[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] What are your requirements for Evergreen?

[Jonathan Rochkind]

It sounds to me like you're asking for EG to take over ILL  
functionality currently typically implemented in ILL software  
packages that are not part of an ILS?

To me, the best solution here is for EG to support loosely coupled  
integration with external ILL packages.  In general, the future  
direction many of us see for library systems infrastructure is away  
from gigantic monolithic systems whose parts are inseperable, and  
toward suites of individual components which work well together, but  
which are separate components which can be mixed and matched. To get  
there, some things currently contained in typical monolithic ILS/LMS  
packages are going to have to be separated out in a way that still  
allows staff and patron _workflow_ to be integrated.  So taking  
functionality that currently already is separated out and tightly  
coupling it into a monolithic system would be the backwards direction!

On the other hand, these other components DO need to support a  
tightly integrated _workflow_ with each other, which they don't now,  
so there is work to be done.  Is there an existing satisfactory ILL  
component that EG could be made to work well with?  (Open source _or_  
proprietary, depending on the requirements of the customers).  If  
not, perhaps it makes sense to create one, if there are resources to  
do so--but still as an external project to EG, which can be made to  
work very well with EG, not as an intrinsic part of a monolithic EG.

I hope that makes some sense.

Jonathan


On Feb 4, 2008, at 9:19 AM, Zachary Spalding wrote:

> Hey Dan,
>
> ILLiad is currently used by staff at other libraries and they use  
> it to mange their ILL que that we currently host on our VDX  
> system.  So by using the ISO ILL they can check what requests they  
> currently have and respond to those requests, and submit their own  
> requests without having staff trained to use two different software  
> platforms.
>
> As for interactions I probably the basics would be great, just see  
> a request, answer a request, and create your own request.
>
>
> Zack
>
> On Feb 3, 2008, at 11:57 PM, Dan Scott wrote:
>
>> On 30/01/2008, Zachary  wrote:
>>> I could use the addition of an ISO ILL so I could get my ILLiad  
>>> users
>>> to interact directly with Evergreen when dealing with ILL requests.
>>
>> Hi Zachary:
>>
>> Thanks for responding - this sounds pretty interesting.
>>
>> Can you tell us who your ILLiad users are, in relation to your  
>> library
>> (are they your staff? your patrons? patrons or staff at other
>> libraries?), what they do today with your current system, and what
>> kinds of interactions you would like them to have with Evergreen?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> -- 
>> Dan Scott
>> Laurentian University
>