RE: How do you like Millenium? (A question from a DYNIX Library)

[Barb Anderson <bja9@xxxxxxxxxx>]

OK, I am hesitant to jump in on this because we have been an Innovative 
site for over 10 years.  That said, we *are* an academic institution and 
added a new branch library to my system this year.  They were not migrating 
from a previous system--they were migrating from a card catalog.  The 
learning curve for them has been rather steep for them.  They didn't have 
to translate "how we used to do it" to "how we'll be doing it now" so much 
as they had to learn an entirely new way of doing business.  While 
barcoding their system, working with me to make decisions that gave them 
the opportunity to rethink and modify some existing circulation policies, 
and a fair amount of everything else that goes along with migrating a 
library ILS I think.  They are thrilled, their patrons are thrilled, some 
of their faculty have thanked me effusively when I was over and they 
learned who I was.  I was very impressed at the reactions to the whole 
process.  It wasn't without pain, but what worthwhile is?

I admit that my only experience with any other system is as a patron and 
then it was in a public library setting, but I love the Innovative system 
and would rather find a new position than stay in a library that would 
choose to migrate from Innovative to anything else (highly improbable here).

Maybe my views and tolerance of issues varies from others because in 
addition to being a librarian I have also been a programmer, so I 
understand that you can test programs to what you truly believe is well 
beyond scenario that could possibly happen, then something you never 
anticipated occurs when it goes into production.

Barb, stepping down from my soapbox now.


Barbara J. Anderson
Library Systems Specialist
Kelvin Smith Library
Case Western Reserve University
11055 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44106-7151

bja9@xxxxxxxxxx
(voice) 216-368-2666
(fax) 216-368-6506