Towards the integral management of library collections at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC).

The University Library at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) currently manages several collections with different automated systems. These collections include the bibliographic collections of libraries, the Digital Library (which includes commercial products, such as books, journals and databases) and the documents generated by the University (such as dissertations, teaching materials, research results, projects by students, digital videos, etc.). The production processes of the digital materials that are generated by the University, which are highly specific and complex, follow an established workflow that traditional management systems are unprepared for. Increasingly, the University requests the Library to actively participate not only in the management of the final documents (within the library) but also during the entire life cycle of the documents generated. We should keep in mind that digital documentation has its own specific publication and editing requirements, which are sometimes very sophisticated, and therefore the management of different kinds of materials with one overall system is difficult. The University Library has developed different systems to suit the characteristics of each collection, which has also spawned different support products that meet specific needs to be developed for the management of these collections. These products are therefore very efficient; however, they have led to a disparity in the procedures for document retrieval and, furthermore, the system's development and maintenance has become very expensive. Faced with this situation, the University Library is analysing the advantages and disadvantages of using a unique management system or, alternatively, of continuing to employ different systems, as the previous stage to the design of a new strategy for the management of university production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]