Library management systems

 mBMS project: benchmarks

Launched in 2010, the shared library management system (SGBm) project was one of the actions included inAbes's2012-2015 Projet d'établissement, considered a priority by its Board of Directors and Scientific Council.

2016-2020: the "SGBm framework agreement" phase

The framework agreement referred to as "mBMS - Shared Library Management System" covers the supply of a document services platform linked to the systems administered byAbes. The solutions selected include the classic functions of any BMS, a link resolver, a discovery tool, access to a knowledge base and an ERMS. 

Within the framework of this project,Abes was the contact for the BMS suppliers and the institutions for the exchange of bibliographic data , the production of metadata and theguarantee of their quality. For their part, the institutions were the suppliers' interlocutors as regards support and integration with local information systems. Other actors intervened at the request ofAbes or of an institution to implement adaptations or technical complements, in particular during integration with other systems.

Terms and conditions of the framework agreement 

In October 2016, after 16 months of competitive dialogue with candidates proposing "new generation BMS" type solutions, 4 offers were selected:

• Decalog - Data Management
• Ex-Libris - Proquest
• Linagora - Biblibre
• OCLC

Following a sustained competitive dialogue, which allowed the economic model, certain functionalities and the suppliers' project engineering to evolve, a framework agreement was finalised: this defined the technical requirements for all the signatories of the order group and committed the contract holders for a period of 4 years, particularly in terms of price ceilings.

As the contract holders will be put out to tender again by each establishment in the consortium within the framework of subsequent contracts, the framework agreement guarantees a good level of technological and economic competition between the solutions selected. 

The holders of the framework agreement, who are the only ones authorised to equip the signatory establishments of the order grouping, were called upon to negotiate within the framework of subsequent contracts taking into account their specific needs. In order to increase their weight in the negotiations, some institutions chose to join forces and draw up the contract documents together. At the end of the procedure, each institution signed its own subsequent contract for a period of 5 years.

For the whole grouping, 2 annual deployment waves have been scheduled until 2020.

Technical features

From a technological point of view, the software as a service (SaaS) model has been adopted: the service platforms offered by the providers are based in the cloud, and the institutions pay a global annual subscription. The storage of data in a mirror database has been provided for.

Particular attention has been paid to the interconnection between the BMMS and the information systems of each institution (human resources management, financial and accounting management, etc.).

Although focused on local systems, the mBMS project retains the objective of strong articulation with national systems, both current and future. Institutions equipped with mBMS solutions continue to catalogue and exemplify their resources in Sudoc. Particular attention is paid to certain more delicate areas:

• articulation between printed and electronic collections
• fluidity of processing of these media (acquisition, processing, use, etc.)
• management of consortia at different levels and in different areas
• data exchanges between the Sudoc and the mBMS

New modes of cooperation with institutions

Within the framework of the SGBm project, a new mode of cooperation between the pilot establishments andAbes was initiated, based on collaborative work in the interest of the establishments. This cooperation will continue until 2020. Among the mechanisms for working with pilot sites, the support and management of subsequent contracts have proved their worth. To support these operations, certainAbes services have evolved or are in the process of evolving:

• a national backup system for the data of institutions that have deployed their mBMS solution
• synchronisation of flows between Sudoc and the BMSs
• new cataloguing toolproject

Since 2015, anannual Information Day is organised for the members of the SGBm framework agreement. Since 2020, the topics covered have been expanded to include more general issues around GBS. Only the contents of the Professional Days scheduled since 2020 are open access, the contents issued before being subject to confidentiality.