Selecting LAS: Selection Criteria

INDEX TO RELATED WEB PAGES
SELECTION PROCESS	SELECTION CRITERIA
QUESTIONS TO ASK LAS VENDORS	PRICING OF LAS
COSTS OF LAS

Costs: Let's get to some fundamentals here. The real cost questions are:

• Do you have the money to buy or upgrade to a LAS that has the functionality you need?
• Will you have the money to pay the annual maintenance/support contract? (Related to this is does the company include upgrades in its maintenance/support contract?)
• Will the all the expenditures for the LAS be justified by the better, faster, and/or more cost-effective accomplishment of library tasks and improved customer service you hope for?
• Note: Specific costs to consider in the acquisition of an LAS are discussed on the "Selecting LAS: Costs to Consider" Web page.

Technology and Features

• Is the system state-of-the-art? In other words, will it do what you need for the next several years with or without upgrades?
• Does it have the functions you need?
• Can the various functions and displays be configured to your specific ways of operation
• Are the functions well integrated?
• Is the underlying database technology a common, standard DBMS product or proprietary?
• Does the system use standard, off-the-shelf hardware, allowing easy replacement?
• Is the system "fail-safe?" In other words, is there redundancy in hardware/software to ensure continuous operation?
• Does the company include upgrades in its maintenance/support contract?

Operation and Maintenance

• Are the various modules of the LAS easy to learn and use by the relevant library staff?
• Does the LAS have a reputation for reliability so that there is little expected maintenance, little need for a dedicated systems manager?
• Can much of the configuration, tuning, and tweaking of the LAS be easily done locally without having to call the company?
• Can naive library staff (librarians, LTs, clerks, pages) easily solve most local potential problems?

LAS Vendor Criteria

• Is the company financially stable?
• Is the company's product competitive? In other words, will the company be around with upgrades in five to ten years?
• Have librarians and LTs been involved in the development of the LAS?
• Do they have 24-hour/7-day support?
• Do they provide substantial training?
• Does the company have local technical experts?
• Is there a LAS user E-mail listserve?
• Is the company investing a substantial amount of money in research and development to improve its LAS?

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