[OPLINTECH] [OPLINLIST] Open source state ILS, Evergreen project terminated

Fri Aug 27 16:59:02 EDT 2010

I can't claim everything I'm going to say here is factual, since it's been a
long time since I was involved in the state-wide ILS idea (even then, it was
very limited.) But the challenges were colossal even from the limited
vantage point I had.  It's been a few years, so I am woefully uninformed at
this point, but the crux of the problem before was communication between
library systems; both technologically and policy-wise.

Many consortiums right now are sort of rigged to work in such a way that the
consortium is considered the "main library" and member libraries are
configured as a "branch library".  At first this seems like a fine solution,
but when you realize that library policies statewide aren't standardized
(how much do you charge a day for a late book? What's the loan period for
item type X?  What items do you allow to circulate to other libraries?
Should you loan item XYZ to Library B if Library B won't loan you a similar
item?) this can really bog down the system with all the exceptions and rules
that must populate to every branch.

So the challenge becomes creating a system that can stand on its own, but
possesses the ability to do a federated search of other systems, and place
requests while also validating patrons using BOTH of the involved libraries'
policies.

The easiest solution, of course, is standardization of policies.
Considering the county I work in has 8 independent libraries, with 8
independently minded Boards, it's a high, high, high wall to climb.

I don't doubt that Ohio libraries have the technical talent to build/modify
an Opensource ILS to fit most our needs if we really mobilized.  I remember
some quoted numbers for building the SIP2 interface to make Evergreen or
Koha work 3 years ago.  While expensive, it wasn't overwhelming by any
stretch of the imagination...  But we techies have to remember that
regardless of how much money can be saved, administrators are tasked to
spend the tax dollars in the way they feel will best serve their community,
on behalf of the board.  If spending tens of thousands of dollars a year to
maintain the highest level of control of their collection is how they feel
it should be done, then I personally have to respect that because in my
position I'm a policy enforcer and not a policy maker.

Please don't think I'm trying to snuff out the idea-  I just think it's
important to note that the technology involved is only half the battle (or
less).

Travis McAfee
Systems Administrator
Way Public Library
101 E. Indiana Ave.
Perrysburg, OH  43551

Voice:  (419) 874-3135 x103
Fax:     (419) 874-6129
Email:   mcafeetr at oplin.org
Web:  http://www.waylibrary.info

-----Original Message-----
From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] On
Behalf Of Mann, James H.
Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 1:32 PM
To: Owen Leonard; Dan Will
Cc: Oplintech at Oplin.Org; Bob Neeper
Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] [OPLINLIST] Open source state ILS, Evergreen
project terminated

I'll add my 2 cents just for the heck of it.
If you have ever been involved in coordinating an ILS migration there are a
couple things you look for, and maybe the project just didn't stand up:
1. How easy is it to migrate your data
2. Do you get all the same features and services on your go live date
3. How does the user experience vary and what training do you need
4. Who will maintain it and at what cost
5. How easy is it to migrate your data

I had a boss who once suggested that the big ILS vendors are a lot like the
mob in that they don't own the brothels but they own the laundry business.
Most ILS vendors "own" your data in some shape or fashion and the "divorce
package" is often a large and hidden cost of any migration.

In my opinion I'll venture a guess that the decision wasn't made because of
philosophy or techno religion but because the system just couldn't do the
job.

Jim Mann
Technology Coordinator
Greene County Public Library
76 E. Market St.
Xenia Ohio 45385
(937)352-4000 x1210
mailto: jmann at gcpl.lib.oh.us
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." -
Mario Andretti.

-----Original Message-----
From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] On
Behalf Of Owen Leonard
Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 11:32 AM
To: Dan Will
Cc: Oplintech at Oplin.Org; Bob Neeper
Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] [OPLINLIST] Open source state ILS, Evergreen
project terminated

> I don't want to add a negative to this but, I find that a lot of libraries
> are afraid to bet the farm as it were, on open source.

I hope people aren't put off by Open Source because they think they
have to maintain a Linux server all by themselves. The Nelsonville
Public Library has had Koha hosted off-site for a few years now, and
it has been a great move for us. Much better reliability for us.

Using Koha doesn't mean you have to wade in and start coding. That
part is just a perk: an open system which you can hack if you need to
or want to. If the system does what you want out of the box you can
sit back and wait for your royalty-free (if not maintenance-cost-free)
upgrades.

On the other hand, here at Nelsonville we've found that being engaged
users has a lot of benefits. By submitting bug reports, communicating
with developers, and even submitting fixes we've had a better return
on our investment. I would argue that this kind of engagement in and
of itself has improved the staff's satisfaction with the software.

  -- Owen

-- 
Web Developer
Athens County Public Libraries
http://www.myacpl.org
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