Page 41 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

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

requirements for the speed, convenience and compatibility of the acquisition of information
resources. Space, resources, technologies and equipment shall all be reorganized to meet the
key demands of users in a precise, accurate and fast manner. 3) Adaptive to the application of
new generation service platforms: with the introduction of cloud computing and the upgrading
of software and hardware facilities, the environment for business processes has undergone
fundamental changes. The new generation service platforms represented by NLSP and Alma
provide data and platform support for libraries.
The combination of BPR theories and the library is supported by rich practical experience,
and shows strong adaptability to the changes of the times. However, in the process of business
reengineering, problems highlighted in the BPR theories shall be avoided, including “ focus only
on immediate interests”, “over reliance on technologies” and “lack of strategic coordination”.
Based on the management practice of the library, the authors believe that BPR of the library is an
approach to meet the needs for efficient library management and service system to the greatest
extent through process integration and optimization. Through business reengineering, the library
can greatly improve the quality of user services, increase efficiency, reduce service costs, ensure
their adaptability to the modern environment, and guarantee the sustainability of development.

2.2 Business Process Reengineering of the smart library

In the construction of the new generation library service platforms, the key step is the
reorganization of the integrated management and discovery system for print, electronic and digital
resources. The construction process is also guided by BPR theories, while taking into account the
professional attributes and special features of the BPR for libraries. The next generation service
platforms are the core of smart library and have many advantages: modular component service,
comprehensive acquisition functions, complete online metadata editor, unified management
of print, electronic and digital resources, comprehensive data monitoring and analysis,
unified retrieval function, centralized reader management and service, complete authority and
configuration items, front and rear end separation and support for multiple terminals. All types
of new generation library service platforms agree to open APIs, central knowledge repository, as
well as multi-resource analysis and decision-making, which provide data flow guarantee and open
integration services for BPR.
(1) Reengineering of the library’s acquisition process
The new generation service platform has a central knowledge repository, which provides unified
metadata management for different forms of resources. The acquisition process based on the new
generation library service platforms features simplicity, convenience and flexibility. Take two
platforms as examples—Alma and NLSP (see Figure 2). With the help of the NLSP platform, the
acquisition process can be carried out online, so as to save the time for outsourcing catalogers
to and from the library, reduce the cost of repeated duplication checking, increase efficiency of