American Libraries Journal Publishes Library Systems Report 2017

American Libraries recently published Library Systems Report 2017, the latest in a series of annual reports on trends in the library technology industry:

"The library technology industry has entered a new phase: business consolidation and technology innovation. Development of products and services to support the increasingly complex work of libraries remains in an ever-decreasing number of hands. Not only have technology-focused companies consolidated themselves, they have become subsumed within higher-level organizations with broad portfolios of diverse business activities. The survivors of this transformed industry now bear responsibility to deliver innovation from their amassed capacity. Modern web-based systems delivering traditional library automation and discovery capabilities are now merely table stakes. Real progress depends on building out these platforms to support the new areas of service emerging within each type of library."

The 2017 edition looks at corporate consolidation, technical trends such as open source ILS products, and product profiles for the academic, school and special library markets.

It is written by Marshall Breeding, a well-known library tech expert. He also edits the Library Technology Guides website and produces the annual International Library Automation Perceptions Surveys.