| Sumario: | In the upcoming years, we anticipate major changes in the realm of library automation. The upheavals have begun, with many different movements challenging the models of library automation that have prevailed for decades. The monolithic integrated library system (ILS) continues to diminish in importance as libraries move toward a transition to a loosely coupled suite of applications. While the ILS continues to play a role, though ever smaller, libraries are making investments in a new generation of automation products, especially next generation interfaces more comprehensive in scope and better equipped to handle full-text electronic content. Electronic resource management (ERM) systems struggle as a genre of automation products designed to handle the specialized task of helping libraries make sense of their explosively growing collections of subscribed electronic content. Sparked by recent industry events, libraries demand openness at a higher level than ever before, expressed through a tsunami of activity in the adoption of open source library automation software and in demands for open access to library data to enable better local control and integration with third party products. Specialists in serials need to be aware of, and provide input into, the emerging visions of library automation.
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