Pre-computerization Prior to
computerization, library tasks were performed manually and independently from one another. Selectors ordered materials with ordering slips, cataloguers manually catalogued sources and indexed them with the
card catalog system (in which all bibliographic data was kept on a single index card), fines were collected by local bailiffs, and users signed books out manually, indicating their name on clue cards which were then kept at the circulation desk. Early mechanization came in 1936, when the University of Texas began using a punch card system to manage library circulation. While the punch card system allowed for more efficient tracking of loans, library services were far from being integrated, and no other library task was affected by this change.
1960s: the influence of computer technologies The next big innovation came with the advent of
MARC standards in the 1960s, which coincided with the growth of computer technologies –
library automation was born. The Intrex Retrieval System ran on
CTSS starting in the late 1960s. Intrex was an experimental, pilot-model machine-oriented bibliographic storage and retrieval system with a database that stored a catalog of roughly 15,000 journal articles. It was used to develop and test concepts for library automation. A deployment of three Intrex BRISC
CRT consoles for testing at the MIT Engineering Library in 1972 showed that it was preferred over two other systems, ARDS and DATEL.
1970s–1980s: the early integrated library system menu The 1970s can be characterized by improvements in computer storage, as well as in telecommunications. As the technology developed, other library tasks could be accomplished through ILS as well, including acquisition,
cataloguing, reservation of titles, and monitoring of
serials.
1990s–2000s: the growth of the Internet With the evolution of the
Internet throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, ILSs began allowing users to more actively engage with their libraries through an
OPACs and online web-based portals. Users could log into their library accounts to reserve or renew books, as well as authenticate themselves for access to library-subscribed
online databases. Education for librarians responded with new focus on systems analysis. Inevitably, during this time, the ILS market grew exponentially. By 2002, the ILS industry averaged sales of approximately US$500 million annually, compared to just US$50 million in 1982. Freedom from vendors also allowed libraries to prioritize needs according to urgency, as opposed to what their vendor can offer. Libraries which have moved to open-source ILS have found that vendors are now more likely to provide quality service in order to continue a partnership since they no longer have the power of owning the ILS software and tying down libraries to strict contracts. of those surveyed used open-source ILS, in 2009 the number increased to 8%, in 2010 12%, and in 2011 11% of the libraries polled had adopted open-source ILSs. The following year's survey (published in April 2013) reported an increase to 14%, stating that "open source ILS products, including Evergreen and Koha, continue to represent a significant portion of industry activity. Of the 794 contracts reported in the public and academic arena, 113, or 14 percent, were for support services for these open source systems."
2010s–present: the rise of cloud based solutions The use of cloud-based library management systems has increased drastically since the rise of
cloud technology started. According to
NIST, cloud computing can include a variety of "characteristics (e.g. self-service, resource pooling, and elasticity), management models (e.g. service, platform, or infrastructure focus), and deployment models (e.g. public, private)", and this is also true of cloud-based library systems. ==Software criteria==