Choosing the technology before knowing the goals of a project is a common mistake. Often this leads to a feeling the library or a project group is “implementing technology for technology’s sake.” To ensure you are selecting the right technology, it is important to ensure the proper research and attention is paid to matching project and library needs with the right technology. In this session, we will guide you through six important areas for consideration, prior to choosing a technology; these steps will allow you to complete side-by-side comparisons that will help you make a good decision for the best service outcome. We will also offer an opportunity to review these six concepts through a high level practical exercise by reviewing these steps for selecting a Content Management System (CMS).

1. A Guide to Making the Right Decision forYour Library

2.  Know your mission/vision
 Prototype/proof of concept
 Avoid techno-lust
 Define what technology is
needed, based on y0ur
service goals

3.  Price matters, but is not everything
 More expensive does not necessarily
mean better
 Consider staff time spent in
implementation and support
 Add-on costs
 Total cost of ownership
 Open Source
 Hosting

4.  Determining what is out there; narrow
the field
 Case studies
 Product comparisons
 Demos
 Vendors
 References
 Keep current – often outside of library-
land

5.  Core functionality: how does this
meet your needs?
 Overcoming feature overdose
 Integration with other products/ILS
 Customization

6.  Vendor Success
 Project Success
 ProjectTimelines
 Library Resources Needed
 Check References!

7.  What library resources are needs for ongoing support?
 What can the vendor offer?
 Training
 Documentation
 Can you ‘afford’ Open Source?
 LibraryAssets Needs:
Staff and IT Infrastructure
 Support and Service Levels (SLAs)
 Hosting Options

8. For the remaining portion of this session, we will walk through these
aforementioned “six steps” for choosing the right Content Management
System (CMS) to enhance the AnyTown Library’sWeb presence.
1. Project Objective
1. Budget
1. Research
2. Feature Match
1. Implementation
1. Support Needs

9. AnyTown Library’sWeb Site Initiative
1. Project Objective
AnyTown Library is interested in increasing their web presence but offering information about
hours, summer reading, and also information about library events to their community. The
library currently has 1 FTE for web site management and would like a librarian from their staff
to participate in publishing information to the website without the need for an IT or web staff
member to intervene.
The CMS will be used for the library’s customer facing website. The library would like to offer
links to a few community (external) resources and post press releases and other documents to
the website.
Library stakeholders believe this new initiative will enhance the user experience and offer an
improved presentation of the library to it’s service community, once completed.

10. Identifying Requirements:
 There is no single best list of requirements for a content management system. Every
organization has unique needs.
 Involve all your stakeholders in the requirements process.This includes relevant IT groups,
business/library units, and end users.
 This is particularly important if you are purchasing an “enterprise-wide” CMS.

11. 2. Budget
The library has proudly set aside $10K for funding this project; additionally, they have shared
that this is a priority for the web site manager and feel that staff from throughout the library
system can contribute by offering book reviews, posting event information and keeping hours
and other information up-to-date.
3. Research
 What products exist for your budget?
 What do they offer?
 Seek information in articles and online:
 http://www.cmsmatrix.org/
 What of these options meet your budgetary needs?
 May require a bit more review of specific software

12. AnyTown Library’sWeb Site Initiative
4. Feature Match
 Of the products reviewed, which meets your feature needs best?
 Is getting more than you need a benefit or detriment to your library?
 Impacts on implementation
 Impacts of learning/use
 Allows for future growth and increased usage
 When is ‘more’ too much?
 Set-Up Demonstrations
5. Implementation
 VendorTrack Record for OnTime Delivery
 What library staff is needed and when (project stage)?
 Call References!

13. AnyTown Library’sWeb Site Initiative
6. Support Needs
 What library resources are needed for ongoing support?
 Daily, weekly, annually
 Can you afford Open Source?
 Existing talent and knowledge
 Growing additional/back-up support
 Documentation and knowledge warehousing
 Hardware, peripherals, backups
 IT staff limited
 Does the CMS you purchase offer a hosted solution?
 Is your library website supported through library backup policies or can the CMS offer a
back-up solution?

14. Any Additional Questions?
What are yourTake-Aways?
Resources: CMS Research
http://www.cmsmatrix.org/
http://www.howto.gov/web-content/technology/content-management-systems/choosing-
a-cms
http://socialcompare.com/en/comparison/popular-content-management-system-cms-
comparison-table
http://lanterncms.com.au/content-management-system.html