[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Which open-ils system would be easier to use/configure in k-12

[Dan Scott]

2009/2/5 Stuart Miller <stuartwm at uchicago.edu>:
> I can't speak to the specific needs of K-12, but I DO have an opinion about your questions: - Is the assumption that an open ILS installation will be cheaper
> hosted solution true or should our librarians not assume that Free Software means cheaper software? We would very likely be looking to have this solution hosted.
>
> Most advocates for open source do NOT claim that it saves money. Rather, it allows you to redirect expenditures to more productive uses, allows for competition for your support dollars, and eliminates what can be a very high initial license fee for a new system. That said, you still might be able to reduce IT costs--but like everything else, it depends.

Agreed. In working through our project costs, I would say that the
total cost of operation (TCO) is probably a wash, but the potential
return on investment (ROI) with an open source solution is much
greater than with a proprietary solution. And if, after a couple of
years, you determine that the ROI is not meeting your expectations,
you can drop your support contract but continue to use the product.
(Well, in a hosted situation that may not be true... but then you're
balancing the cost to employ and train someone to care and feed for
your ILS in-house vs. paying experts to do it for you - lots of
tradeoffs to consider.)

> You can obtain Koha or Evergreen for "free" in the sense that do not pay an upfront, one-time initial license fee such as you paid for Horizon. If you choose to support your open source system, you will save the annual maintenance you pay for Horizon. However, my guess is that you will want to continue to contract for support from Equinox or LibLime, the two companies currently offering support for Evergreen and Koha.

Actually, LibLime no longer claims to support Evergreen. A company
called "PTFS" claims to offer support for Evergreen, but as far as I
know they have never contributed to the project or demonstrated any
competence with Evergreen so I would personally be wary of their
ability to follow through. Given that Equinox has done and is doing
the bulk of the development work on Evergreen, I would find it hard to
recommend any other company for support services.

-- 
Dan Scott
Laurentian University