Software pricing is not a straightforward issue, since each procurement involves a special business arrangement between a library and its chosen vendor. The author thinks that it is reasonable to scale the cost of a product to such factors as the size of the library, the complexity of the installation, the number of simultaneous users, or the…

This article describes the opportunities out of the 2007 turmoil precipitated by the dramatic shifts that redefined the industry in 2006. The turmoil made companies that avoided major business transitions more attractive and sparked explosive interest in open source alternatives. Some companies held a steady course and benefited from the fallout.…

It is hard to imagine operating a library today without the assistance of an integrated library system (ILS). Without help from it, library work would be tedious, labor would be intensive, and patrons would be underserved in almost all respects. Given the importance of these automation systems, it is essential that they work well and deliver…

Activities in 2006 pointed to strategic shifts in library automation. The dynamics of the business environment changed rapidly from a fragmented industry to a highly consolidated one. Though the integrated library system (ILS) continues to represent the largest portion of revenue, products that deal with electronic content and deliver better…