report on loss of books (for example) and thus justify the acquisition of an electronic security system.
- Generates circulation statistics, including interlibrary loan, that helps library managers in making informed and sound decision on collection development management such as relocation of little used items or weeding, justifying the additional purchase of a particular title by examining the patterns of reservation and loans and for budget allocation.
- Produces report on loan/check-in activities and by analyzing the report, to allocate staff for counter duties, shelving duties and to reinforce claims for more staff, overtime hours, and temporary staff.
- Analyze report on fines collected due to change in fines policies.
- Analyze circulation statistics report in order to adjust loan status or length of loan.
- Acquisitions
- Generates report identifying general trends in acquisitions of materials such as time needed to purchase items, cost trend among sources.
- Able to generate report that helps in evaluating the efficiency of vendors and compare information on various vendors so as to aid in retaining or discontinuing services.
- Generates report comparing vendors on speed of delivery of purchases.
- Technical services
- Produces report on online bibliographic service costs (such as items searched, cost per time and vendors used), which will aid in fund management.
- Generates report on volume of items catalogued into the database, the average entry level, and the amount of time required from getting the materials to database entry to physical processing until placing materials on shelves to be used, the information from the report (when information is analyzed) of which will aid/justify in making decisions whether to get more staff.
- Reference services
- Produces report identifying areas used most by reference staff and patrons, extent of use of online databases and the frequency of use of CD reference source, all of which facilitates in the decision-making of collection development management.
- Scheduling
- Generates report identifying scheduling of use of facilities, materials reservations, equipments and audiovisuals and its demands, which assists library managers/librarian in ensuring optimum use of facilities or equipment or the purchase or addition of new facilities and equipment.
- Produces report identifying patron request not fulfilled, hence providing valuable information to library managers to improve library services to patrons.
- Budget
- Produces report on various expenditures of equipment and reprography services, automated systems and user receipts of library charges such as interlibrary loan and fines, which are important information for library managers to use in preparing library budget and to justify for an increase in allocation of library funds.
In conclusion, one can see from the above that there are many useful management information generated by the various modules of an integrated library system that helps a library manager in making effective decisions for the successful management and operations of the library.
References:
Cohn, John M., Ann L. Kelsey, and Keith Michael Fiels. 2002. Planning for integrated
systems and technologies: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians. 2nd ed.
Deddens, Marcia. 2002. Overview of Integrated Library Systems.
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/DEC0201.pdf (accessed March 8, 2011).
Encyclopedia.com. Management information systems.
(accessed March 20, 2011).
Management-Hub.com. Various advantages of information management systems.
(accessed March 19, 2011).
Noorhidawati Abdullah. “Building blocks of an integrated library management system”
Lecture, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur
Richardson, Joanna P. and Peta J. Hopkins. 2004. Selecting an ILMS for a future you
article=1000&context=librar ypubs (accessed March 13, 2011).
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