LISNews.org | Are OPAC Vendors Days Numbered?

… the combination of open source and the reluctance of vendors to keep their systems up to date will result result in the demise of significant number of commerical library vendors in the next five years. The poor performance and outdated products of commercial OPAC products is due largely to the disconnect between developers in software firms and their customers. This should be an advantage to library developers, and the timing to look at open source networks/incubators is ripe.

I wish I could believe it but the adminstrative quagmire in libraries in my area is such that no one wants to do anything first. Not only do they ask if another library has already done it but they want to hear about another library of their type and size. I simply can’t see convincing the people who hold the purse-strings to take a risk on that large of an unknown.