Prepaid

In accounting there's a concept known as a prepaid. It's when, well, you get the idea. I have tried to keep this blog fed and watered at least once per week this term, but as I look toward next week and the number of assignment balls to be kept in the air simultaneously, I've decided to blog tonight in order to have one less ball to juggle (or drop, as the case may be)! Do you, gentle readers, think that age 49 is too late to learn to like coffee? As we're all bent over with the weight of the work, it is a comfort to know that we're all in this together, and to see all of your smiling faces at dear old FIS. See you in the library!

Software Evaluation Conclusions

Prior to this week, the only way I've ever evaluated software was to offer my opinion as to whether or not a software package met my needs. It was actually quite interesting to drill down and see what a software project is all about! Here is my conclusion:

Dspace would be an excellent software choice for digital archives. There are many positive reasons to choose Dspace, and the few negative issues are likely to exist with any other project, and can be addressed and resolved with minimal difficulty. Dspace meets all criteria of the Open Source Software Maturity Model evaluation and is recommended for implementation. The first step of this implementation should be the Dspace Early Adopter Program, which will allow a pilot project for a trial period on a small scale to ensure the suitability of the software for this institution by task based user testing.