[Web4lib] RE: library automation vendors

[Joshua Ferraro]

On Tue, Jul 19, 2005 at 07:50:54AM -0700, David Walker wrote:
> >> What we really ought to be thinking
> >> about is not the interface to the
> >> OPAC, but the interface to the metasearch engine
>
> I think you're absolutely right, Jim.
As do I. (BTW: Koha 3.0's OPAC will be metasearch capable ;-))

> But periodically people remind me that the ILS is principally an
> inventory management system.  We need something that keeps track of
> purchasing and circulation of items (our campus actually uses our system
> to circulate laptops and other equipment as well), fines, and other
> mundane things.
>
> WorldCat doesn't do that.
This is true ... but there may be a useful distinction between the
gateway through which patrons access the collection management
system and the collection management system itself. For instance,
as a patron of the Nelsonville Public Library (Koha) you can use
A9's OpenSearch as your customizable gateway to information (library
catalog, google, databases, etc.). From the results page, in the
library catalog column you can click on the 'reserve this item'
link for the item you're interested in and then you're taken to the
library's collection management system to finish the transaction.               

That's putting the library where the patron is rather than trying
to get the patron to go to the library ... at least that's how I
see it.

Cheers,
-- 
Joshua Ferraro               VENDOR SERVICES FOR OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE
President, Technology       migration, training, maintenance, support
LibLime                                Featuring Koha Open-Source ILS
jmf at liblime.com |Full Demos at http://liblime.com/koha |1(888)KohaILS