A couple posts recently came out that describe the state of library tech, including the ILS, OPAC and MARC. The general theme is that these choices made sense at one point (long time ago) but there’s no reason it should stay that way now. Also by staying the same we’re ignoring all the ideas and enhancements that the world around us are taking advantage of. Does integration make sense? Does citation-only search make sense in a world of full text? Is discovery important? Doesn’t mean you need to build a new house but it might be time for renovation. Unfortunately, renovation can sometimes be even more expensive. I recommend reading the posts below:

The Problem with MARC and AACR: the World Doesn’t Disco Anymore

At their creation, MARC and AACR propelled library services to new heights of efficiency and usefulness. Here’s my problem, though: we no longer live in the 1970s, and the fundamental tools of our trade should not be based in nearly 40-year-old technology.

How OPACs Suck, Part 3: The Big Picture

Even with a few bells and whistles, today's OPAC is a doggedly faithful replica of the card catalog of yore.