[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Evergreen web page for paid support vendors

[Sharp, Chris]

Kathy and all,

Reading the first paragraph on the vendor page on the wiki: "The following companies are currently listed in alphabetical order. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and appearance on this list does not necessarily mean that the Evergreen community has endorsed each company on the list. You are strongly encouraged to request references of prior work with Evergreen and proof of contribution to the Evergreen project as part of your assessment process when selecting a company to help you with Evergreen."

Is the problem that libraries out there are ignoring these cautions?  Or is it that we know that there are some companies on the list that are incorrectly (to put it mildly) claiming to support Evergreen?

Like Rogan, I would be wary of community members (be it the web team or whoever) taking on the responsibility of vetting companies who support Evergreen.  As I understand the wiki page's function, it's a directory listing of companies who already do (or want to) support Evergreen.  Seems to me that the vetting process should probably happen when individual libraries/agencies evaluate their support options.

I would be interested if a specific incident brought this issue to the forefront or if this is just a general concern.  (i.e., are we pre-emptively solving a problem that hasn't happened, or are we addressing a situation that has?)

Having said that, if there are volunteers would would like to implement the Koha-style method of dealing with this issue, I have no objections at all.

Chris

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kathy Lussier" <klussier at masslnc.org>
> To: "Evergreen General Discussion List" <open-ils-general at list.georgialibraries.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2013 5:28:44 PM
> Subject: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Evergreen web page for paid support vendors
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> At the June Oversight Board meeting (minutes available at
> http://evergreen-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=governance:minutes:2013-6-20
> ), I raised the question of whether the Evergreen community should
> develop a policy regarding the paid support vendors that are listed
> on the Evergreen web site at
> http://evergreen-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=faqs:evergreen_companies
> .
> 
> I don't think the community should be in a position of endorsing any
> Evergreen provider. However, I think it's important that the
> companies on the list do indeed provide Evergreen services so that
> users don't waste a lot of time investigating companies that don't
> really work with Evergreen. There was a consensus at the Board
> meeting that a policy should be considered.
> 
> I would like to get feedback from others in the community on the
> guidelines you think should be used for this page. As an example,
> Koha asks support providers to follow the procedures outlined at
> http://koha-community.org/support/paid-support/how-to-get-listed/ .
> The Koha community asks support providers to send an e-mail to the
> general list with contact information and a description of services
> provided. The providers must also show their support for the
> community by adding a visible link to the Koha web site.
> 
> I think the Koha guidelines might offer a good starting point for the
> Evergreen community.
> 
> During the meeting, there was discussion about whether we should
> define what an Evergreen service is. Migration, hosting, support,
> development, training, and implementation seem like obvious
> Evergreen services. Should peripheral devices or third-party
> services that work with Evergreen be included or are they a
> different animal?
> 
> Does everyone like the Koha model of requiring listed vendors to add
> a visible link to the project web site?
> 
> Does anyone have any other thoughts on the subject?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Kathy
> 
> 
> --
> Kathy Lussier
> Project Coordinator
> Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
> (508) 343-0128 klussier at masslnc.org Twitter:
> http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier

-- 
Chris Sharp
PINES System Administrator
Georgia Public Library Service
1800 Century Place, Suite 150
Atlanta, Georgia 30345
(404) 235-7147
csharp at georgialibraries.org
http://pines.georgialibraries.org/