[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Library Communications Framework

[Dan Scott]

On Mon, Nov 19, 2012 at 10:13:01AM -0800, Lori Bowen Ayre wrote:
> I have just returned from the UK where I met with BIC and CILIP (Chartered
> Institute of Library and Information Professionals) representatives as well
> as RFID vendors.
> 
> BIC has commissioned of a new set of library interoperability standards,
> which define a framework for the communication of data between self-service
> devices and other library terminal applications to and from library
> management systems. This framework replicates and extends the range of
> activities commonly conducted using 3M's open SIP.2 protocol and
> additionally provides web services functionality for the exchange of
> information.
> 
> It is anticipated that further functionality will be added over time, as
> new requirements are identified by libraries and by their management system
> and terminal application developers and suppliers. Support for additional
> functionality in the areas such as stock management is under consideration.

I suspect saying "here's yet another set of emerging standards, you guys
should spend your limited development hours chasing them in the promise
that one day it will be useful and adopted by the world" isn't going to
go very far. Libraries or equipment vendors generally want to get an
immediate return on their investment rather than a promise that one day
what they're paying for might be useful.

On the other hand, BIC and CILIP would certainly be welcome to use
Evergreen as a reference platform for implementing their emerging draft
protocols. Reference implementations are pretty common in standards
processes, and having it available as part of a reasonably large open
source library system, with test suites that help enforce adherence to
the documented standards, might sway equipment vendors to actually adopt
the standards themselves.