Archive for the ‘Open Source’ Category

Code4Lib Scholarship for Open Source Librarians

December 3rd, 2011 Nicole

This came across the Koha mailing list this week and I thought that some of you might be interested.

Equinox Software is offering 2 scholarships to the code4lib conference in February.

The scholarships will reimburse travel and accommodation expenses up to $750.00 USD for a full-time employee from public libraries using either Evergreen or Koha to attend the Code4Lib Conference in Seattle, Washington, USA, from February 6-9, 2012. The awardees will also receive free registration to Code4Lib.

ELIGIBILITY

The applicants must be presently working in a public library that is currently using or is actively committed to moving to either Evergreen or Koha as their ILS.

The applicants must indicate any amount and source of additional funding which, combined with the Scholarship, will permit them to cover their expenses to attend the Conference. (This will not reduce the amount of the award.)

Preference will be given to underfunded libraries or libraries in budget crisis.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION December 31, 2011

The email application should include a current resume, including all contact information, education, and experience, along with an essay as described below.

The applicants will write up to 750 words of narrative in English to address the following:

  • Description of the library’s mission and commitment to open source solutions
  • How attendance may benefit the applicant
  • How the applicant intends to share the benefit of the experience with colleagues
  • Description of funding constraints, budgetary limitations, or travel/hiring freezes pertinent to the applicant’s situation

APPLICATION ADDRESS: Please send resumes and essays to Grace Dunbar before December 31, 2011 by email attachment to c4lgrant@esilibrary.com

NOTIFICATION: The successful applicants will be notified by January 5, 2012.

Feel free to re-post this announcement and/or our press release (http://esilibrary.com/esi/newsitem.php?id=2182)

Posted in Conferences, Open Source No Comments »

Zotero Open Source Articles Since 2011-08-05

October 8th, 2011 Nicole

Not much bookmarked this last month, but I’ve been a bit busy with recovery. Here’s what we have for September:

Chawner, Brenda. “F/OSS in the library world: an exploration.” ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes 30, no. 4 (July 2005). http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1082983.1083262.
Farkas, Meredith. “Open Source, Open Mind.” American Libraries. Technology in Practice (September 27, 2011). http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/columns/practice/open-source-open-mind.
Rapp, David. “Open Source Reality Check: Implementation experience reveals pros and cons.” Library Journal (August 15, 2011). http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/891350-264/open_source_reality_check.html.csp.
Schlumpf, Peter. “Open source library systems.” Library Computing: Internet & Software Applications for Information Professionals 18, no. 4 (1999): 323.
Vaughan-Nichols, Steven. “Linus Torvalds’s Lessons on Software Development Mamagement.” Input Output, September 26, 2011. http://h30565.www3.hp.com/t5/Feature-Articles/Linus-Torvalds-s-Lessons-on-Software-Development-Management/ba-p/440.
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Open Source Textbooks

May 23rd, 2011 Nicole

Check out this infographic on open source textbooks:

Open Source Textbooks
Via: Online Schools

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Zotero Open Source Articles since 2011-04-04

May 4th, 2011 Nicole

As always I have been keeping adding open source articles to my Zotero library. Here are the articles I found in the last month:

