Looking to learn more about open source software in libraries?  Check out these resources: 

 

PALS Resources

 

• Koha and Evergreen demonstrations at PALS (March 25 & April 30, 2008)

  • Log in to the PALS Wiki for reports on the demonstrations:  http://wiki.mnpals.org/index.php/Open_Source_ILS

     

• Follow the onging discussion at PALS about open source software and new discovery tools by logging in to the PALS Forums:  http://forums.mnpals.org/index.php?board=44.0

   

• Discovery tool: solr.mnpals.net / solr.mnpals.net/catalog/gac

   

•  VuFind tool:  vufind.mnpals.net/index.php

 

Meetings & Presentations:

 

ILS Alternatives meeing (March 10, 2008)

• Members of our open source group met with staff from St. John's/St. Ben's, Concordia, and Macalester to discuss trends in ILSs and explore possible partnership.  The report, ConsideringILS.PDF, summarizes the discussion.

• Keep up-to-date with the discussion by visiting the ILS Alternatives Blog, which grew out of the meeting.

   

MnOBE futurecat wiki:  http://mnobefuturecat.pbwiki.com/

• The MnOBE task force, which Julie participated in, was charged by the directors and chairs of the MnOBE libraries to create a report about the future of the catalog.  The report is available on that wiki; there are also many useful links to other open source software projects

 

MNIUG Fall 2007 Conference (October 30, 2007) : http://clic.edu/mniug/mniug_fall07_handouts.html

            Includes information about the conference with handouts.  Also additional Open Source information.

• WALDO and Open Source Software

  This presentation, given by John Stromquist of the WALDO consortium at the MNIUG Fall 2007 Conference, discusses the consortium's decision to move to an open source ILS.  Slides from the presentation can be found under Files in the wiki menu

 

MNLINK User Group Meeting presentations (November 2, 2007):

• Open Source Library Automation, All Grown Up, Keynote presentation by Joshua Ferraro.
• Discovery, Catalogs and Collections in the Idiom of the Web, Presentation by Karen Calhoun.

 

Books :

    The Cathedral and the Bazaar: musings on Linux and Open source by an accidental revolutionary by Eric S. Raymond. Cambridge, Mass.

        : O'Reilly, 2001.  (at FBML)

    Open source software for libraries : an open source for libraries collaboration. Chicago : LITA, c2002. (at FBML)

    Open source physics : a user's guide with examples by Wolfgang Christian. San Francisco : Pearson Education, c2007.  (at FBML)

 

Websites:

• VuFind  VuFind is an open source library portal, meaning it would replace the traditional OPAC with an easier-to-use interface that would search more library resouces.  
• University of Washington Libraries  For a demonstration of WorldCat local, visit the U-W Libraries and try a search.  WorldCat local searches library holdings, including a number of journals in databases and offers all kinds of interesting search features.
• Thoughts from Carl Grant  Blog about open source software and vendor relationships.   Carl Grant is President of CARE Affiliates, specializing in open source solutions for libraries.
• Future Catalogs: Food for Thought  An interesting list of what we want in an OPAC by Eric Lease Morgan via the PALINET leadership network.
• Library Technology Guides: Discovery Layer Interfaces  A list of libraries using discovery layer tools, compiled by Marshall Breeding
• Free Software Foundation Software should be free for ethical reasons
• Open Source Software  Software should be free for practical reasons

 

 

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