I’ve been telling the librarians I’ve been speaking with to read the Cluetrain Manifesto and apply it to library services. Networked conversations are changing business, and I honestly believe, changing libraries. Look at the incredible discussion, conversation and kerfuffle around the ALA L2 course!
Into my aggregator comes Casey Bisson’s post about Nicole’s post entitled “Touched a Nerve.” Seems a staffer from iii was displeased with her blog post about the ILS…
Here’s what I might say, quoting the Cluetrain:
Markets are conversations! Here’s what your some of your market is saying:
In the meantime, I tell people not to purchase Innovative if they want to do anything, er, innovative.
and
They do have a good sales team though, we were hooked and reeled in. It wasn’t until later that all the limitations and roadblocks of the system became apparent (Comment from http://www.web2learning.net/archives/355)
If I was amongst the folks at this ILS, I’d grab a copy of the Cluetrain, start blogging, pull in some Bibliobloggers to do a focus group, take a close look at ILS vendors’ products that have the features folks are requesting and using, and LISTEN to our users. I’d also participate in the conversations playing out online!! Just sayin’
Nicole rocks my world with this comment to her post:
Well – I’ve said it before – I think they all need to take a step back and stop building onto old systems – it’s time to scrap the old and start fresh – with the help of librarians in the field. 15 years ago the system was all about the librarians keeping track of titles – now we need systems that do that and give the patrons what they’re looking for – but that’s a whole other post.