Cost Comparisons Between Bibliographic Utilities and CD‐ROM‐Based Cataloging Systems
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047765 |
| Pages | 49-52 |
| Published date | 01 March 1989 |
| Date | 01 March 1989 |
| Author | Dolly Chao |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Cost Comparisons Between Bibliographic
Utilities and CD-ROM-Based
Cataloging Systems
Dolly Chao
There are three major cost areas to consider when
selecting an automated system for cataloging: pur-
chase/one-time costs; ongoing costs; and staff re-
source costs. Staff resource costs are affected by
such issues as hit rate, quality of records, ease
of original cataloging input, the ease of transfer-
ring new records into the library's catalog, ease
of ongoing catalog maintenance, system response
time,
and the related amount of downtime. Model
worksheets are presented for calculating these
costs for various bibliographic utilities and CD-
ROM-based cataloging systems.
Librarians involved in selecting between a
bibliographic utility and a CD-ROM-based cataloging
system have a difficult task before them. In evaluat-
ing and determining the best system solution for
the library, many factors need to be considered,
such as:
• the size of the database and the type of records
it contains;
• the quality of the records;
• interfaces with other systems the library is
using;
• how well the system will fit into the operations
of the library;
• the effect on the library's resource-sharing
activities;
• the quality of technical support and training
provided by the vendor or utility; and
• costs.
All the above factors are important in the
selection of a cataloging system. This article, how-
ever, will only focus on costs.
The text of the article contains a description
of major cost areas. Supplementing the text is a
worksheet that libraries may modify and use when
comparing costs.
MAJOR COST AREAS
There are three major cost areas to consider
when selecting an automated system for cataloging:
• purchase/one-time costs;
• ongoing costs; and
• staff resource costs.
Chao is with the Library Consulting Group
at Peat Marwick Main & Co., San Francisco, Cali-
fornia.
ISSUE 27 49
To continue reading
Request your trial