Mellon Funds Design of Next-Generation Library System

A $475,700 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to the Duke 
University Libraries will lead to the design of a next-generation, 
open-source library system that is flexible, customizable and nimble 
enough to meet the changing and complex needs of 21st-century libraries 
and library users.  The goal of the Open Library Environment (OLE) Project 
is to develop a design document for library automation technology that 
fits modern library workflows, is built on Service Oriented Architecture, 
and offers an alternative to commercial Integrated Library System 
products.

Leaders of the OLE Project, representing libraries in the U.S., Canada, 
and Australia, will involve the library community in the design process 
through workshops, meetings, webcasts and online discussions. Through 
those activities, they will develop a plan for a library technology system 
that breaks away from an emphasis on print-based workflows, reflects the 
changing nature of library materials and new approaches to scholarly work, 
meshes well with other enterprise systems, and can be modified easily to 
suit the needs of different institutions. The project website at 
http://oleproject.org gives detailed information about the project and 
includes FAQs, recommended reading, and a comment section.

“The information environment is changing rapidly, but the technology of 
library management systems has not kept pace,” said Lynne O’Brien, 
principal investigator on the project and Director of Academic Technology 
and Instructional Services for the Duke University Libraries. “This 
project is a wonderful opportunity to design a system that supports 
library innovation and better meets the needs of today’s researchers.” 
O’Brien is joined on the OLE Project team by colleagues from Duke as well 
individuals from the University of Kansas, Lehigh University, the 
University of Pennsylvania, the National Library of Australia, Library and 
Archives Canada, Vanderbilt University, the Orbis Cascade Alliance, 
Rutgers University, the University of Florida, the University of Chicago, 
Columbia University, the University of Maryland and Whittier College. 
Because the OLE Project is a collaborative, community-based venture, there 
will be many opportunities for individuals from other libraries to 
participate in the project through regional and virtual meetings, 
discussion of plans and documents, comments via the project website and 
listserv and discussions at professional meetings. 
In addition to its development of a design document, the OLE Project is 
intended to create a community of interest that could be tapped to build 
the planned system in a follow-on project.

Contact: 
Lynne O’Brien, Ph.D.
Director, Academic Technology and Instructional Services
Duke University Libraries
lynne.obrien@duke.edu or 919.660.5862

Ilene Nelson
Director of Communications
Duke University Libraries
ilene.nelson@duke.edu or 919.660.5816