Page 47 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

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

library services, and their future service mode is unpredictable. In essence, a truly “user-centered”
platform should have almost unlimited expansion capabilities and provide infinite possibilities
for personalized services. Only in this way can the new service mode of smart libraries be truly
reflected, which needs to be built on a new library service platform and can be realized through
constant iteration.

4 Construction of smart library alliances

In the smart era, the organizational structure, business process and service mode of the library
alliance also need to be re-planned, adjusted, and optimized to meet the needs of social
development and users at large. During the development stage of digital libraries, the library
alliance shall formulate unified provisions to regulate data behavior, give play to the resource
advantages of member libraries, expand the scope of interlibrary loan and document delivery
through the alliance, and jointly build and share featured databases to enhance the comprehensive
service capability. In recent years, with the technical progress and service innovation of the library
platform, digital library alliances have also changed.
The construction of digital library alliances in China began in 2000 in two different modes:
system mode and regional mode (GOU & TONG, 2016). The system mode involves national
digital library alliances, which are organized by independent committees, rich in resources
and highly shared, such as the China Academic Digital Associative Library (CADAL); the
regional mode can be subdivided into digital library alliances of the same nature (such as Fujian
University Digital Library) and cross-industry digital library alliances (such as Pearl River Delta
Digital Library Alliance). In recent years, the theoretical research on digital library alliances is
weakening, and the amount of research have declined significantly. In terms of the construction
of physical alliances, the development of large system alliances has slowed down gradually,
the follow-up guarantee of smaller alliances (such as regional alliances) is insufficient, and the
services of some micro-alliances are ceased. In that context, it is an urgent task to start new
alliance services.
(1) New connotation of decentralized library alliances
Based on the new generation service platform and ideas of service, it is crucial to reshape the
development ideas of new alliances and broaden the connotation of the alliances based on the idea
of decentralization. First of all, we shall encourage the development of small alliances, as they can
enable non-core resources, which account for the majority of the total collection, to be mobilized
and circulated. The emergence of this type of structure has greatly enriched the connotation of
alliances. For small alliances, we shall strengthen publicity and promotion, and improve their
reputation and utilization, so that they can spread across the country, becoming national alliances
of characteristic resources, giving play to their advantages and irreplaceable roles. For large
alliances, it is necessary to create an alliance performance evaluation system, establish the “input-