Bell, Stephen. “Librarians, developers push open-source alternative.” Computerworld NZ, November 29, 2010. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/librarians-push-open-source-alternative.
Bissels, Gerhard, and Andrea Chandler. “Two years on: Koha 3.0 in use at the CAMLIS library, Royal London Homœopathic Hospital.” Program: electronic library and information systems 44, no. 3 (2010): 283-290.
Bleigh, Michael. “Why Open Source Company Culture is Important.” Intridea Blog, April 22, 2011. http://intridea.com/2011/4/22/why-open-source-company-culture-is-important.
Breeding, Marshall. “Open Source ILS Continues to Expand.” ALA TechSource, April 19, 2011. http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2011/04/open-source-ils-continues-to-expand.html.
Carraway, Shawn, and Susan Payne. “Implementing RAKIM Open Source Chat Reference Software.” Computers in Libraries 25, no. 5 (May 2005): 10-15.
Cornelisen, Wendy, and Jodie Gambill. “Free as in Kittens: Using Open Source Software to Run Your Library Website.” Tennessee Libraries 59, no. 3 (2009): 14.
Dennison, Lyn. “Small and Open Source: Decisions and Implementation of an Open Source Integrated Library System in a Small Private College.” Georgia Library Quarterly 48, no. 2 (April 12, 2011). http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/glq/vol48/iss2/3.
Farmer, Tracy. “Making the Most of Technology: Linux as an Alternative Solution.” Arkansas Libraries 61, no. 3 (Fall 2004): 14-15.
Garza, Alejandro. “From OPAC to CMS: Drupal as an extensible library platform.” Library Hi Tech 27, no. 2 (2009): 252-267.
Ho, Birong, Keith Kelley, and Scott Garrison. “Implementing VuFind as an alternative to Voyager’s WebVoyage interface: One library’s experience.” Library Hi Tech 27, no. 1 (2009): 82-92.
Keast, Don. “A survey of Koha in Australian special libraries: Open source brings new opportunities to the outback.” OCLC Systems & Services 27, no. 1 (2011): 23-39.
Liu, Guoying, and Huoxin Zheng. “Access to serials: integrating SFX with Evergreen open source ILS.” Library Hi Tech 29, no. 1 (2011): 137-148.
Magee, Jane, and Elisabeth Thomas. “Customizing an open-source tool to enhance information literacy.” New Library World 111, no. 11/12 (2010): 503-512.
Mah, Calvin, and Kevin Stranack. “dbWiz: open source federated searching for academic libraries.” Library Hi Tech 23, no. 4 (2005): 490-503.
McMullen, Anthony J. “Electronic Reserves on a Budget: A Case Study of a Homegrown System Built with Open Source and Free Software Solutions.” Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserves 17, no. 1/2 (March 2007): 137-150.
Morrissey, Sheila. “The economy of free and open source software in the preservation of digital artefacts.” Library Hi Tech 28, no. 2 (2010): 211-223.
Mutula, Stephen, and Tumelo Kalaote. “Open source software deployment in the public sector: a review of Botswana and South Africa.” Library Hi Tech 28, no. 1 (2010): 63-80.
Tajoli, Zeno, Alessandra Carassiti, Andrea Marchitelli, and Fulvia Valenti. “OSS diffusion in Italian libraries: The case of Koha by the Consorzio Interuniversitario Lombardo per l’Elaborazione Automatica (CILEA).” OCLC Systems & Services 27, no. 1 (2011): 45-50.
Walker-Headon, Niamh. “ReSearcher Suite: selection and implementation – the hosted option.” Library Hi Tech News 27, no. 2 (2010): 1-5.
Winter, Marsha, and Portia Bowen-Chang. “Dealing with DSpace: the experience at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine.” New Library World 111, no. 7/8 (2010): 320-332.
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Open Source Owns the Web

April 25th, 2011 Nicole

This awesome infographic shows how open source is ruling the web!!

Read the full post for more info.

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Open Source Web Conferencing Options

February 15th, 2011 Nicole

One open source tool that I use regularly is DimDim. It was the application we used at work and through the SLA for hosting web based meetings. Recently it was announced that DimDim is being sold and when you look at their SourceForge page you see that they haven’t released a new open source version since 2009. So the question becomes, “now what?”

I did some searching today to see what options were out there. There is still WebHuddle which I knew about already but didn’t like as much as DimDim and then there’s a tool I didn’t know about until today – BigBlueButton.

From their site:

BigBlueButton is an open source web conferencing system built on over fourteen open source components to create an integrated solution that runs on mac, unix, or PC computers. In the true sense of open source, we invite you to try out and participate in our project.

