Presented by members of the ILS Evaluation Lead Team 2017 ILS Evaluation Report Presented by members of the ILS Evaluation Lead Team Thursday, March 15, 2018 Verona Public Library

Individual Work Group Reports

Tracy Herold and Susan Lee Acquisitions Tracy Herold and Susan Lee 1st choice: Polaris 2nd choice: SirsiDynix 3rd choice: Bibliovation Polaris and SirsiDynix: Robust customization, audit trail, good reports; web-based software is not ready Bibliovation: Fully web-based, but not as fully developed as we would like; development is in testing It should be noted that far fewer staff use Get It Acquisitions than other modules, so the benefits and shortcomings of this module have a limited effect.

Cataloging Tina Maes Polaris Pros: Quick link to PAC view from entry screen; templates make linking easier; can view entire MARC record on single screen Cons: Non-MARC labels, client-based licensing SirsiDynix Pros: Can turn MARC labels on/off in Symphony, can view entire record on single screen Cons: different software functionality; client-based licensing; linking not clearly demonstrated Bibliovation Pros: Can view entire record on a single screen; staff are used to set up; less training required. Cons: No demo for linking; missing some development, complete product not in production Overall, Cataloging preferred Polaris first, SirsiDynix second, and Bibliovation third. Note that while cataloging and technical services affect all of us, these departments have the fewest staff and are not connected directly to public services staff and patrons

Circulation Angela Noel Ease of check-in/check-out and ease of paying for and documenting financial transactions were top priorities. No ILS fully met library needs Polaris and SirsiDynix products are not fully web-based at this time. Circulation Workgroup recommends moving toward Bibliovation

PAC/Discovery Nick Studnicka All three PACs are fairly well developed—any of them could work for patrons and be an improvement over the current PAC. No clear winner—all included some good features and lacked some features Committee felt that Polaris and SirsiDynix are the top two choices with Bibliovation a close third Because none of the products blew the others away, committee recommends PAC not be a deciding factor

Reports Heidi Cox Polaris: Over 270 pre-written reports; permissions for different staff levels; reports can be scheduled and delivered by email. SirsiDynix: Over 700 pre-written reports with 80 in BLUEcloud; permissions for different staff levels The Reports workgroup prefers Polaris with SirsiDynix as a second choice. Bibliovation’s report module development lags behind both of the other vendors.

Serials Polaris: Pros include batch option for changing issue status. Larry Oathout Polaris: Pros include batch option for changing issue status. Cons include lack of centralized publication patterns SirsiDynix: Pros include auto switch from non-circulating to circulating after X amount of days. Cons include issue line not being deleted when item record is. Bibliovation: Screenshots only. Serials still in development.

SCLS ILS System Administration Heidi Oliverson and Amy Gannaway Staff could work with any of the vendor/software packages Polaris and SirsiDynix: Extensive documentation, not fully web-based Bibliovation: Fully web-based, sparse documentation

SCLS Database Authentication Vicki Teal Lovely Polaris rated highest, SirsiDynix second, and Bibliovation third Polaris Pros: Built-in authentication module with support for multiple authentication methods; unlimited SIP connections with detailed statistics Cons: Authentication does not use PSTATs SirsiDynix Pros: API partnerships with some vendors such as Ebsco; unlimited SIP connections; some statistics Cons: They do not have built-in authentication; authentication does not use PSTATs Bibliovation Pros: After setup, unlimited SIP connections; APIs with third party vendors; authentication based on PSTATs Cons: No authentication modules; setup fees per SIP connection; no statistics

SCLS Reports System Administration Vicki Teal Lovely It was difficult to rank the vendors because there were major differences in the pros and cons for each Polaris: Pros: Transaction tables store detailed information; no data drift; temp table usage Cons: No data dashboard; financial transactions do not follow standard accounting procedures SirsiDynix: Pros: Includes a lot of “canned” reports; BLUEcloud interface has dashboard Cons: BLUEcloud has 1 day lag; BLUEcloud is still in development Bibliovation: Pros: Financial transactions follow standard accounting practices; custom reports stored until deleted; separate reports server to prevent general response time issues. Cons: Data drift; not many “canned” reports; no dashboard

SCLS Technology Support Vicki Teal Lovely Technology staff could work with any of these vendors and software packages. Moving to Polaris or SirsiDynix would require a restructuring of technology support for the ILS. Overall, ranking would be Bibliovation first, SirsiDynix second, and Polaris third. Polaris Pros: The web-based software does not require a client Cons: Licensing on Polaris causes the most concern as all devices must be logged requiring constant upkeep; logins require that staff know their Active Directory logins

SCLS Technology Support Vicki Teal Lovely SirsiDynix Pros: There is very little system administration responsibility; SirsiDynix has their own E-commerce solution Cons: They are in a state of flux with a true web-based software solution Bibliovation Pros: There is very little system administration responsibility; full web-based software; stable hosting solution in the Amazon cloud Cons: Supporting print functions is not optimal; occasionally frustrated with communication with vendor (though it has improved)

Final Recommendation

Big Picture Considerations Wendy Rawson Neither Polaris nor SirsiDynix are fully web-based Both Polaris and SirsiDynix used staff licenses for pricing SirsiDynix interface requires additional mouse “clicks” Concerns that Polaris circulation functions may impede patron interaction While the Technical Services Work Group preferred Polaris, there is recognition that this functionality affects fewer patrons and staff.

Big Picture Considerations Wendy Rawson Managing logins and device access in Polaris would be a major change for SCLS Technology Support Staff A move to Bibliovation would require less staff training time and a substantially easier data migration. Moving to another ILS would increase staff time and training costs. Migrating to another ILS that has some improvements but also known deficiencies does not seem worth the cost

Big Picture Considerations Wendy Rawson LibLime Koha Circulation module has been developed to function in a way that meets SCLS library needs. It seems worth staying to see if the Technical Services module and Patron Interface improve as well If the decision is to stay with LibLime and move to Bibliovation, SCLS will negotiate contract amendments and require that a certain amount of development time happen each year.

Cost Vicki Teal Lovely Costs were not considered in individual workgroup recommendation decisions Overall, costs are estimates as some additional evaluation is needed to assure comparable products meet our needs; including third party support products (i.e., authority control, PAC enriched content, etc.) SirsiDynix Bibliovation Polaris $17,000 less same as current cost $145,000 and above than current costs; (no migration fee) current costs; does not Heavily discounted; include migration fee; Does not include Would negotiate further migration fee

ILS Lead Group Recommendation Wendy Rawson Despite having some desired features, in their current state neither Polaris or SirsiDynix present significant steps forward for SCLS members and patrons. Therefore, we recommend staying with LibLime Koha and moving to Bibliovation within the next 18 months. If, after 18 months, we have not migrated or if, after migrating, there are not significant improvements in Technical Services and/or Patron interfaces, this decision can be re-evaluated by contacting vendors and customers for an update on progress toward web-based software.

Tentative Migration Timeline Vicki Teal Lovely Now – Summer 2018: Test new development Fall 2018: Setup, migration testing, documentation, training Early 2019: Go live on Bibliovation

March 16 – April 30, 2018 Voting Period Vicki Teal Lovely March 16 – April 30, 2018 Yes = accept ILS Committee’s recommendation No = process starts anew