[Web4lib] Drupal on a Windows server?

[K.G. Schneider]

We all had these larger agencies hosting for us because years ago we didn't
have the staff or money to host ourselves

 

In all fairness, in the olden days there was also the idea that in numbers
there was strength. 

 

, and the wealth of (often cheaper) outsourced options didn't exist as they
do today.  Now things have changed.  The world has moved on without us, and
many of the agencies we're using to host for us have fallen behind the times
and then some.   If the agency can't give the library what it wants on its
servers, then the library should look elsewhere.  

 

That's when the fun begins.  The political ramifications of doing so, even
if it's clear that what the library needs cannot be provided by the agency,
are often significant and not something the directors want to pursue.  One
has to make the argument that the end-user service ramifications outweigh
the tip-toeing political ramifications.  That's why I asked, in our big
discussion last week about system ability and library needs, for ways to
convince one's director that the leap to outsourced hosting is a leap worth
making.  It's an argument many of us in smaller libraries have had to make,
or will have to make soon.  And it's a hard one--it's difficult to argue
rationally with "we're part of this 'family' and we don't want to make
enemies."  That's the response I got in the last library I worked in where
this was an issue.  It's not a response one can combat with logic.


Sarah Houghton

I'll share something else I've shared with Sarah. Obey Deep Throat's advice:
follow the money. Get to know your consortium budgets. Ask how the money
gets spent. See who gets served and who doesn't. Ask yourselves whether
newer, more valuable services are priced to support older, less valuable
services. 

Most importantly, get to know the other libraries in your consortium. Find
out what their needs are. Meet around the table with their stakeholders and
come up with a plan. After all, they are the "family." I know it's hard to
see it this way, but the consortium works for you. 

Karen G. Schneider

kgs at bluehighways.com