Automating Libraries: The Major Mistakes Vendors are Likely to Make
| Pages | 107-113 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047601 |
| Published date | 01 February 1985 |
| Date | 01 February 1985 |
| Author | Jon Drabenstott |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
The Consultants' Corner
Automating Libraries:
The Major Mistakes Vendors are Likely to Make
A forum edited by Jon Drabenstott
Five prominent consultants-
Richard
Boss,
Susan Baerg Epstein, Rob
McGee, Joseph Matthews, and
James
E.
Rush—discuss
the most common mistakes
vendors make in implementing
automated
systems.
Basic
problems
relate to identification of library needs;
communications; delivery dates;
inadequate systems; and systems
support. Suggestions are made for
correcting
these
problems.
In the first Consultants' Corner, five library
automation experts addressed common mistakes
that library planners are likely to make in under-
taking automation initiatives. In this second column,
each of the five participating consultants has been
asked to identify the three most common mistakes
that vendors are likely to make in working with
libraries to plan and implement automated systems.
The five contributing consultants include Richard
Boss,
Susan Baerg Epstein, Rob McGee, Joseph
Matthews, and James Rush. Their comments re-
present considerable experience as intermediaries
between libraries and vendors. The insights of the
consultants provide both caveats to libraries and
opportunities for vendors to reflect upon the delivery
of their products and services. Collectively, the
comments can help improve automated system
procurement processes and working relationships
between libraries and vendors.
Taken together, the contributions of the con-
sultants present a number of themes:
Library Needs. There is overwhelming sentiment that
vendors still do not fully understand, or respond
adequately to, library needs. Boss ascribes careless-
ness to vendors who ignore descriptive information
within library requirements reports. According to
Matthews, vendors can focus too much on product
capabilities rather than library needs when marketing
automated systems. McGee stresses the complexity
of library environments, and the reluctance of ven-
dors to understand user requirements and to design
systems that go beyond replicating manual systems.
Rush points out that Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
often do not accurately reflect library needs or
objective decision-making processes; vendors must
Drabenstott is Associate Director of Libraries
at Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI.
ISSUE 10 107
To continue reading
Request your trial