A Case Study of the Impact of the Next-Generation ILS on American Library Consortium

This case study aims to analyze the impact of the next-generation ILS on American library consortium. Through an extensive review of the case of the Orbis Cascade Alliance(OCA) on the shared ILS selection process, this study identified and summarized both strengths and weaknesses of the current main next-generation ILSes, particularly, Alma, Sierra and WMS, from the definitions, features, functions, technological characteristics, and market shares. This study also investigated patterns of industrial dynamics, collaborations and competitions in the next-generation ILS and discovery tool industry. The findings show some differences between the traditional ILS and the next-generation ILS including more collaborations between the ILS vendors and their customers in developing products and the impact of library consortium on the functions and features of products, especially the needs of the resource sharing and collaborative technical services among consortium members. Additionally, this study echoed the next round of ILS migration is triggered globally, and a short fast four to six months ILS migration model is recommended