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Library director raises concerns about Vega and LEAP software; $1,500 initial Vega share noted
Summary
Library director Steve briefed the board on Vega and LEAP, describing Vega as "under development," noting a $1,500 share for West Bend and asking for more documentation before committing; LEAP's web-based design raised offline-operation concerns.
Steve, the West Bend Community Library director, briefed the board on Feb. 18 about two software products in the Monarch consortium pipeline: Vega (a discovery/promote/program suite) and LEAP (a web-based client for circulation).
Steve said Vega is still "under development," has not yet been billed to member libraries and that West Bend's initial share will be $1,500. He told the board that Monarch has not yet provided full documentation on how the combined Vega components (discover, program, promote) will work or how fees will be broken out. "We've been sold a product that that, was supposed to do all these wonderful things and wasn't doing these wonderful things," Steve said, adding the library has not yet been invoiced for Vega.
The nut graf: the discussion centered on operational risk and documentation. Board members and staff said they want clearer written descriptions of what features each component will provide, a timeline for vendor beta testing and exact pricing before the library's ongoing Polaris contract is renegotiated near the end of the year.
Steve described LEAP as a web-based circulation client that could reduce the number of installed Polaris clients and potentially save money systemwide, but he said LEAP creates implementation issues in a local context. He noted the client-based Polaris installations can operate offline during an outage and allow limited checkouts; LEAP's web-based design will not function offline in the same way, which raises concerns about check-in/check-out operations, receipt printing and reporting if the library temporarily loses Internet service.
Board members asked for documentation and suggested Monarch staff present a formal update later in the year. Steve proposed putting Vega/LEAP back on the agenda after Monarch completes more of its beta work and when contract negotiations for Polaris begin.
Ending: The board did not approve any software purchase. Members asked staff to request clearer documentation from Monarch and to report back as beta testing or contract negotiations advance.
