The Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation (PALCI) has released the PALCI Guide to Interoperability and System Selection, a resource designed to help academic and research libraries evaluate whether new systems support open standards and collaborative practices before contracts are finalized.
The guide explains the practical meaning of interoperability, its importance for cost management, flexibility, and long‑term access, and the advantages of open standards compared to proprietary interfaces. It is intended primarily for staff at PALCI member institutions but is also relevant to the wider library community, including vendors and publishers, with the aim of raising awareness and expectations for openness across the sector.
PALCI Executive Director Jill Morris noted that system decisions made without considering interoperability can limit future collaboration. She emphasized that the guide provides libraries with a shared vocabulary and key questions to incorporate into procurement processes, ensuring interoperability is addressed early rather than becoming a costly issue later.
Carl Piraneo, PALCI’s Director of Resource Sharing and Member Services, highlighted that interoperability directly affects collaboration. He pointed to PALCI’s EZBorrow service as an example of how open standards enable libraries with different local systems to participate equally, adding that upcoming services will rely on the same foundation.
The guide is publicly available at palci.org. A companion resource with additional technical detail for PALCI member institutions is accessible through the organization’s Basecamp member portal.
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