Migrating Library Data: A Practical Manual. Edited by Kyle Banerjee and Bonnie Parks. Chicago: ALA Neal-Schuman, 2017. 176 p. $56.00 softcover (ISBN 978-0-8389-1503-5).

Just the thought of migrating to a new library management system (LMS) or institutional repository (IR) is enough to make many librarians shiver in fear. It is a process that not only involves a tremendous amount of data, but includes both library and IT staff members. Migrating Library Data: A Practical Manual describes what is involved in a migration, plus many of the challenges librarians encounter when moving to a new system. However, this book addresses more than data migration. Its contributors discuss “how to extract, analyze, structure, and modify data to achieve the desired effect in a new system. It is about understanding the relationship between the system itself, the configuration, and the data” (xix).

Edited by Banerjee and Parks, Migrating Library Data consists of thirteen chapters, with each addressing a separate aspect of the migration process. While each author has been through a migration at their respective libraries, no two write about the same project. This variety of experience gives this book an added depth that would otherwise be lacking. Those who have been involved in migrations know each project possesses unique challenges and problems. While contributors paint their respective areas of expertise using broad strokes, there is enough detail that readers can apply the insights to their individual projects.

Migrating Library Data begins with an overview of the migration process, including descriptions of the types of data used by LMSs. Later chapters discuss in detail how to process bibliographic and item data, patron information, acquisitions, serials, and MARC data. Other chapters examine adding libraries to a shared system, post-migration tasks such as testing, going live, and working with vendors. Additionally, some chapters conclude with lists of resources, including websites for those readers who wish to investigate further.

While this book could have limited its focus to LMSs, its editors chose to include electronic resource management systems (ERMS), IRs, and digital collections. The challenges posed by these systems are described in Enoch’s chapter “Electronic Resources Management” and “Institutional Repositories and Digital Collections” by Banerjee. Although both note that moving to a new ERMS or IR rely on the same tools and skill sets as those used in LMS migrations, they involve a different set of challenges. For example, Enoch addresses the variety of information stored in an ERMS. Unlike an LMS, an ERMS holds holdings information for individual journal titles, title-specific data, and vendor contacts in addition to bibliographic data. This information may be in multiple formats and come from various sources. Enoch focuses on locating data sources and mapping the data that is to be moved to the new system. Additionally, these migrations often have a different focus from that of an LMS migration. That is, as Banerjee notes, “librarians tend to focus on transferring objects and metadata” while migrating a digital asset management system or R is “more about migrating an effect than it is about migrating data” (184).

Of particular note is Reese’s chapter, “Working with MARC Data.” Reese, the author and creator of MarcEdit, describes how to utilize MarcEdit to prepare, edit, and merge record data. Although it is called MarcEdit, this tool can be used with non-MARC metadata schemas such as Dublin Core, Encoded Archival Description, and MARCXML, as well as metadata discovery services like OAI-PMH. Reese’s focus is on working with MARC data. Since MarcEdit offers almost 200 editing functions, Reese limits his discussion to those that are the most relevant to the migration process: character conversions, data preparation, record editing, working with non-MARC data, merging record data, and beyond MarcEdit. An extra benefit of this chapter is that important information is emphasized via pictures, hypothetical scenarios, and “Pro Tips” sections.

Despite its strengths, a downfall of Migrating Library Data is its focus on large academic libraries. The inclusion of smaller academic, public, and special libraries that may lack the technical knowledge and/or staff members would display a wider variety of migration strategies. Hearing about their struggles and how they overcame challenges such as an already overburdened IT department would help readers realize that while migrations are demanding and taxing even for well-staffed libraries, a library of any size and type can successfully move their data. For example, while several authors mention working with vendors, this reviewer occasionally formed the impression that much of the work was done in-house, a scenario that is not possible for all libraries. Many libraries would benefit from learning how other similar institutions worked with their LMS vendor before, during, and after a migration and how libraries decided which migration tasks they wanted to manage themselves and which ones they passed on to their vendor.

Migrating Library Data: A Practical Manual is a resource that any library considering migrating its data should read before embarking on a project of this nature, whether it is to a new LMS, IR, or ERMS. This volume manages that rare feat of not overwhelming readers with too much detail, but providing enough information to keep readers engaged. Even those librarians who have managed a migration project would benefit from reading this book because there is always something new.—Allison Badger (allison.badger@nebraska.gov), Nebraska Library Commission, Lincoln, Nebraska