Get Vendor Savvy

Twenty years ago, CLSI and Dataphase were big names in library automation. Dynix was a start-up company, as was Ad Lib, my employer at the time. Ad Lib was later sold to Geac as the "Advance" system. Where are they now? The Dynix name was resurrected last year, after the company purchased itself from the Baby Bell Ameritech and dumped the brand name epixtech. Most of the other 1984 players have been absorbed, diminished, or become extinct. We need to remember the lessons learned from the experience of that time.

The development of digital reference, a hot technology application today, offers similar, if much more recent (2003), cautionary tales for the relationship between libraries and the technology companies that supply them. Prior to a Virtual Reference Desk (VRD) preconference presentation in November 2003, I surveyed the registrants so I could respond to their technology concerns at the sessions. Most expressed high interest in vendor viability, much more than their concerns about software functionality.

Galloping technology changes, with features evolving weekly if not faster, probably explains those responses. It is very difficult to keep track, and more important, as the respondents said, to focus on whether or not companies are fiscally sound, have a strong customer base, and offer significant years of experience.

This focus on vendor performance is good news. For decades librarians neglected the business side of buying, especially when contracts were for amounts small enough to allow purchase without bidding and RFPs. Today library buyers must do better.

Switching vendors can be difficult, but every migration doesn't have to be problematic. The transition from one integrated library system (ILS) to another is painful. Swapping digital reference providers can be less so. Only the local library, or consortium, knows what issues are involved, from hardware, software, and telecommunications to web interface and staff training. The rule is simple: if a library switches digital reference vendors, it should be to provide improved service or because of a better contract. You should not wait to migrate until your are forced to do so because changes in the marketplace have put your vendor in fiscal trouble.

The divine, inc./Rowecom debacle related to serials subscriptions is well chronicled. The sad fate of NetAgent, a commercial call center software used as a library digital reference application, is not widely known. divine acquired NetAgent in 2001. In the bankruptcy fallout, the software was purchased by eAssist, another call center software firm, in 2003. The announcement noted that eAssist gained 2500 customers, although it is likely that only a handful were libraries.

Last year LSSI made an unanticipated sale of its Virtual Reference ToolKit to Tutor.com, a company that specializes in chat-based tutoring services for K–12 students. Tutor.com's sales for the preceding year ($640,000) were less than five percent of LSSI's ($14.2 million). It is likely that the firm will eventually move the Virtual Reference ToolKit to the same underlying code as its tutoring application, offering greater integration between the two.

Sales ranged from $500,000 to $172 million for the 14 companies listed in the Million Dollar Database that offer software for digital reference. Many of them offer a range of products and services well beyond digital reference applications.

While good research doesn't guarantee the outcome of a deal, it can help us make more informed decisions.

Research should tell you how long the vendor has been operating. Most digital reference software vendors, especially those that provide commercial call center applications, have been in business for less than ten years. Even though that technology is still young, the firm's track record still counts. A new application is one thing, but an entire new business is another. Weigh the risks you find against the benefits you expect from the application. The field is large; Stephen Franceour's web site, the Teaching Librarian, identifies about 30 vendor products used by libraries for delivering digital reference service.

Examine the company's focus. Most of the existing firms serve large commercial customers with narrow interests, such as Land's End, H&R Block, and Gateway. Library customers are likely to be a small part of the clientele, resulting in a lack of understanding of library operations and the infinite range of questions that come to libraries. The library market is an extra for these vendors, so the bells and whistles that we need will be less important since they diverge from those of the larger customer base.

Commercial design features like credit card encryption may add to the cost of the product without providing any benefit to libraries. Some vendors work with educational and other nonprofit institutions, which exposes them to some of the same funding and organizational concerns typical of libraries. Often past experience working with a vendor to develop and provide different services or products is the best basis for decisions.

Sometimes free software makes sense, but sometimes it can end up being expensive. There are several options for digital reference delivery that require no up-front expense: AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger, Rakim, and several others.

Instant message applications are basic, although new features continue to be incorporated. The advantage of a product like AOL Instant Messenger is that many of your patrons, especially the young ones, are already users. Librarian Rob Casson at Miami University, OH, developed Rakim specifically for digital reference use.

If other libraries use a product, you have a potential support group. If not, realize that the vendor has little incentive to respond to your requests for documentation, modification, technical support, or other help. You will need to adapt to the software your library installs, not vice versa. That means costly time for maintenance and training. Software comes "as is" so you need to get into the code when you discover bugs and need improvements. Decide before you buy whether you have in-house technical expertise to provide this level of support.

Remember, you can't always count on "free" to last forever. Several vendors provided free applications to the first requesting library, typically a library in a city in which the vendor served a major commercial client. They now charge for new and renewing library licensees. For example, InstantService, which supplies the Nordstrom department store chain, initially gave Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma a free license. The software is not free to new library customers.

It is difficult to reconcile the costs of a product with its features, particularly among vendors that use different bases for pricing a license. It is important to determine which, if any, sophisticated features are appropriate for your patrons and how well they work. The promise of a complete statistical reporting package sold a product to one academic library, but the library later found that the numbers didn't begin cumulating for more than three months after installation. The library was unable to access them for more than six months.

Determine if the application is cross-platform capable (PC and Mac) for both library provider and patron. Take a look at the technical support, and make sure the hours it is available match library hours. Try to find out whether the tech staff are skilled, responsive, and answer quickly. Another college library was promised cobrowsing, but it never worked and technical support was unresponsive. That library staff eventually reached the vendor through the vendor's live chat service intended to answer sales questions

Learn how the vendor issues alerts for software upgrades and fixes. It can be disconcerting to log on to a service for which screens and functions changed over the weekend, without warning. It is a plus if the vendor sponsors an online discussion list, forums, user group meetings, and/or other opportunities for users to share problems and solutions. Consider the kind of training offered, in what format, and at what cost. Find out if it is onsite, online, or a combination. Ask who does the training. One library spent $5000 for six hours of training, only to be billed for an additional full day plus expenses for travel. The trainer was a programmer with no training experience who provided neither the requested agenda nor documentation.

Examine closely the vendor's customer list. If other libraries in your geographic region use the application, they are the best source for answers to your questions.

If you participate in a cooperative library service, some vendor considerations can have impact on collaboration. Decide which server will host the application, the vendor or the local library. See if the application supports shared scheduling, and if there are common, online policies and procedures provided for members. You may want after-hours service, and you should work out the cost as you negotiate. Cooperatives typically want training that extends beyond software to service and behavior guidelines.

In our rush to offer new, sexy, cutting-edge services we can forget to examine the details closely. The strength of librarians is in finding information that is authoritative, up-to-date, and complete— then analyzing this information. One crucial lesson from 1984 is that we can expect continued change in the marketplace. We'll be better prepared if we do our homework, talk to our colleagues, test the service, and study contracts before we sign them.