[Publib] Re: What's good about a good ILS?

[Backwage at aol.com]

In a message dated 9/9/2007 1:58:01 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
jbsphx at cox.net writes:

When he  saw my friend's raised eyebrows he further explained that  
when it  came time to sell his company's ILS to a library, the people  
who  made the purchasing decision were the back-office folks -- the   
technical services manager and her staff.  Public services  didn't  
figure into it. So his firm made the logical business  decision to  
design their software to cater to the needs and desires  of technical  
services staff.  In short, the vendor saw  cataloguers and  
acquisitions staff as its customers, not library  patrons.


This is what's known as the dog food theory of sales.  Dogs don't buy  dog 
food, they just eat it.  People buy dog food based on advertisements  which 
appeal to folks who do not regularly consume horse kidneys or chicken  feathers.  
In the case of dogs, it works because dogs will eat practically  anything.  
With cats, well, cats don't even eat what they like.
 
I remember working in a college library whose computer system was down  about 
half the time.  The IT manager thought it was an excellent  system--she 
would, because she designed it.  I'm thinking of writing  reviews on the patron 
usability of local library OPACs.  Stay tuned.
 
M. McGrorty



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