Page 37 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

036 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.12, 2020

the heart of our cultural and research infrastructure. They are guardians of much of the world’s
documentary heritage, as well as the source of raw materials for innovation. While libraries are
undergoing significant changes with the advent of the Big Data Era, their core mission of providing
information resources is arguably more important than ever. As the existing library services cannot
meet the information and data needs of users (CHU & Y. ZHAO, 2019), libraries are exploring
transformational developments, thereby promoting the emergence of a new generation of library
service platforms. Thus, libraries shall jump out of the traditional literature service scope, focus on
the entire process of data collection, organization, mining and application, and regard data service
as the main direction of library services in the new era. With the application of new technologies
and new platforms, many of the original business content, personnel, institutions, systems, and
infrastructure will no longer be applicable, making the reengineering of the library’s business
process even more urgent.

1 Opportunity for the smart transformation of the library: new generation
library service platforms

Driven by the changing Internet environment and new technologies, libraries are actively
purchasing electronic resources, updating hardware equipment, and exploring new service modes.
However these initiatives have failed to significantly improve service capability, but rather
made the library information system more complex. To solve the problem of library information
construction in an effective and orderly manner, the application of new technologies and the
construction of new platforms have been urgent. It can be said that the construction of new
generation service platforms is one of the core missions of the smart library solution.
Since around 2007, a wave of library management system reform has gradually risen in the field
of library and information (Breeding, 2007). Since 2009, the concepts of “next generation library
integrated system” (Y. WANG & Dawes, 2012), “next generation library automation system”
(Breeding, 2012), and “next generation library management system” (“Capita launches next-
generation library management system”, 2013) have appeared successively. In 2012, Marshall
Breeding (2012), a renowned American expert in library automation system, put forward the idea
of building a “next generation library service platform”. Unlike integrated library management
systems, the platform aims to streamline library business by integrating the handling of various
types of resources and upgrading library services.
The existing new generation library service platforms include FOLIO, NLSP, Alma, WMS
and Sierra. Among them, Alma was jointly developed by Ex Libris, Boston University and
Princeton University in 2012. According to a survey in 2016, Alma was the most widely used
service platform in university libraries worldwide, ranking first among all mainstream products.
Universities using Alma in China include Beijing Normal University Library and Tsinghua
University Library, which introduced the platform in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Innovative