Friday, June 01, 2007
The Open Source ILS
Check out this interesting blog post by Andrew K. Pace (NCSU) on open-source ILS systems. I am including the first paragraph here. I have added emphasis on certain sections that I especially agree with.
Pace writes: "It's true that I am one of the skeptics. I'll state that up front. But, in truth, my skepticism toward building an open source integrated library system was born in optimism that the vendors of proprietary software would be paying close attention to the landscape. Alas, I don't think they were."
Yes! The vendors are NOT paying attention to their paying customers. They are too busy trying to entice the next "big get" with bells and whistles and add-ons, while never addressing the fact that their circulation and OPAC modules stink like three-day-old fish and need major overhauling.
Sure, I'd rather not go to a DIY mode (I have enough on my plate already, thank you), but if that's the only way we can get what is really important to those of us who are on the front lines, then we may have to go for it. We are the ones to whom it's most important to have a decent circ system and OPAC. We're the ones who have to explain to patrons "Well, ideally the system would do this, but it won't do that, so here's a workaround." (I'd like to know when was the last time a Sirsi or Dynix sales rep or programmer stood at a circ desk for 3 hours at a time and dealt with all the little individual system "quirks" and "features" that make our circ staff and patrons' lives inconvenient, if not downright hellish at times.)
I worry about us librarians, sometimes. Have we fallen into the trap of learned helplessness, so that we are so dispirited that all we can do is limply complain about how cruddy our ILS systems are? Can we not imagine a better possible future for ourselves? We are not helpless. We do have options. Yes, exploring options and thinking about the possibility of changing systems is very scary. Yes, it will take up a lot of time. But would you rather take your fate in your own hands and TRY to make things better for yourself and your staff, or would you rather be nibbled to death by ducks, slowly and painfully, while paying royal fees to ILS vendors for the privilege?
Pace writes: "It's true that I am one of the skeptics. I'll state that up front. But, in truth, my skepticism toward building an open source integrated library system was born in optimism that the vendors of proprietary software would be paying close attention to the landscape. Alas, I don't think they were."
Yes! The vendors are NOT paying attention to their paying customers. They are too busy trying to entice the next "big get" with bells and whistles and add-ons, while never addressing the fact that their circulation and OPAC modules stink like three-day-old fish and need major overhauling.
Sure, I'd rather not go to a DIY mode (I have enough on my plate already, thank you), but if that's the only way we can get what is really important to those of us who are on the front lines, then we may have to go for it. We are the ones to whom it's most important to have a decent circ system and OPAC. We're the ones who have to explain to patrons "Well, ideally the system would do this, but it won't do that, so here's a workaround." (I'd like to know when was the last time a Sirsi or Dynix sales rep or programmer stood at a circ desk for 3 hours at a time and dealt with all the little individual system "quirks" and "features" that make our circ staff and patrons' lives inconvenient, if not downright hellish at times.)
I worry about us librarians, sometimes. Have we fallen into the trap of learned helplessness, so that we are so dispirited that all we can do is limply complain about how cruddy our ILS systems are? Can we not imagine a better possible future for ourselves? We are not helpless. We do have options. Yes, exploring options and thinking about the possibility of changing systems is very scary. Yes, it will take up a lot of time. But would you rather take your fate in your own hands and TRY to make things better for yourself and your staff, or would you rather be nibbled to death by ducks, slowly and painfully, while paying royal fees to ILS vendors for the privilege?
