Thanks to many hours of CSL staff time and the functional specifications examples from many other libraries in recent procurements projects, particularly Riverside County and San Francisco public libraries, the detailed specifications needed to define the new system have been drafted and are into an extensive review process. From these specifications a Feasibility Study Report and an Information Technology Procurement Plan are being developed to obtain project approvals from various state oversight agencies. A funding plan is currently being prepared to get the needed dollars for the effort in place by the 2007/08 fiscal year, and a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) will be developed to be issued in 2007 after project and budget approvals have been achieved.

In the meantime, we would like your input. As we refine the system functional specifications this year for use in the RFP, we want to obtain your thoughts about what is important to you to have the system be able to provide to help you support the information needs of your customers. What do you want from the system to support your library’s information and resource sharing goals? Please send your requests, thoughts, and ideas about how the system can best support your library’s resource sharing to Sarah Dalton, CSL Information Officer at sdalton@library.ca.gov. She will ensure that these get fed into the RFP development process.