Making the Most of Your ILS: A User's Guide to Evaluating and Optimizing Library Systems

The integrated library system (ILS) plays a central role in every library’s operations, but is your ILS optimized to ensure maximum productivity? Are you taking advantage of the features added since you implemented it? Walking readers through a wide-ranging ILS review, this book will help you ensure systems are properly configured, produce better documentation, and evaluate staff workflows.

The authors—a director of collections and content and a director of user experience—created a comprehensive plan for reviewing an ILS, starting with planning the project and deciding whom to include. They discuss basic ILS security principles, including keeping patron data safe and the importance of reviewing staff permissions. After the basics, the authors go in-depth on reviewing codes and figuring out how different parts of an ILS work together as well as how to review those areas, and they offer ideas on how to stay up-to-date with your ILS, such as where to look for information on issues, updates, and new features. Several methods for analyzing and documenting workflows are also discussed.

Features

• Come away with a better overall understanding of your integrated library system
• Understand the importance of regularly reviewing your system configuration and revisiting past decisions
• Learn how to increase the efficiency of your library by reviewing and optimizing existing workflows
• Gain a better understanding of system security, including how to protect patron data and system configuration from hacking and unauthorized access
• Learn how to provide better services and experiences to patrons through streamlined workflows and more secure data

Imprint: Libraries Unlimited

Published: December 2022

Pages: 148