Why Libraries should use and adopt Open Source Software?

I am just back from 12^th NATIONAL CONVENTION ON KNOWLEDGE, LIBRARY AND INFORMATION NETWORKING (NACLIN 2009) of DELNET. There, I argued that Open Source Software is best candidate for being used in Libraries. Both Library as well as Open Source Communities have similar ideologies. Computing history has shown us that both hardware and software have very short life span. They tend to get obsolete in no time when compared to Libraries - which are long term entities. Open Source software is a community effort. Thus there would be someone from community to take place of original developers in case they leave the project. Using Open Source Software is as good as legally owning it. Even libraries can sponsor further development. Thus it is worth to use and adopt open source software for long-term gains and continuity.

Open Source for Libraries

Good presentation on Open Source Softwares and issues associated with Open Source model. Surveys few Open Source Softwares that can be used in Libraries. Remember, there are many more.

Open Source for Libraries

View more presentations from Nicole Engard. (tags: opensource open)

RSS and Libraries

RSS and Its Use In Libraries

View more presentations from Sukhdev Singh. (tags: rss libraries)

Ranking of Indian Repositories

Ranking of Indian Repositories based on Ranking of Web of World Repositories, January 2009 Edition.

World Ranking among all types of Repositories               

• 38      Indian Institute of Science Bangalore ePrints   
• 105    Indian Statistical Institute Digital Library   
• 119    OpenMED@NIC   
• 208    Indian Institute of Astrophysics Dspace   
• 212    Raman Research Institute Digital Repository   
• 234    National Institute of Oceanography India Digital Repository   

 

World Ranking among Institutional Repositories      

• 28      Indian Institute of Science Bangalore ePrints   
• 89      Indian Statistical Institute Digital Library   
• 190    Indian Institute of Astrophysics Dspace   
• 194    Raman Research Institute Digital Repository   
• 208    National Institute of Oceanography India Digital Repository
• 279    National Aerospace Laboratories Institutional Repository

Understanding how libraries (and librarians) can survive in the new media ecosystem

Just came across PowerPoint Presentation of Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet & American Life Project. The presentation is on How libraries can survive in the new media ecosystem. I am trying to understand the message conveyed by this presentation. It is about "how people's use of the internet and cell phones has fundamentally changed the 'information ecosystem' in 10 ways". Information in this age is Abundant, Cheap, Personally Oriented and Designed for participation. According to Lee, 'information ecosystem' is changing in the following manner:

- Volume of information grows

- Variety of information and sources of information grow

- Velocity of information increases and smart mobs emerge

- Venues of intersecting with information and people multiply and the availability of information expands.

- People’s vigilance for information changes. Attention is 'truncated' and 'elongated'.

- The vibrance and immersive qualities of media environments makes them more compelling places to hang out and interact.

- Valence (relevance) of information improves – search and customization get better

- The voice of information democratizes and the visibility of new creators is enhanced.

- Voting on and ventilating about information proliferates as tagging, rating, and commenting occurs and collective intelligence asserts itself

- Social networks become more vivid and meaningful.

So what can Libraries and Librarians do in such an 'information ecosystem'? Well, they have been advised to take following actions:

-Be findable and available

-Think of yourself as a news node for information and interaction.

-Think of yourself as a social network node for people looking for 'friendsters'

-Think of yourself as an information hub -- an aggregator and a linker to others who have useful, interesting material

-Experiment with Web 2.0 applications

-Offer your good offices to help people master new literacies - Graphic; Navigation; Context; Focus; Skepticism; Ethical and Personal literacies.

The new information ecosystem and required actions for being relevant in this new ecosystem has been well explained by Lee. However, I am trying to understand how the ideas expressed by Lee Rainie correlate to the theory and philosophy of Library and Information Science. Changes in 'information ecosystem' is consistent with Ranganathan's Fifth Law - Library is a Growing Organism. The Library (system) being an Organism, grows and thus get more and more differentiated. It evolves like any other living organism on earth in response to changes in ecosystem. Most 'actions' suggested by Lee are consistent with Forth Law - Save the Time of The Reader. Well, I am not able to fit the concept of 'social networking' on Internet in terms of philosophy of library science. Perhaps, someone from you can help me.

LIS Blogs in India

Sri Badan Barman of Guwahati has compiled a list of 44 Library and Information Science Blogs in India. He has picked these from 69 blogs after hard work of ten days. He feels that Indian LIS bloggers are not professional enough to attract large number of readers. He advises bloggers to remain focussed on one or two themes.

Anyway, let me console myself - I write for myself.

Librarian will fine you if you smoke in Library

India has implemented "Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008" from today i.e. 2nd October 2008. According to these rules, Library is included in Public Places. Anyone found smoking in Libraries would be fined by Librarians.

Catalogue of Delhi Public Library goes online with KOHA

Delhi Public Library is one of best public libraries of India. It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and governed by Delhi Library Board. It is fully financed by the Government of India. Actually it consists of a network of Zonal Libraries, Branches and Sub-branches, R.C.Libraries, Community Libraries, Deposit Stations, Sports Libraries, Mobile Library, Braille library, etc. spread all over Delhi. Its total collection is over 14 lakh books in Hindi, English, Urdu, Punjabi & other Indian Languages.

