The Vendors' Corner—The Request for Proposal
| Published date | 01 January 1987 |
| Pages | 87-97 |
| Date | 01 January 1987 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047683 |
| Author | Chris Sugnet |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
The Vendors' Corner
The Vendors' Corner--
The Request for Proposal
edited by Chris Sugnet
The library, the vendor, and the
consultant have their own roles to
play in the RFP process. The library
is responsible for identifying its
objectives and needs. These must be
clearly understood and stated. The
vendor's responsibility is to develop
a creative solution to the library's
particular needs, based on the
information provided in the RFP and
the functionality currently available.
The responsibility of the consultant
is essentially to educate. In order
to get the system it needs, the library
must not abdicate from the decision-
making process. The RFP is only
one step in the process of locating
a vendor and a system that meet
the library's needs.
The use of documents known as requests for
proposals (RFPs) as a basis for selection of library
systems is a fairly common practice. The investment
in dollars and staff time necessary to create a
customized RFP, often with a consultant's help,
can be significant. The library is notifying prospec-
tive bidders of the rules of competition, its future
goals and needs, and the functional requirements
the library sees as mandatory and desirable to fulfill
those needs. Often, the finished RFP is mailed
off to every vendor currently active in the mar-
ketplace. The library's expectations for the future
go with it. What is the result?
RFPs can be both a blessing and a curse.
If the library does its homework, a good fit with
a system is often found. On the other hand, if
the RFP is a "wish list"--or an open invitation
to bid "vaporware"--the right vendor may not bid
at all. The request for proposals is a means to
an end, but is it the best or only means? Is there
room for improvement?
The vendors responding to this issue are Norma
Lewis and Alison Curtis (Ultas), Carl R. Lee (VTLS),
Terri L. Friedman and Sean O'Doherty (CLSI), James
J.Michael (DRA), and Stephen Silberstein (Innovac).
They speak from experience in working with libraries
on RFPs and drafting responses to RFPs. The
vendors were asked to address the following issues:
1.
What style of RFP gets the best results?
How can RFPs be written better?
2.
What types of technical standards are typically
used in RFPs? Are they practical? What
relation do they have to the library's perceived
and real needs? Are expectations generally
too high for the current level of deliverable
Sugnet is Head, Monographic Cataloging
Department, General Library, University of New
Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
87131.
Please correspond
with him at the above address.
ISSUE 17 87
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