> ... I just have a lot of doubt that
> the vendors will actually continue to agree....
>
> ...And bottom line: what is their real incentive?
That is the bottom line, but I think there is plenty of reason for
optimism. The incentive for vendors to participate is that this is the
sort of functionality it will take to be relevant in the future. When
TV was invented, the radio people had to adjust. When people started
getting their news from the internet, the newspapers had to figure out
a new model. Those who provide library services need to face new
realities, or our users will turn elsewhere and the money will follow
them. Anyone who doesn't play ball will be left behind. This includes
us.
The reason Betsy is interested in business models is that if we change
the way we use the ILS, logically it will affect purchasing behavior.
Vendors need to stay in the black to stay in business, and it is in
nobody's interest if what little competition there is dries up.
ILS vendors currently have a product based business model. If you need
something done, they sell you something that performs that particular
task. Standards based services that allow us consider products from
multiple vendors or develop our own are in conflict with that model.
Library services are in a period of total upheaval. The whole idea of
a library is that it is a centralized repository of information. The
OPAC is a public view of the ILS -- a specialized inventory control
system designed to optimize the workflows associated with acquiring,
processing, and circulating physical materials. In recent years,
patron demand for physical and electronic resources maintained by
multiple vendors and institutions has skyrocketed, and this trend is
strengthening.
Shoehorning everything into a specialized inventory control system
designed to circulate physical materials locally just doesn't work,
and no vendor has the resources to do a decent job creating a product
range that meets all our users' needs. We have to deal with a large
number of vendors and institutional partners whether we want to or
not. Our users demand it. That is why we are forced to hack things
together and why there is such intense interest in standard protocols.
The work of the DLF ILS task force is important because there is
little value and no future in products that do not work together. The
fact that such an array of vendors would come to meet is by itself
recognition that the issues are real and must be addressed.
kyle
Received on Thu Apr 17 2008 - 11:27:16 EDT