We are upgrading the synagogue library software to a web-based system with an on-line catalog. We are in the process of deciding whether we should restrict access to the catalog to synagogue members only or to make it available to everyone.
I would be interested in knowing your thoughts about access to on-line synagogue catalogs. Are there any down-sides, potential problems, or other issues (including hacking) that we should consider if we were to allow full access to everyone. If we made the catalog available to members only, that would be an added "perk" that congregants would have. However, it would be good library public relations to make our historic collection available to the larger community. The question of security (will we get the books back from a non-member?) is a problem that some people are concerned about. How have you dealt with these issues and what decisions have you made about your on-line catalogs? We'd appreciate any help/insight you can offer. Thanks in advance, Paula Fine Cong. Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun Milwaukee, WI --- Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: hasaf...@osu.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
