[WEB4LIB] re: Two steps forward, three steps back

[Sloan, Bernie]

I agree with Roy.

I've looked at a lot of RFPs, RFIs, RFQs, etc., over the past 25 years.
People tend to ask for things that they are already familiar/comfortable
with, i.e., RFPs for new systems frequently tend to ask for things
already available in the old system. And the focus also naturally tends
to be on features that librarians want, as opposed to features users
might really need.

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Roy Tennant
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2004 11:10 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] re: Two steps forward, three steps back

I'd also like to point out that in many cases, we simply have gotten 
what we asked for. That is, vendors will usually try to give us what we 
want in order to sell product. The fact that we've been asking for the 
wrong things is now coming home to roost. So while we are busy pointing 
fingers at awful vendor products, we should also point into the mirror 
as well.
Roy

On Dec 22, 2004, at 9:01 AM, Elena OMalley wrote:

> Stacy:
>
> If you aren't already on it, I'd recommend signing up for Voyager-L,
> which is the mailing list for Endeavor Voyager users. I believe there
> was a recent discussion on a customer-created workaround to drop the
> word "and" in between search terms entered in basic search (unless it
> contained quotation marks). http://voyager.ship.edu/voyagerl/ (The
> list is only for staff in customer institutions.) Endeavor also has a
> support website that might address some OPAC set up issues.
>
> I'm not exactly a cheerleader for Endeavor -- we've had our share of
> troubles. On the other hand, I try to cut them some slack. Libraries
> tend to be very demanding customers (rightly so, sure), but we don't
> always have the money to back up our many demands' requirements for
> programmers, R&D, and technical support for our highly customized
> versions of the systems.
>
> Let me know if you want to talk over any Endeavor details off-list.
> We migrated two years ago, so the wounds are still relatively fresh.
:)
>
> Elena
> _______________________________________
> Elena O'Malley
> Head of Library Computer and Internet Services
> Emerson College Library, Boston, MA 02116
> (617) 824-8339 / Elena_OMalley at emerson.edu
>
>
>