Automation of Library Services—Turning Point in Development of Academic Libraries ^†

Abstract

Automation and the use of information technology and are the first steps towards fast and huge change in every organization; they lead to the development of new services, the restructuring of units, and the implementation of different management strategies according to specific characteristics. Universities and their libraries have taken an active role in this transformation. Automation and innovations serve as turning points in the development of academic libraries, as they improve the process of acquiring, storing, processing, retrieving, and delivering information.

1. Introduction

Large-scale automation started in the second half of the previous century, and currently, around eighty years later, technology, digitalization, and artificial intelligence are inevitable parts of education, science, and culture. Social, economic, and production processes are developing rapidly and are constantly changing lifestyles worldwide.

John Brown [1] states that the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries were times of relative stability, where skills acquired by a person would last a lifetime and career development was clear and stable. Institutions followed a strict structure with concrete tasks. A big change has appeared in the 21st century with the continual, exponential advances in computation. This leads to the fast development of technologies and lifelong learning models for society.

Jorge Revez [2] presents and analyzes strategic documents about the role and the future of academic libraries. These documents were issued by national organizations in the USA, Canada, the UK, and Europe, namely, Research Libraries UK (a consortium of the leading and most significant research libraries in the UK and Ireland) [3]; the Association of Research Libraries in USA and Canada (a nonprofit membership organization of research libraries and archives in Canada and the US) [4]; and the Association of European Research Libraries (the voice of Europe’s research library community) [5]. All of them suggest the same thesis: that instead of being stable and traditional, libraries are seen as modern institutions, where innovations and knowledge are produced.

Libraries are also actively participating in the process of modernization. Jake Carlson and Ruth Kneale [6] present the idea that modern libraries and librarians demonstrate their expertise as information specialists and apply their knowledge to broaden the development of education, research, innovation, and social inclusion. Presently, librarians develop their supporting role into a partnership with their users. They work actively as members of research teams and, simultaneously, follow the rising technological demands and habits of younger generations.

Michael Vandergrift [7] discusses the emerging functions of libraries in educational institutions. Developing technologies lead to new ways of creating, distributing, and communicating scientific results. Libraries play an active role in this process. The distribution and communication of research is not a secondary position, allocated to different university departments. It is essential and is correctly positioned in the library, together with other services like managing repositories, creating digital content, and participating in digital humanities.

Establishing international connections and conducting multidisciplinary research are priorities in a globalizing world. During the 2nd Global Research Library 2020 Workshop [8], it was stated that “collaboration across national boundaries and institutions is the defining characteristic of global research libraries in the future”.

Automation in academic libraries, the main supporting scientific system, during the beginning of the previous century was important and necessary. The introduction of computers and automated systems for cataloging items and serving readers allowed faster and more accurate gathering and distribution of knowledge and information.

Libraries and information specialists are a basic and crucial element in educational and research processes [9]. They are forced to continuously adjust and transform to meet user expectations, maintain scholarly communication, and keep up with the continuous developments in institutions for higher education [10]. This paper studies the need for library automation and digital transition for better educational and research support in the academic community. The automation period started in the 1930s and lasted until the 1990s, when the worldwide computer network, the Internet, appeared and started the so-called post-automation period. This paper presents the consecutive stages in technical development during the previous century that led to automation in library operation and management. The technological transformation of libraries happens differently in various parts of the world [11]. In Bulgaria, mass modernization in academic libraries was undertaken during the 1980s, when many universities and research organizations tested different international products or created their own systems, such as CDS/ISIS, automated libraries, Aleph, Q-series, etc. In 1993, the “Angel Kanchev” University of Ruse introduced into its library a largely distributed Bulgarian program called the Automated Library. The librarians then started to assist the entire academic community more actively and precisely.

2. Methods

2.1. Origin and Purposes of Library Automation

Over the past century, librarians have started to use various technological devices to assist their internal operations and, at the same time, improve the services they offer to readers. The book “World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services” [12] explains that the term “library automation” has been applied to the tools and activities that incorporate technologies for their execution. Ever since the term came into use, it has been defined as the processing of information that can be manipulated, rearranged, stored, or communicated in a machine-readable form, or, as is more commonly mentioned, a digitized form [10].

Purposes of automation are discussed in the book “World Encyclopedia of Libraries and Information Services” and are graphically interpreted in Figure 1, below.