Sounds like the perfect alternative!! It doesn’t look like there is a hosted option, so you’d have to install it on your own web servers, but once you do that you have an open source web conferencing application which will allow you to share your screen, slides, video (webcam), text chat and voice over ip. I’m going to look further into BigBlueButton, but I thought I’d mention it to you all in case anyone else was out there searching like I was.

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Open Source Camp in New York

January 10th, 2011 Nicole

In March I’m doing a day long camp for NyLink on open source software in libraries. If you’re in the area make sure you sign up because space is limited.

The library community is abuzz about open source software. Open source usually refers to an application whose source code is made available for use or modification as users see fit. Make sense? Probably not! Would it help if you knew that open source is not just about programming, but about following a philosophy?

Still confused? Not surprising. What will open source mean to our libraries? More flexibility and freedom than software purchased with license restrictions. This is an important path for libraries to consider. Why open source? Because both the open source community and the library world live by the same rules and principles.

In this one-day camp, Nicole Engard will give you the facts and dispel myths about open source. After an intro to open source, attendees will share their stories and experiences. Nicole will be on hand to answer questions; show possible tools and how libraries are using them; and to facilitate the day. Bring your laptops to experiment and try out new technologies!

Takeaways:

  • Define open source and be able to answer basic questions the nature of open source and its uses

  • List open source applications for the library, home and office
  • Compare open source applications to traditional proprietary options
  • Discuss examples & experiences from other libraries

Available Classes

  • A 1 day(s) Conference at Nylink 3rd fl. Training Facility Rm. on: 03/08 (9:00 AM-4:00 PM ET)

I hope to see some of you there!!

Posted in Open Source, Presentations No Comments »

Recent Open Source Webinars

November 9th, 2010 Nicole

Today and yesterday I gave a 2 part presentation for New York librarians with METRO. The slides from those talks are available here:

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Open Source is about Communities

October 6th, 2010 Nicole

In chapter 2 I talk about open source and communities. Like I always say when talking about open source, judge a product by the community behind it. If there is an active community then the product is going to be supported for a long time.

So, now that my book is published I’m reading ‘Trust Agents‘ by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith and I have to say I’m learning a lot and wish I had it before I wrote my book. One part that I feel bears repeating here (that I didn’t learn from the book – but from real life) is about joining communities – the right way.

I think the following quote from the book applies to many of the things I teach librarians (social networking, web 2.0 and of course open source), and while it focuses on business, it applies very much to us as well.

Simply too many companies attempt to jump into the fray on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and immediately endeavor to peddle their wares. They don’t realize that we all know each other, that we recognize the new stranger in our midst and that we are feeling “marketed to” long before we’ve been properly introduced. 1

As I stated before, even though this mentions specific networks, it applies just as equally to open source networks/communities.

Earlier in the book, Chris and Julien talk about how companies (and libraries) can screw up when joining or participating in an existing community – and how to fix it!

In most cases, the way to fix misunderstandings and earn back respect requires asserting the appropriate combination of deference, respect, and humility. If you are genuine in your efforts, the next step after realizing that the community has pushed back is to apologize. Even if you feel you’re in the right, stat by saying, “I’m sorry.” Next, be humble and learn what the community is teaching … The most important element is a consistent stream of communication back to the “wronged” individuals in the community. 2

And to that I’d add a quote from Wikinomics by Dan Tascott and Anthony Williams:

Critiquing the community is a right reserved for those who have proved themselves by making valuable contributions.3.

As library professionals we often stick to reading/studying things specifically geared to us, but I find it often helpful to branch out and read books that have been categorized as ‘business’ books because we can learn just as much from them.

——
1. Brogan, Chris, and Julien Smith. “You must earn your place in communities.” In Trust Agents, 106-108. Rev Upd. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2010. http://trustagent.com.
2.———. “How to screw up (and how to fix it).” In Trust Agents, 100-101. Rev Upd. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2010. http://trustagent.com.
3. Tapscott, Don, and Anthony D. Williams. “Embracing open source culture and strategy.” In Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything, 82-83. Expanded Edition. New York, NY: Penguin USA, 2008. www.wikinomics.com/book/.

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