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The article analyses the role of the Government as enabler and promoter of the use and exploitation of ICT from three Latin American countries: Chile, Mexico and Argentina and the rankings in the World Economic Forum Global competitiveness report. Compare the years 2013 to 2015. The advances of Mexico are presented in the digital realm.Bibliographic management programs are analyzed as one of the software tools that support a digital policy. The benefits of free software are highlighted. Conclusions of the digital strategies advantages and disadvantages of the bibliographic managements programs are enlisted.

After providing an overall context of higher education in Mexico we present an overview of the automation of academic libraries in five states of the Mexican Republic, particularly as they relate to the concept of a Integrated Library Systems – ILS. Through the use of a questionnaire and observation we give an account of the systems used, migration processes, use times, methods of acquisition, modules implemented, levels of knowledge and operation, and degree of satisfaction. We found that most libraries have a ILS, the most commonly used being SIABUC, ALEPH and LOGICAT. However, it appears that the degree of implementation is low, mainly due to a lack of personnel training. In many instances only a limited level of automation was achieved because of the high cost of both the system and its maintenance. Furthermore, very few libraries had installed an open source, which indicates ignorance about such alternatives.

The outlines of the Dewey Decimal Classification System cannot, for obvious reasons, reflect all of human knowledge regarding the native languages of Mexico. The structure proposed by this system is too general for this issue, reason why a detailed study of the characteristics of such languages is made in this paper, and an expansion of the outline is proposed in order to express them in a correct and proper manner.

After providing an overall context of higher education in Mexico we present an overview of the automation of academic libraries in the metropolitan area of Mexico City, particularly as they relate to the concept of a Comprehensive Automated Library System – SIAB. Through the use of a questionnaire and observation we give an account of the systems used, migration processes, use times, methods of acquisition, modules implemented, levels of knowledge and operation, and degree of satisfaction. We found that most libraries have a SIAB, the most commonly used being SIABUC, ALEPH and LOGICAT. However, it appears that the degree of implementation is low, mainly due to a lack of personnel training. In many instances only a limited level of automation was achieved because of the high cost of both the system and its maintenance. A further obstacle to automation is a lack of knowledge about the existence of free software. Only one library had installed software of this kind.

This paper assesses two Integrated Library Systems (ILS) to identify advantages and disadvantages of proprietary and free software (SPX vs. Koha). With the aim of providing information to the librarian to expand alternatives to choose the comprehensive of ILS is most appropriate. Specifically be evaluated SPX and KOHA systems, describing the requirements and services offered by each one of them, and to give elements for decision making when purchasing a system.

Brief presentation and characteristics of the information users and their importance for the libraries and the librarians.