A short impression of the exhibition of the ALA Midwinter Meeting 2008, which was held 11–15 January 2008 in Philadelphia, PA, USA

摘要

The exhibition this year may be characterized as follows:n– a smaller number of exhibitors than in other years (more than 500 exhibitors),n– a lack of new and major product innovations,n– more – interesting – Open Source Software (OSS) products,n– consolidation in general, notably in the software area,n– more outsourcing offerings, also via SaaS (Software as a Service),n– the introduction of WorldCat Local,n– concentration by ILS vendors on search/discovery/delivery products, like Innovative’s ENCORE,nPRIMO1 (Ex Libris), INDIGO (TLC), ARENA (Axiell) and PRESTO (InMagic) – the last twoncompanies have not been exhibitors (for the sake of completeness only) andn– more 3rd party products by niche companies, who have no an underlying ILS product, as well asnby ILS vendors.nWorldCat Local may give libraries a presence on the Internet, as one library alone is nothing onnthe Internet, but together libraries may create a very robust presence in accordance with the long tailnprinciple.