Easy Access, Low Maintenance: Cloud Computing in Libraries

 

Cloud Computing in Libraries

By Megan Cleary

Cloud computing can be defined as “a new way to deploy computing technology to give users the ability to access, work on, share, and store information using the Internet (Shaw and De Sarkar, 19).” In essence, instead of applications and data being stored on computers and a server at each individual location, a cloud services provider hosts the information at one or more sites where each user institution can then access them over the internet. In libraries, cloud computing can be used to provide access to integrated library systems (ILS’s), the online public access catalog (OPAC), or a catalog of e-books and audiobooks (for example, Libby). Since the information is all being hosted by a cloud-services provider offsite, the library itself does not need to worry about making room for bulky servers and equipment. This saves the library time, money, and space. Another benefit of using cloud computing is that any upgrades or maintenance needed are provided by the cloud-services provider so that the library staff have one less task on their to-do list. Lastly cloud computing also provides access from anywhere and at any time. Since the applications and data are accessible from any computer connected to the internet, users can access the library’s catalog from their homes and download an e-book to their tablet from the Libby application.

There are a couple of concerns with moving to the cloud, two of the biggest being potential outages and patron privacy. The outage issue comes into play when a provider has an outage and the end-user then cannot access the application or data. And since library staff are not the ones working on the back-end, they can’t do anything to help move the problem along (Zmau and Talbott, 36). Patron privacy issues are very integral to the mission of libraries. Per Article VII of the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights:

VII. All people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries should advocate for, educate about, and protect people’s privacy, safeguarding all library use data, including personally identifiable information. (“Library Bill of Rights”)

When libraries are the only keepers of their users' personally identifiable information, the responsibility lies with them. However, when third-party cloud computing service providers are brought into the picture, there lies an opportunity for library users' information to be compromised.

Taking everything into consideration, I believe that the pros of cloud computing far outweigh the cons as it truly benefits both the libraries and their users.

 

Works Cited

“Library Bill of Rights.” American Library Association, 29 Jan. 2019, https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill. Accessed 17 May 2023.

Shaw, Jitendra N., and Tanmay De Sarkar. "Model Architecture for Cloud Computing-Based Library Management." New Review of Information Networking, vol. 24, no. 1, 2019, pp. 17-30. EBSCOhost; Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=136746353&site=ehost-live&scope=site 10.1080/13614576.2019.1608581.

Zmau, Ashley, and Holly Talbott. "Chapter 6: New Developments in Library Discovery and Access." Library Technology Reports, vol. 58, no. 7, 2022, pp. 34-37. EBSCOhost; Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=162525921&site=ehost-live&scope=site.