• More effective processing. Automation provides flexibility in the access and sorting of individual files. Additionally, it makes activities like acquisition, cataloging, and processing less labor-intensive and space-demanding.
• Improved service to library users. The essential advantage of automation in libraries is improved service for users. Fast cataloging and easier search through abstracting and indexing allow for more focused use of the library.
• Reduction of costs. The widespread assumption that automation and computerization will eliminate many manual tasks is true. However, time has proven that the money and time saved with automation lead to the emergence of new tasks and the demand for further personnel qualifications.
• Resource sharing and library cooperation. Through cooperation and the combining of finances, some libraries, at first in the USA and then in Canada, created consortiums. This allowed them to introduce automation technologies and share resources between partners.
• Response to a need (crisis). Automation was a natural solution to a breakdown in manual services, chaos, and the urgent need for correct reporting and analysis of library information and services. One of the basic reasons for implementing automation is the need to reorganize or create new work patterns or structures in libraries.
• Automation due to emerging technologies. As libraries play crucial roles in information access and modern society, it is important to adapt and use new technologies. This is a way to attract and keep the attention of a young and innovative society.

2.2. Technologies and Stages of Library Automation

The American Library Association has distinguished several periods of library automation since 1930 [12]. These stages are determined by technologies and their applications in different library processes.

• Pre-computer era. During this period, an electromagnetic system was used, called the unit-record system. Information was inserted onto a punched card and reused afterward for calculations.
• Offline computerization. This stage took place in the 1960s and was characterized by major developments in technology. The transactions were not recorded on the computer, where they were produced, but collected and processed collectively in a so-called “batch mode”. Punched cards and patron identification cards were used in this process. The daily library statistics, for example, were gathered and then collectively calculated at the end of the working day.
• Online computerization. The early 1970s were characterized by a few remarkable changes. One is the establishment of large-scale online interactive systems between different universities. Another is the emergence of commercially available online library systems due to the emergence of microcomputers. Finally, the first attempt at a truly integrated system, combining all library activities, was realized in the 1970s with NOTIS.
• Microcomputers. The major technological developments include microcomputers, introduced in the early 1980s. Their significance for library automation can be summarized by three main points. Microcomputers made it possible for smaller libraries to possess their own machines. Microcomputers perform some autonomous activities, which allows the decentralization and distribution of tasks within the library. Finally, microcomputers execute administrative everyday tasks like word processing, budgeting, accounting, and so on.
• COM and CD-ROM. These devices store data and present it. Later, some database products started to offer “site licensing”. In this way, libraries could store information on their local system for a fixed price instead of using intermediary devices.
• Communication technologies. At first, communication technologies like system teletype or TWX machines were used to manage interlibrary loans. Later, fax transmission machines were used to deliver full-text articles between libraries. In the 1990s, the Internet emerged, and it changed how information is searched for, managed, and shared.

After the Internet was developed, the so-called post-automation period began for libraries.

2.3. Chronology and Characteristics of Automation in Bulgarian Academic Libraries

In Bulgaria, the process of automation started decades after new technologies were introduced in Europe and the USA [11]. The process of automating library information services is presented in the book “Development of a Bulgarian Toolkit for Building Library-Information Services” by Bilyana Yavrukova [11].

Official Bulgarian journals show that in the 1980s, some academic libraries started to automate their work [11]. Figure 2 presents a chronological review of the first library automation initiatives in Bulgarian academic institutions.

Bilyana Yavrukova [11] comments that the automation of library catalogs is the basis for transforming libraries from knowledge repositories into contemporary information centers. The beginning of automation in Bulgarian academic libraries is marked by the “Dimitar A. Tsenov” Academy of Economics in Svishtov, which introduced autonomous systems for registering acquired books. Then, in 1984, the Central Library of Technology and Science in Sofia was the first library to introduce automated cataloging of all volumes received—books, industrial literature, manuscripts, dissertations, and periodicals. The complete automation of all services was first introduced with the information package Q-Series in the 1990s at the Technical University of Sofia and the New Bulgarian University of Sofia.

These are the first steps towards a new era in the development and functioning of Bulgarian academic libraries. J. McClain comments in his book [13] that academic libraries are forced to continuously adjust and transform to meet user expectations, maintain scholarly communication, and keep up with the continuous developments in institutions for higher education.

3. Results

3.1. Characteristics and Chronology of Automation in the “Angel Kanchev” University of Ruse, Bulgaria

The library at the “Angel Kanchev” University of Ruse emerged with the establishment of the Higher Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Mechanization, and Electrification of Agriculture in 1954 and, in the beginning, consisted of one librarian, 6000 books, and about 200 readers [14]. Currently, the library is one of the largest and best-developed academic libraries in northeastern Bulgaria. At the disposal of this multidisciplinary academic community are enormous funds, which amount to 440,905 volumes, a great variety of electronic resources, and different databases.

The earliest records providing information about automation in the library date back to 1993, when the university bought the software product “Automated Library” with the module “Analytical Processing. Articles” from the company PC-TM Ltd. In the next year, 1994, the following modules were added: Classifiers: Service Functions and Settings; Book Processing; Periodicals Processing; Bibliographies Processing; Service to Readers; Newsletters. With this, all types of information resources could be computer-processed and placed in the library catalog.

