[Prodev] consultant v. site visits

[Sally H. Wambold]

Hello everyone,

I'd like to add a comment or two about the University of Richmond 
experience in migrating.  I personally am biased against 
consultants, because I find it a bit difficult to believe that an outsider 
can come into a library and instantly understand the needs and 
dynamics and talents that are in place.  They may be objective, but I 
believe they lack understanding.  Just my bias.

On the other hand, site visits gave us the opportunity to test drive 
different systems and talk to the folks who work with these systems 
every day.  They counterbalanced what we were hearing from the 
vendors.

I will add that web sites of the various systems and also of the 
libraries using them are a very valuable tool in migrating as well.

Thanks for the opportunity to discuss this topic.

Sally Wambold
University of Richmond Law Library
wambold@uofrlaw.richmond.edu