Abstract (eng)
This scientific work deals with the way technical requirements are handled in academic libraries. Whereas in the business community the Requirements-Engineering (RE) process has already been in use for a considerable length of time in order to guarantee smooth procedures in IT-projects, libraries, on the other hand, have scarcely dealt with the topic, despite the fact that cooperation with the IT sector is becoming ever more important, as, for example, by providing research supportive services. Thus Requirements Engineers can be regarded as the agents between the clients and the IT colleagues. They first devise the project, then get in touch with all the stake-holders, determine the requirements, formulate them and verify them and then accompany the entire process to the point of implementation. One of the aims of this work is, based on selected literature, to provide an overview of the professional handling of the requirements, to draft a job profile for Requirements Engineers in libraries, and to capture the mood of how the requirements are currently being handled at scientific institutions in Austria. To that end, interviews were carried out among representatives – librarians and technicians – at a total of 13 institutions. The result confirmed the thesis that Requirements Engineering remains uncharted territory in libraries or is simply not being implemented. It has to be said though that numerous projects are successfully being carried out among various library departments on the one hand and IT departments or companies on the other. A frequent complaint is the lack of training among staff members in technical fields and the fact that there is, generally speaking, insufficient funding and personnel. If more funds were to be invested in this field, the libraries could in the long term save time and money. This scientific paper concludes with a brief glance at what has to be given attention to in future and the recommendation that Requirements Engineering be added to the curriculum of Library Education.