In 1996, barcode technology was introduced, and unique identification codes (barcodes) were stamped on the literature. They contain information about the full bibliographical record of the item [6]. This makes automated cataloging and servicing easier.

In 2009, the University of Ruse became part of an initiative [15] that created a consolidated catalog of academic institutions in Bulgaria, called the National Academic Library and Information System (NALIS). The project also improved the technological development of libraries in Bulgaria and built a repository.

In 2009, the introduction of the RFID system into the library began. The required technology was bought, delivered, installed, and tested, and in 2013, RFID was introduced into the registration process for readers. With this, the entire process became highly automatized, and after 2013, the university library entered the so-called post-automation period.

Figure 3 presents the consecutive steps taken towards automation in the library at the “Angel Kanchev” University of Ruse.

3.2. Management and Functioning Effects of the Library Automation in “Angel Kanchev” University of Ruse, Bulgaria

• More effective processing. Immediately after the Automated Library product was introduced, the computer processing of different kinds of volumes (periodicals, books, dissertations, conference proceedings, etc.) began. The technology used for that consisted of three computers and one server. As a result, at the end of 2015, the number of books in the electronic catalog was 137,062. In total, 85,601 of them were acquired and processed annually during the period of 1995–2015. Another 51,461 volumes were additionally processed in order to insert previously acquired literature into the system.

Figure 4 illustrates the dynamics of the number of computer-processed books across the period of 1995–2015. The initial period (1997–2001) is the introduction stage, when the system and technology were tested. The first databases were created, but the library catalog was still not introduced. During the second period, between 2001 and 2004, the lowest number of electronically processed items was observed. The reason for this was the change between the operation systems DOS and Windows, which led to the loss of some data and a delay in the work process. After that, there was relative stability in the electronically processed books between 2004 and 2011. The library catalog was introduced and was located on the server of the library. Users could search for topics in the catalog, but they had to use computers based in the library. The average number of items acquired and processed annually was above 4500, which was proportional to the number of students and the variety of specialties. The third period, between 2011 and 2015, showed a tendency toward a decrease in the number of processed books. This is explained by the testing of the RFID system for registering students and the introduction of new computer systems in the library.

• Improved service to library users. The modernization and development of the university library are connected with the development of new types of spaces and the restructuring and reorganization of library funds. The increase in the amount of literature available for free access makes readers feel more comfortable and connected with all information materials. The introduction of RFID technologies makes service faster. Users are registered electronically; they do not have to give personal information by hand, and any borrowed books are taken and returned with just one click on the RFID tag. Additionally, the new system better secures the information materials and protects the library facilities [15].
• Response to a need (crisis). With the development of the university and the increase in its educational capacity, new specialties and faculties are created. This leads to an increase in the number of students and an expansion of the library fund. In 2010, a new part of the library was established in another building. The automation system made the process of managing and coordinating between the different branches more precise and less time-consuming. Daily reports of the work are automatically produced; there is no need for a librarian to collect and calculate numbers.
• Reduction of costs. The infrastructure and technology needed for the automation of libraries require a large investment, which proves its cost efficiency over time. After the library’s automation, the amount of paper used decreased; most of the documents, reports, and the entire catalog are now electronic. The number of highly qualified experts in the traditional library sciences is decreasing because management and circulation are greatly simplified by automated systems. The profile of librarians is changing with time and technology. Presently, they develop their information literacy daily and continuously learn how to gather and interpret data from online sources. Information specialists from this library regularly participate in online courses and professional development activities in order to learn about the latest functionalities and improvements in electronic services. The number of educational activities completed by librarians from the University of Ruse during the period of 2020–2023 is 11. In comparison, in the previous period, between 2017 and 2020, this number was 4, which shows a rise in the need for qualification activities. A great part of our everyday duties is the creation and management of digital repositories and the subscription and lending of online resources. For example, at the University of Ruse, the publication activity of the academic staff in international journals with high impact is monitored on a monthly basis. It is then submitted to the management team for further analysis and planning.
• Resource sharing and library cooperation. Since 2009, the university library has been part of the common catalog of the National Academic Library and Information System [15]. Additionally, since 2008, through participation in the Bulgarian Information Consortium [16], subscriptions to various online databases and online resources have been cheaper and shown greater variety. Interlibrary exchanges and searches of information resources in partner universities are faster and simpler after automation.

