I'm running into resistance in getting my church to even consider Koha. A main issue is support. They want a toll-free number they can call with questions. I guess they want free support, too. This system isnt used 40-hours a week. The librarians are working on the system maybe 3-4 hours a week at most. I've explained to them how this project works, through documentation and e-mail list but they say "That isnt any good. We want someone we can call at anytime with questions." They arent very computer litterate, can barely use Windows. I dont know what to tell them at this point. Any ideas? --Karl __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail Mobile Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone. http://mobile.yahoo.com/learn/mail _______________________________________________ Koha mailing list Koha@lists.katipo.co.nz http://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha
Hi Karl, Check out the last line in my sig :-). LibLime offers toll-free support to our member libraries and we have the number "1(888) Koha ILS". There is simply no way to get around support costs with any software -- even free software needs maintenance and folks working on it deserve to get paid fair wages. The difference with open source is there are no 'license' fees -- so you don't have to dish out $40,000 just to use the product in addition to support fees on top of that (no joke, I recently saw an ILS proposal where license costs for the vendor's software were itemized at $40,000). That's the kind of language I would use to describe the problem. Also, keep LibLime in mind: It sounds like your church library falls into LibLime's 'tiny' category (less than 10,000 items). With a library that small we can provide a LibLime-hosted solution for very resonable prices -- and that would cover them for the toll-free number. It would also mean that they wouldn't have to worry about all the back-end server maintenance and administration (meaning, I suppose that YOU wouldn't have to worry about that :-)) -- all the church would need is a computer with internet connection (the Koha installation would be hosted at our fiber-backbone server farm rather than at the church itself). Let me know if you'd like a formal proposal. :-) Sincerely, -- Joshua Ferraro VENDOR SERVICES FOR OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE President, Technology migration, training, maintenance, support LibLime Koha ILS, Mambo Intranet, DiscrimiNet Filter jmf@liblime.com | Full Demos at http://liblime.com | 1(888)KohaILS _______________________________________________ Koha mailing list Koha@lists.katipo.co.nz http://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha
Karl Agee wrote:
I'm running into resistance in getting my church to even consider Koha. A main issue is support. They want a toll-free number they can call with questions. I guess they want free support, too. ..... They arent very computer litterate, can barely use Windows.
I dont know what to tell them at this point. Any ideas?
If an organisation isn't keen on an idea then it's probably not a good idea to implement it untill they are keen. If you think that Koha would be the best option for them work at convincing them first. Install one on your own PC, load some data into it that is relevant to them, and demonstrate it to them. Show them how it will work. Explain how support might work. Explain clearly how much support you will provide to them yourself and what the limits to that support is. I don't know your organisation but I'm involved in 3 volunteer orgs. I'm implementing one open source database project for a caving organisation and Koha for the Royal Society of NSWS. I demoed Koha to them last October as well as getting quotes from commercial library systems. The Librarian (being left wing and pro 'sharing knowledge') liked Koha. I made a detailed proposal which included spending some $ on the server, training and customisation. We compromised and we have now just got a Linux virtual server and I'll be installing Koha on it. We' have agreed to look at customisation if we need it later on in the year. The important thing though is that I have their support for it. if you don't have that from your organisation I think you will just run into problem after problem. They will expect you to fix anything and blame you if things go wrong. I don't want to sound too negative but its more fun for you if you have your orgs support in this. Best wishes Mike -- Michael Lake Chemistry, Materials & Forensic Science, UTS [pls ignore idiot lawyer's msg below] -- UTS CRICOS Provider Code: 00099F DISCLAIMER: This email message and any accompanying attachments may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this message or attachments. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this message. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender expressly, and with authority, states them to be the views the University of Technology Sydney. Before opening any attachments, please check them for viruses and defects. _______________________________________________ Koha mailing list Koha@lists.katipo.co.nz http://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha
participants (3)
-
Joshua Ferraro -
Karl Agee -
Michael Lake