A look forward

Greetings Web Interest Group,

Although we're in the middle of a ton of projects right now, we're also looking forward to '08, and we're working on decision packages now in order to have money to implement our '08 plans: like find a new library catalog interface for patrons. Of course, there are no promises here, because even a "free" open source option takes lots and lots of people time (which seems like our most limited resource at the moment) and potentially new hardware. However, the time is right to switch to a new interface as evidenced by the increasing discussions in the biblioblogosphere and prof publications over the last year. And it's not just about us needing a new patron interface because it would be nice--it's vital. Our library catalog is at the core of our patron service. Want more evidence? Check out John Blyberg's post today and the open letter from Roy Tennant it references. I'm a charter member of both of the Blyberg and Tennant fan clubs, and it's because they don't just talk about improving patron online services--they make it happen. We will too.

Best wishes,
Erica


btw...If you haven't replied to the e-mail asking for your date/time preferences for the next Web Interest Group meeting, please do. I'll try to nail it down later this afternoon. Right now, the winner is the morning of Thursday, March 22, so if that's a bad time for you, please let me know.