Figure 5 illustrates the dynamics of physical visits and electronic searches in the library at the University of Ruse during the period of 2004–2023. The figure can be analyzed by dividing the period into three stages: the first period, between 2004 and 2009; the second, 2010–2020; and the third, after 2020. In the first period, the traditional use of the library prevailed. The electronic catalog was newly introduced as a search method, and it took time to be accepted. The second period, 2010–2019, was a period when electronic searches and usage of the databases maintained relative differences, and the physical use of the library was higher. With the exception of one decrease in 2015, the visits to borrowing and reading rooms were relatively stable and higher than the searches in the databases and the catalog. The decrease in 2015 can be explained by the testing of the RFID registration of readers and some changes in the computer equipment in the library, which caused interruptions to electronic services. After the pandemic in 2020, the use of electronic services became greater than physical visits to the library. This can be explained by the rise of open source and online information resources. Additionally, technological developments have been introduced, and readers have more opportunities to access information on remote devices.

• Automation due to emerging technologies. The university library continuously introduces innovative solutions. In 2021, the library’s system was connected to the university program “Student”. It makes it possible to upload electronic dossiers of new users directly into the “Readers” module in the library. This makes registering and servicing faster and more accurate; 2008 newcomers have been registered automatically since the connection of the systems. In 2022, a new version of the software was created, and the catalog is now accessible through the internet and available to readers worldwide. Users can conduct their search at home and afterwards contact the information specialist, if necessary. The “My library” module was added, which enables students to check their status and obligations. The data of the library are placed on a virtual server, thereby providing new opportunities for information processing, including work with scanned documentation. Digitalization at the library started with two projects. With the first project, the library acquired a [17] book scanner. The oldest book collection (dating from 1986–1922) was scanned and made available in the catalog. Students from the pedagogical specialties used the scanned versions of the books for analysis in their education, while the originals were preserved. With the second project [17], the university library digitized the archive containing the work of the Academic Council, produced during the period of 1954–2001. The managing body of the university made fast references, and the history of the university was preserved.

4. Discussion

The development of libraries takes place over consecutive periods of time: automation, post-automation, Google Library, and we are currently observing the formation of the AI library [18]. AI has already been introduced into the search systems of databases like EBSCO [19], Alma [20], Ovid Discovery [21], etc. It assists the user in finding the best results that suit the subject of interest. AI is also used to explain interconnections between information resources. It argues for the presented results based on the citations and reliability of the sources. Libraries can prioritize databases, which are included in the search options, according to different characteristics.

Automation in academic libraries is a consequence of the socio-economic and technological development of the different nations of the world. It follows the educational and scientific policies of countries and universities. Academic libraries, as integral parts of innovative and research universities, are developing at the same speed as their host institutions, if not faster.

The automation of the main scientific supporting systems results in faster and more accurate gathering and distribution of knowledge. This leads to the creation of multidisciplinary research teams and international connections. Figure 5 illustrates the international connections between the “Angel Kanchev” University of Ruse and foreign institutions, established on the basis of the Erasmus program [22] (585 partner institutions [23]) and other types of agreements (124 contracts [24]). The number of connections increased after the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union (EU) in 2007, which made travel and communication easier [25].

An example of the internationalization of the library is the 2008 European Documentation Center [26], which created a network of 270 libraries (Figure 6). Furthermore, the university is an active member of the Association of European Research Libraries [5], which offers methodological advice and project opportunities. The coordination of ideas with leading institutions broadens the scope of services, and the library becomes more socially inclusive and implements innovations.

Libraries have started to produce digital content, manage digital repositories, and participate in the digital humanities. Collections and information resources are getting more and more complicated. Librarians assist scientists in their scientific searches, but they conduct research on their own too, and implement it in their work. Simultaneously, libraries and librarians continue to execute their classic duties: to preserve the historic and cultural heritage of the community.

A book by A.T. Francis [27] states that the right information, spread to the right users in the correct form, will lead to growth in all human activities and progress in the world. Technological modernization has changed everyone’s workplace, and libraries are no exception to that. Librarians and information experts have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to all innovations over the centuries and prove that they will continue to deal with informational resources, despite changes in their forms and formats.

5. Conclusions

The article analyzes the chronological automation of the main library services provided by university libraries in Bulgaria. On this basis, five main periods were distinguished in which new automated library services were introduced. The positive effects of new technologies on the functions and services offered in academic libraries have been proven, and some of their effects on librarians, researchers, and universities have been suggested. It has been established that library services are strongly correlated with the needs and requirements of educational and research processes, and are used to find and utilize shared information resources from Bulgarian and foreign libraries and organizations. This contributes to the creation of a shared information system in which the dissemination of scientific results is carried out relatively quickly with the help of modern communication technologies. The results of the automation processes of the library services at the Angel Kanchev University of Ruse, Bulgaria, are presented. They prove that automation is being introduced and initiated at all levels of library work, and students and researchers are beginning to use electronic resources and databases more and more actively. There is an increase in the amount of information that is provided in electronic format and accessible via the Internet.

The results from this study can contribute to future research and discussions on the following issues:

• The digitization of library services and more complete use of information resources, as well as new technologies for the development of education, science, and innovation.
• Transforming the means of providing information materials and transitioning to an AI library.