Which Route Do I Take? A Viewpoint on Locally-Developed vs. Commercially Available Journal Management Solutions

This article discusses the growing need for tools or systems that will provide more effective management of and improved user access for journal collections, especially for e-journals. The author briefly describes initial efforts at the local library level to develop management systems and mentions the rise of vendor-supplied solutions, which have become very popular. In spite of the current popularity of vendor-based solutions, the author argues that there is still a niche for locally developed journal management systems. One such system, developed at the author's home institution, Taylor University, is featured as a case study