This paper is based on a survey of the literature on integrated library management systems published between 1999 and 2003, with a bias towards the academic market in the UK and North America. It describes how new functionality within ILMSs and products complementary to these integrated systems are being offered by software vendors, causing libraries to replace legacy systems with next generation systems and spend more money on add‐on products. Recent trends in integrated library management systems are noted and predictions for their future identified in the literature, are described. Open source software is highlighted as being likely to have a growing impact on the ILMS of the future, after an initial resistance to this from vendors. The paper concludes that the growth of Web services may enable a new approach to the procurement of library management systems.