Good morning,
I'm emailing a few lists to learn whether there would be interest in a support group for people in the midst of leading (at some level) library system migrations, specifically ILSes/LSPs. I envision the group being for people in a range of stages, from "preparing to go to RFP" through "been in the system a year or two but still feel like the migration is wrapping up." Leadership might be of the entire migration project, but it could also be for members of the core migration team or those leading work for their department or functional area.
Part of my motivation in forming a group is self-interest, Penn State will be migrating over the next year from Sirsi Symphony to Alma and I'm leading that project. We've been on Symphony/Unicorn for over 25 years, so there will be many data, process, and culture changes in our future. While some questions or conversation topics are system-specific, I think there's also a place for peer support among those doing similar work. I've been fortunate get support from my own network so far, but I'd love to broaden it and make a space for people who may not yet have professional friends doing this kind of work. As someone asked after my Code4Lib 2025 talk about scaffolding work that sysadmins and maintainers do to support their coworkers: who supports the people doing the scaffolding? Ultimately, I think we support each other, whether that's through practical tips or commiseration.
If you're interested, please reply to me directly. I'll wait a week or two for responses to come in, then send a group email to everyone who's expressed interest and we can discuss. (If you'd prefer just to be included on whatever shakes out from those conversations but not to be in an initial group email, just let me know.) Right now, I'm thinking of monthly meetings, using a drop-in format but allowing for planned focus sessions, whether problem solving or knowledge sharing. I don't anticipate a formal affiliation with any one group in libraries (ALA Core, Code4Lib etc), but that's something we could discuss as long as we can ensure that people don't need to have any paid memberships to be group members. And if you have ideas, I'd love to hear them!
Best,
Ruth
Ruth Kitchin Tillman
Systems Librarian (Associate Librarian)
Penn State University Libraries
Paterno Library 006
rkt6_at_psu.edu<mailto:rkt6_at_psu.edu>
she/her/hers
Received on Wed Jul 29 2026 - 11:03:26 EDT