Library Technology Guides

The Queens Borough Public Library has filed a lawsuit against SirsiDynix for matters related to its 2006 procurement of the Horizon 8.0 software. The initial complaint, filed July 2, 2008, posted earlier on this site, contains the accusations of the Queens Borough Public Library. On October 26, 2009, SirsiDynix filed a motion to dismiss many of the demands specified in the complaint. This motion reveals something of SirsiDynix side of the matter.

As supporting evidence, SirsiDynix has filed the License Agreement between Dynix Corporation and the Queens Borough Public Library signed on March 6, 2006. It’s rare to get a glimpse of a license agreement made by a library for a major library automation procurement, since in most cases these documents are considered proprietary and confidential. The documents filed also include an affidavit of Brad Whittle, currently the Vice President for North American Sales and Marketing for SirsiDynix who was involved with the sale of Horizon to Queens.

These motions made by SirsiDynix for dismissal are based on complex legal arguments and case law. We make no attempt to summarize or explain. Making these documents available does ensure that both sides of the case have been represented in the documents available to those in the library community following the issue.

Marshall Breeding Nov 2, 2009 10:14:00 Link to this thread    

For the last two years I have conducted a survey and written a report on the perceptions that libraries form of the quality of the core automation products they use and their satisfaction with the service they receive: Perceptions 2008: An International Survey of Library Automation and Perceptions 2007: An International Survey of Library Automation.

It’s time to collect data for the 2009 edition of the survey. This is an opportunity for libraries to register their perceptions of the ILS product they use, its vendor, and the quality of support delivered. Is support getting better or worse? The survey also probes at considerations for migrating to new systems and the level of interest in open source ILS. While the numeric rating scales support the statistical results of the study, it’s the comments offered that provide the most insight into the current state of library automation satisfaction.

Please help your fellow libraries who might be in the process of evaluating library automation options by responding to the survey. Any information regarding vendor performance and product quality can be helpful when making strategic decisions regarding automation alternatives. A large number of responses strengthen the impact of the survey and the subsequent report. If you have responded to previous editions of the survey, please give your responses again this year. It’s helpful to understand whether things are getting better or worse.

As with the previous versions of the survey, only one response per library is allowed. While all the individuals that work in a library may have their own opinions, please respond to the extent that you can from the general experiences of your library.

How to participate

The survey links each response to the listing for a library in the lib-web-cats directory. This connection provides the ability to correlate responses with the extensive library demographic data in lib-web-cats.

1. Find your library in lib-web-cats:

   Find your library:
   	(hint: for public libraries, enter city or county)

2. Select and view the listing for your library
3. Press the button
4. Complete the form and write in your comments!

When viewing the entry for your library in lib-web-cats, please check for any incomplete or inaccurate information and let me know of any needed changes.

If your library isn't listed in lib-web-cats, please submit its information.

Marshall Breeding Nov 3, 2009 22:08:15 Link to this thread