[Web4lib] RE: vendors and usability

[Karen Coyle]

Jesse Ephraim wrote:

>2) Haggle very hard over the cost of everything.  Library automation
>software companies don't get challenged enough on their prices, and many
>don't feel that they have to be competitive since it is an involved
>process to change software (and there are a limited number of
>competitors). 
>  
>
I'm actually going to argue against this technique. The library 
automation vendor marketplace is not a strong one, for a number of 
reasons. One is that libraries are relatively poor institutions who buy 
systems and upgrade as seldom as possible. We are seeing an increasingly 
shrinking vendor pool, which isn't good. Companies have recently gone 
out of business or been bought, and not because they've got good 
profits! Another reason why the market is difficult is that it's a zero 
sum game. There are a finite number of libraries, and they all need 
systems. Every purchase from one vendor robs a customer from another. 
This kind of market doesn't respond well to the normal economic pressures.

The other argument against pressuring vendors to work on their user 
interfaces is that the user interface is going to be the most variable 
part of the system across customers. It's not economically viable, nor 
terribly sensible, for vendors to put a lot of energy into customizing 
the user interface for individual libraries. I still think we should try 
to split the user interface away from the rest of the system so that it 
CAN vary for each library. The vendor's energy could then be put into 
making the program interface as flexible as possible.

kc

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Karen Coyle / Digital Library Consultant
kcoyle at kcoyle.net http://www.kcoyle.net
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