The I.S.I.S. SilverPlatterSMService: Confronting a New Technology (Part 2)
| Published date | 01 February 1985 |
| Pages | 116-120 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047602 |
| Date | 01 February 1985 |
| Author | Parke P. Lightbown |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
The I.S.I.S. SilverPlatterSMService:
Confronting a New Technology (Part 2)*
Parke P. Lightbown
A symbiotic relationship
exists between libraries and technology
companies that
serve
libraries. Libraries
make "needs statements" to which
technology organizations respond.
Two needs are 1) reduced costs
for information technology
hardware and software, and 2) fixed
costs. The
I.S.I.S.
SilverPlatterSM
Service is designed to meet these needs.
The "3Rs" of library technology
companies: relationship, role,
and responsibility, are described with
respect to the development of
the SilverPlatter Service.
In Library Hi Tech issue number 9, I suggested
that the impact of optical storage on libraries will
largely be determined by how well library technology
organizations have learned their "3Rs:" relationship,
role,
and responsibility. Technology organizations
must understand that their relationship with libraries
is symbiotic, that their role is to provide a service,
and that they have a responsibility to support the
general needs of the library community. The fol-
lowing discussion will illustrate how an understanding
of these three principles influenced the development
of our SilverPlatterSM Service.
The development of this product began in Octo-
ber 1983 when I went to London to work with Bela
Hatvany, the founder of CLSI. We had decided to
take a year to develop a product for libraries that
utilized optical storage. During that year we ex-
perimented with various optical media, hardware
configurations, software packages, and applications.
When we settled on the concept for the product
now called the SilverPlatter Service, we began to
share the concept with some database publishers and
librarians. The reactions were always positive and
frequently accompanied by questions as to how we
arrived at the idea. Looking back over the planning
period, I cannot help but see how the "3Rs" in-
fluenced the process.
RELATIONSHIP
The library's side of the symbiotic relationship
involves the development of "needs statements."
This kind of communication often is difficult to
* Part 1appeared in LibraryHi
Tech,number
9,pl20.
Lightbown is President of International Standard
Information Systems.
SilverPlatterSM is
a
registered service mark of I.S.I.S.
SilverPlatter™ is
a
registered trade mark of I.S.I.S.
116 LIBRARY HI TECH
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