On Wed, Sep 24, 2008 at 20:05, Kevin M Kidd <kiddk_at_bc.edu> wrote:
> I'm not sure what exactly this means - it's a distinction
> without a difference. Why wouldn't a librarian who does
> IT work understand that he is doing IT work?
Since this really cuts to the core of the problem, let's get it out in the open;
Libraries have been special for far too long, and that is why we're
now having this conversation and why the library world is in trouble.
An IT guy in a library is being told that he needs to make systems
that are special for the library, and every other librarian also
thinks the library is such a special place that software must be
custom made, that there are no alternatives.
But there are always alternatives, both on how you approach the
problem, and also on how you deal with your own specialness.
Libraries are probably best to change and compromise a little. Just
because you like to think in terms of stacks doesn't mean you must
have software that are written for stacks; shelves will probably do.
Just because you call your main users patrons doesn't mean that a
customer wouldn't do. And so on. For every problem in the ILS you will
find an outside alternative. This is a problem of not wanting to
change more than actually solving the problem.
Alex
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Received on Wed Sep 24 2008 - 12:52:30 EDT