Alma, the Cloud and the Evolution of the Library Systems Department

Abstract

As libraries begin to implement Alma and other cloud-based technologies, there are many questions about what lies in store for the traditional sysadmin focused systems department. What opportunities and challenges will systems departments face as libraries push their applications and services into the cloud? What will be the practical effect of implementing Alma on your systems department? What tasks will systems librarians have to give up? What new duties will they take on? What new skills will systems librarians need to develop? I will discuss these questions and more in the context of the development and implementation Alma at the Boston College University Libraries. Boston College was the first library in the world to adopt Alma, and we have been addressing these questions for more than two years. We would like to share our thoughts and experiences in a broad discussion of the significant effects of cloud computing on library systems and services.