Today, it added a new milestone in its journey. It made its Catalogue online. For this it has used an Open Source Software - Koha. Which is a full-featured Integrated Library System.

I have just done a quick search on Library's Online Catalogue.


Well done. Keep it up.

Koha and Delhi Public Library

Delhi Public Library is implementing Koha for its OPAC. Tried to have a look but could not enter the OPAC. It is restricted to Library Members only. Anyway, a good begining for one of the largest Public Libraries of India.

A private library in Indore claims having rare volumes

According to a news item - Indore library has rare volumes of Hindu scriptures in Arabic, Portugeese and Farsi

"Aziz Indori's private library, located in Khajrana area of Indore, boasts of several rare volumes and publications of Hindu epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in Portuguese, Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages."

Librarians in Movies

In most movies, librarians are typically stereotyped as people who are enforcing 'silence' in libraries.

It would be interesting to read a post in TCM’s Movie Blog that depicts librarians' roles in various movies.

..most librarians are portrayed as rather stuffy, repressed types, hellbent on enforcing the rules and naive about the real world..

British Library has a Flickr Group on Ramayana

A Scene from the Epic, Ramayana
Originally uploaded by Kamala Number

Libraries are choosing Flickr to post and share Photos on web. Here is an interesting example by British Library.

The British Library (see its Flickr Profile) has a group on Flickr called Ramayana. Photos / images submitted to this Flickr Group could appear in their gallery in London and on their Library's website, under the section - Ramayana: Love and Valour in India's Great Epic.

Blacklight - an open source OPAC

Blacklight is an open source OPAC. Libraries can use it to allow people to search and browse their collections online.

Creating Ticker from RSS Feeds

A librarian desired to display latest news as 'Ticker' on a large Plasma TV. The same was used to show-case the library site with recently acquired material. Adding a News Ticker could make the display screen more attention grabbing.

I suggested a simple solution based on a plug-in that can display RSS Feed as Ticker in Firefox. The solution has been described in the following slide show. A server side RSS Feed display would be a more elegant solution but would require fiddling with site code.

| View | Upload your own

Why open source software for libraries?

Simple answer, libraries have to survive much longer than the software and its providers.

Information Technology gets obsolete every year. Just see the history of computers - take just one particular operating system - DOS to VISTA. Have you realized how fast the things have changed over a short period of time - in just two decades! Do libraries change that fast? No! and there is absolutely no logic that they should also change.

What does that mean? - if a library is using a particular automated procedure - it won't change that easily because the whole library system would have to undergo changes. Not only the procedural changes are difficult to decide and manage, these are expensive too. Library procedures are not only tightly coupled with each other but also to standards and best practices. How many times AACR II has changed in last two decades? While you might have seen how different versions of softwares have come and gone? The sad part of all these versions is that their developers declare that they won't provide support for the earlier versions. If these are proprietary softwares, libraries will have to migrate to new versions or just get struck with a system for which no support is available. Well the migration strategy never provides optimum results because the technology gets obsolete before it is fully implemented. Thus libraries are put on perpetual migration route. Had a library used an open source software, chances are that library staff would had learned to use and maintain the software system. It means that it can still be managed and enhanced by the library staff - because the source code is available. Thus its long time survival is ensured to large extent.

Libraries should use open source softwares not because these are free or cost less - but as a Leader in Open Source for Libraries i.e LibLime has put it:

Use of open source not only lowers the per-library cost of running software, it also empowers libraries with a higher level of control over customization and the overall direction of software development.

And to add over here - Open source softwares are for long term. This suits the long term nature of libraries.

Semantic Web

Semantic Library - Data, meaning, content

..Semantic Web is about creating relationships between data. This gives data flexibility and strength. Open data enables raw research information, records and more to be shared and built upon by others. Because of the power of data, many not-for-profit designers and activists are putting their energy into developing mashups and visualising information..

Internet has positive impact on Libraries and Museums - a report

The IMLS National Study on the Use of Libraries, Museums and the Internet

The study concludes that “the amount of use of the Internet is positively correlated with the number of in-person visits to museums and has a positive effect on in-person visits to public libraries.”

Why open source model for librarians?

Why look at open source now? - PLN

..The open source model offers librarians the capability to create the software that we’ve always wanted—-standards compliant[7], interoperable, extensible and scalable software that does what we want it to do: help customers find information quickly, conveniently, no matter where that information resides..

I will say choose open source because it gives you the freedom to use, change or distribute the way you want. Remember, Libraries are expected to stay much longer than the vendors. Vendors may not support a version which they sold you some time ago. Or they may go out of business. In that case all your work and investment goes waste. You may be forced to migrate to another version or another software. With Open Source, you know what it all contains. You may tweak it yourself or hire people to do so, but then it is always with you. You can make it to evolve for your library's evolving needs.

Also check out the following paper at E-LIS repository:

E-LIS - A Virtual Exhibition of Open Source Software for Libraries

..Open source software is quickly becoming a preferred solution, owing to the freedom to copy, modify and distribute it and the freedom from contracts, as well as for greater opportunities for interoperability with other applications..

Tools from Libraries Around the World

Thanks Dr P Vyasamoorthy for letting us know about Research Tools from Libraries Around the World - College Degree.com