Where have library systems vendors gone astray?

From Librarian in Black

The Family Man Librarian (AKA Steve Oberg) has a thoughtful and well-written post about librarians' growing dissatisfaction with our OPACs/WebPACs/Catalogs: Where have library systems vendors gone astray? So, where have they gone astray?

• Faulty participation in standards development affecting libraries


• By and large, lack of deep pockets and resources to research and quickly implement new products or features


• Too much time spent on unimportant, widgety enhancements to existing software


• Focus on meeting individual libraries’ or customers’ contractual needs instead of the bigger picture of what is happening in the broader information technology arena or how to best serve the broader customer base


• More attention given to librarians’ needs than library users’ needs


• A tendency to focus on the lowest common denominator customer at the cost of alienating customers who want to expand and enhance and push the envelope of the system

More at the link.