From Inherited Systems to Strategic Decisions

Leading a Server Migration as a New Department Head

Abstract

The author examines the migration of Indiana University Libraries’ interlibrary loan platform, ILLiad, from a locally-hosted server to OCLC hosting through the perspective of a new department head inheriting this critical technology decision. He explores how staffing changes, lost institutional knowledge, recurring system instability, and limited technical capacity prompted a reassessment of long-standing local practices. The piece outlines research, consortium consultation, approval processes, implementation challenges, authentication and workflow issues, and post-migration tradeoffs. Ultimately, the author offers practical guidance for new leaders tasked with managing inherited systems, vendor relationships, imperfect information, and strategic change in complex academic library environments.