My answer to "I would recommend Vendor X to other libraries."

I was recently given the opportunity to answer a customer satisfaction survey about the vendor of our integrated library system (ILS). It was actually my fourth opportunity, but I had passed up the chance in the past because the survey invitation stated:

You must use Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x or higher to complete the survey.

That doesn't exactly inspire confidence... anyways, I was feeling in a risky mood this morning and brought up the survey page in Firefox anyways. Most of the questions were about Vendor X's support staff, which I am generally happy with, but I gave a good honest response to the following statement:

The statement:

I would recommend Vendor X to other libraries.

My answer (supporting a response of "Disagree"):

The client care center has always responded promptly to my reports; however, I am quite disappointed in the XYZ software and its "openness". It is ridiculous to be running Apache 1.3.19 when the current 1.x version is 1.3.36 (due in large part to security vulnerabilities that have been closed). The Web interface uses hidden form fields to pass usernames and passwords from page to page, which is a blatant security problem. The much-vaunted "openness" of XYZ is contradicted by closed mailing lists and closed documentation; sites require a $3000 course to access a lousy API just to add basic functionality to their Web site (like emailing a PIN back to the user). I would strongly recommend that other libraries evaluate all the alternatives before settling on XYZ.

This fits into the larger discussion about the choices libraries make when buying/building systems. I joined our library three years after they had made the switch to their current ILS, so this is a perfect opportunity to experience all of the pain and pleasure our current system has to offer. I plan to be a major part of the decision-making process to upgrade or replace this system. You can probably tell which way I'm leaning...

Vendor and system name changed because I'm a chicken.