An Update from the NH State Librarian

NH State Librarian Michael York sent this message to the nhais-local list serv late last week:

When we distributed the responses from the potential open source support vendors that we received after our April 2012 Request for Information we hoped that the information provided would allow the 70 libraries who had expressed interest in a local open source automation solution to decide whether Koha or Evergreen was the right solution for them and which vendor would best meet their needs. Based on the survey we conducted this summer it did not.
The survey proved inconclusive. Just over half of the libraries who had expressed interest in the project responded and there were only a couple who indicated that they had read the report and had a preference of one system over the other. The few who did indicate a preference chose koha and ByWater solutions as their preferred solution. There were a few follow-up questions sent in, and we have responded to them individually. They were typically questions about the timeline and logistics of the project rather than questions about the material the vendors provided.
State Library staff reviewed the responses, and have spoken with the various vendors about their offerings. Based on the information we have received from libraries still expressing an interest in the open source project and the responses we received from the vendors, our conclusion is that the koha open source system supported by ByWater Solutions is the best option available to us to move forward with implementing the nhaisLOCAL cooperative and putting state of the art automation systems into New Hampshire's small libraries at a reasonable and predictable cost.
We are working with ByWater Solutions to establish a firm price list that we can move forward with and will be distributing that pricing structure through the nhaisLOCAL listserv before the end of November.
After the pricing information has gone out we will be sending a survey, again through this listserv, that will help us to assess the readiness of each individual library to move forward with implementing a nhaisLOCAL koha system in their library. Once we have collected this data, which I expect will be completed by the end of 2012, we will be able to set up an implementation schedule for the libraries who are ready to go. The expectation is that we will be able to set up libraries in groups of six and that each group of libraries will be up and running within 6 months.
I want to thank Mary Russell for all the work she has done on this project to get us to this point; her knowledge and expertise has been invaluable. Both Mary and I feel very positive about ByWater as a partner in this project. We appreciate your support and have every expectation that we can build a system which will provide New Hampshire Libraries with an ILS that meets their needs.