EDITOR'S NOTES
Great New Content in CIL
by Kathy Dempsey
Happy New Year, and welcome to Computers in Libraries 2003. As is the
norm for "all things January," we've got some fresh new stuff going on to kick
off the year.
First, we have a new series of articles that will run throughout this year.
It's called ILS Marketplace: CIL's Quarterly Series on Library Automation
Markets. In this series, which brings CIL back to its roots in library
systems, guru Pamela Cibbarelli delivers a wealth of information that you can
use to compare ILS products. With information from her exhaustive surveys,
Cibbarelli delivers the facts on features that vendors offer now, and on what
they have in the works. The resulting charts let you do side-by-side product
comparisons. And to add even more value, Cibbarelli surveyed librarians who
use each of these systems, and she's encapsulated their opinions on how these
products work in real-life situations.
So you'll want to turn straight to page 31 and dive in. This first article
covers ILS software for public libraries. We'll deliver the same for other
market segments: corporate/special libraries (April), school (June), and academic
(November/December). If you want to fill out a user rating survey, simply go
to https://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/survey/default.htm.
My second piece of news is just as exciting. We have a new columnist, who
many of you may be familiar with already. CIL welcomes Marshall Breeding,
the widely known systems expert who hails from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
He debuts in this issue with his new column, The Systems Librarian, which will
appear monthly. He'll be discussing the serious technical stuff, not only on
the installation and use side, but also on the vendor side, keeping you up-to-date
on what the automation companies have in store. I think this column perfectly
rounds out CIL's coverage of library technology. Check out his introduction
on page 47.
And while I'm on the subject of new things, let me give you a sneak peek
at February. That's when we'll premiere our second new columnist of 2003. I
am pleased to welcome Terence K. Huwe to the CIL family. Huwe, a Berkeley
library director, will be taking over the half-time column called Building
Digital Libraries.
So that's what's new. And we still have all your old favorites too: Our longtime
columnists are happily still with us, and we'll keep on delivering the case
studies and the how-to features that you've come to expect from us. And speaking
of features, you'll want to read them all this month. The theme is Web Site
Usability, and if you think your site is already usable, read these and think
again. Remember, your Web site is often the "public face" of your organization;
it should be intuitive and impressive. This is not a place to skimp! You should
make your sites the very best they can be, and CIL magazine and all
its dedicated writers are here to help.
Kathy Dempsey, Editor
kdempsey@infotoday.com
 Kathleen L. Dempsey is the Editor
of Computers in Libraries. Her email address
is: kdempsey@infotoday.com |
