I was just chatting to my brother about library information systems – he works at the Bodleian Library in Oxford – and he mentioned that “the Bod” is implementing some new systems from VTLS in Virginia. Naturally, I checked out their web site. I assumed that the VT in the name stood for Virginia Tech – after all, both institutions are based in Blacksburg, VA. Nope – VTLS stands for “Visionary Technologies in Library Solutions”. (That has to be one of the most blatant acronym redefinitions I’ve come across.) Digging further, I came across this gem:
“Built according to the standards and best practices set forth by the Digital Library Federation’s Electronic Resource Management Initiative, VERIFY brings a plethora of benefits to staff and users alike.”
Plethora?!?! Perhaps they should try using their own software to locate a decent dictionary or thesaurus….