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

[John Fink]

Doesn't Alpha-G do some species of support for Evergreen?

jf

On Thu, Feb 5, 2009 at 10:58 AM, Dan Scott <dan at coffeecode.net> wrote:

> 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
>



-- 
http://libgrunt.blogspot.com -- library culture and technology.
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