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The downside to this theory is that if III had accessible APIs, even libraries without developers would start seeing third-party plug-and-play tools that would work with III. Whether open source or another vendor selling add on tools to work with III, the universe of options available to an III customer--even one with little or no local technical staff resources--would be expanded. That's the market we're moving into, and in some cases already in. And in fact, I think this is exactly what III does not want to see happen---your ability to buy a product to work with an III system from someone other than III (or a company III itself has a partnership with, perhaps with fees paid to III---I've heard that III _will_ share their _already existing_ APIs with partner vendors; just not with III customers), or to use an open source product with III instead of buying it from III, or to buy a support contract for that open source product from someone other than III. Jonathan Bob Duncan wrote: > At 12:57 PM 05/15/2008, David wrote: >> . . . >> Of course, empowering developers, or their customers in general, is not >> in the III business model, so I don't think we can expect much from >> them. > > > I think that III is very much into empowering their customers, but > their customers are libraries, and the bulk of Innovative libraries > don't have access to developers, and may not actually need any of the > enhancements that a talented developer might provide. To most III > libraries, customer empowerment comes in the form of being relieved > of having to worry about the nuts and bolts management aspects of the > ILS so we can concentrate on providing good services to library > users. The III turnkey systems that are derided by coders/developers > actually make a lot of sense to libraries that have no real systems > staff. And to many of those libraries it makes more sense for III to > spend development efforts on tools that address a specific need than > to spend it on general purpose tools that require someone with the > imagination and creativity to put them to good use. If you don't > know how to cook and you can't hire someone who does, that hot dog > cooker comes in pretty darn handy when all you want is hot dogs. > > Note that there are things about the III system that drive me nuts, > an SOA model would be nice, and I understand the frustration that > folks on a list like this feel when they come up against the closed > aspects of a III turnkey arrangement. But if you're a > coder/developer who feels constrained by it and/or the system's lack > of interoperability with other tools, might I suggest that the bad > guy is not III, but whomever signed on the dotted line to purchase a > system that doesn't meet the needs of your library. > > Bob Duncan > > > ~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~ > Robert E. Duncan > Systems Librarian > Editor of IT Communications > Lafayette College > Easton, PA 18042 > [log in to unmask] > http://www.library.lafayette.edu/ > -- Jonathan Rochkind Digital Services Software Engineer The Sheridan Libraries Johns Hopkins University 410.516.8886 rochkind (at) jhu.edu