Have you updated your Web site today? Is it possible that answering "yes" to this simple question is the key to the success of your marketing and recruiting efforts? In the current recruitment arena, the ability to update and maintain this one high-value asset (your Web site) might be the key to the potency of your institutional…

As news outlets create headlines such as "A Cloud & A Prayer," "The Cloud Is the Computer," and "Leveraging Clouds to Make You More Efficient," many readers have been left with cloud confusion. Many definitions exist for cloud computing, and a uniform definition is hard to find. In its most basic form, cloud…

Social networking and other Web 2.0 technologies led the social whirl of the information industry. Publishers and librarians tried to keep their products and services relevant by mixing authoritative content with user involvement, but that was not enough. Enhancing interfaces, adding new forms of content, and making strategic acquisitions--all are…

This article presents the results of a comprehensive survey of integrated library system (ILS) vendors conducted by the author and commissioned by "Computers in Libraries" CIL. The survey was intended to: (1) provide an up-to-date comparison of functionality currently available in ILS products; (2) provide a comparison of support services…

Library book vendors are facing new realities in the 21st century. Changes in continuations, firm order placement, value-added services, approval plans, retrospective collection development, and database creation and maintenance are being effected in an effort to keep current customers and attract new ones. Those changes and the subsequent shift…

The transition from paper to electronic journals raises questions of who should provide electronic archives and how should they be constructed. This paper evaluates issues of technical proficiency, permanence, location, and trusteeship and frames questions that libraries and providers of electronic journal services must address in establishing…

Discusses how door manufacturers are introducing products designed to pass the rigorous tests needed to withstand tornadoes, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency's 320 and 361 directives. (EV)

Presents comprehensive lists of educational facilities products, services, and suppliers. Includes a product index, suppliers list and directory, product showcase, and free literature information. (EV)

Presents comprehensive lists of educational facilities products, services, and suppliers. Includes a product index, suppliers list and directory, product showcase, and free literature information. (EV)

Discusses schools' use of Web-based procurement for supplies. Describes the cost savings and other benefits of this purchasing method, along with prominent vendors. (EV)

Describes a process for formulating specifications for computer-based training (CBT) vendors that fosters effective participation by the subject matter experts (SME) in an organization whose training department cannot prepare the CBT in-house. Educating the SMEs, giving the request for proposal to the vendors, and general specifications are…

Considers the requirements for real-time, interactive multimedia over the Internet. Topics include demand for interactivity; new pricing models for Internet service; knowledgeable suppliers; consumer education on standards; enhanced infrastructure, including bandwidth; and new technology, including RSVP, and end-to-end Internet-working protocol.…

Most districts rely on competitive bidding for purchases, bypassing it only for low-cost items. The process involves writing specifications, sending them to (carefully selected) prospective bidders. Sealed bids are usually opened at public meetings; administrators can recommend who gets the contract, but school boards usually have final say. (MLH)

Higher education institutions often partner with outside staffing vendors to secure large pools of temporary workers for a variety of industrial and clerical positions. However, many institutions are doing so haphazardly and in a disconnected fashion, with different operating units each utilizing a different vendor. Duke University and Health…

A community college IT manager or director tries to keep business relationships at arm's length when he deals with hardware vendors. Possibly, he has little interaction with vendors, or if he does, maybe he prefers to simply bounce from vendor to vendor if service, support, or performance is disappointing. (In the minds of many IT managers, the…