Check in at Blyberg.net for a candid and most transparent reflection on the ILS and this paragraph, that hopefully will send a message to III and others: Librarians and coders are not just going to timidly wait for little features anymore. We want control of our systems.
Maybe I’m feeling the fatigue that sets in after months of subverting the intended use of our system, but quite frankly, I hold little hope that our vendor will decide to pursue a strategy that champions community dev. In fact, during a recent visit to AADL, we were told by a top III executive that we have all the APIs we need. Apparently, he seemed unfamiliar with the entire notion. What we’ve accomplished is in spite of our ILS, not because of it. He was visiting under the pretense that they were very impressed with what we’d done with their system–I thought, “great, this is encouraging–a chance to open a dialogue”. As it turned out, he was just using AADL as a sales venue for another customer. The irony makes me grit my teeth. It’s a good thing I was on vacation that week–I might have told him that we’ve done things to their system that would make Paris Hilton blush. (I would have thought it, at least.)
WOW. His advice:
It’s important to take a good look at your own ILS and vendor to determine whether they really have your best interests in mind. You may just find that they do. If that’s the case, use every ounce of that good fortune to your advantage because many of us are not so lucky.