Information technology: a simple plan

Volume 20, Number 4 • April 2000

Information technology: a simple plan — Here's a radical new approach to IT planning: simplify it!
by Andrew K. Pace

COMING FULL CIRCLE column focuses on planning Information Technology (IT) for libraries. Offers a radical new minimalist approach to IT planning that will keep anyone's head from spinning: Make space, pay attention, and share what is learned. Observes that a lot of IT plans on the Web seem long on buzzwords and short on real details. Mentions disk space as one of the most pressing IT needs and also one of the cheapest, and that a library needs a good plan for organizing and storing all this data. Says that one of the most interesting ways to gather information on what others are doing is to attend conferences, and that if sharing outside the library is important, sharing within the library is tantamount to technology planning. Concludes that no matter what the plan is, make sure that everyone understands it, and as many people as possible have a part in it.