[Web4lib] Problems with Emerald Insight

[Roy Tennant]

I'm reminded by the ALA web site fiasco a while back. I don't know  
why organizations think releasing a web site before it is properly  
tested could ever possibly be a good thing. Hang the schedule. If you  
put it out there before it's time it will come back to haunt you.  
Library Journal was another web site release fiasco. Hey people, talk  
to your customers every now and then _before_ foisting a new site on  
us. We would be wise to remember this the next time we get caught up  
in thinking our new web site is the best thing since sliced bread.  
Will the users of our new web site feel the same way?
Roy

On Aug 26, 2005, at 9:26 AM, Leo Robert Klein wrote:

> So I'm trying to do my CurrentCites (which BTW is a wonderful  
> Current Awareness Service edited by the renowned R. Tennant) and I  
> see from my various "Emerald Alert Service Updates" a whole bunch  
> of interesting articles in journals like "New Library World",  
> "Library Management" and "Aslib Proceedings".
>
> I scoot over to www.emeraldinsight.com to look them up and  
> basically the online TOC's are screwed up, none of the articles  
> show up, and the links don't work.  This has been the case for  
> several days now.  Bad news, you'd think -- especially from an  
> outfit whose bread and butter is to provide online content.
>
> But if that were the end of it, this wouldn't be worth mentioning.  
> Here's the frosting on the cake:  I naturally brought this to the  
> attention of alerts at emeraldinsight.com and here's the response I  
> got back:
>
> "We are aware of some technical problems on our new site. I would  
> advise going to old.emeraldinsight.com and browsing for these  
> articles on there. I have checked and this site is up to date."
>
> "I apologise for any problems you have encountered and we hope to  
> have them resolved asap."
>
> While that's nice, you'd think they would have put some advisory on  
> the pages themselves instead of leaving it up to some poor devil to  
> use the system, not find it working properly, to report that and  
> then to finally be told the material lay elsewhere.
>
> Back in the good old days of the Soviet Union, the standard  
> practice in the face of unexpected difficulties, set-backs and  
> disasters was to keep a lid on them -- and if anyone found out, to  
> assure people that everything was under control.  Whatever you  
> think of that regime, this is certainly not a model for effective  
> delivery of online services.
>
> Far better to admit your screw-ups and make sure your users know  
> about them every which way you can.  Web development after all is a  
> constant school of humility -- you might as well embrace that fact  
> if you want to  be successful in it.
>
> LEO
>
> -- -------------
> Leo Robert Klein
> www.leoklein.com
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