1. Open Source Software
in Georgia Libraries
GLA webcast, Nov 17 2010
Jason Puckett
Georgia State University
jasonpuckett.net
adlibinstruction.blogspot.com
3. Free as in beer (gratis)
Freeware ≠ Open Source
Gift culture:
Raymond, “Homesteading the Noosphere”
http://catb.org/~esr/writings/homesteading/
homesteading/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bitzi/236037776/
“Thanks for the Zotero info! I feel like I just
stole something!”
--GSU student
4. Free as in speech (libre)
The Free Software Definition
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/2699346313/
5. Free as in kittens
Tech support
Staff time and energy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dolescum/2725252651/
6. WordPress
Firefox
Apache
MediaWiki
Pidgin
OSS you (probably)
already use
flickr.com/photos/ladymixy-uk/3650120464
flickr.com/photos/ericmmartin/2985330439
flickr.com/photos/teemow/29921948
flickr.com/photos/chrissuderman/2870553192
flickr.com/photos/shanecurcuru/1907321209
Not a programmer, not a systems librarian
Why am I interested in oss?
Some of my favorite software, tools I use daily, are OSS
I’m writing a book about the open source research tool Zotero
I’m fascinated by the fact that the internet makes it possible to create and distribute software that does amazing things, for free
I think the OSS movement’s mission of sharing information for free is one that librarians should recognize
people and orgs who create OSS are “on our side” and we should advocate for it
I like free stuff
What I want to cover today:
What’s OSS
What’s good and bad about OSS
Some examples of OSS that libraries are using
Q&A
One definition: opensource.org/docs/definition.php
Open source
When programmers sit down to create a program, they write what’s called “source code”
This is the raw material, the ingredients, the actual programming instructions that make software work
When finished, it gets converted into a file that you can download and run on your computer
Open source software means that the source code is available openly, for free, for anyone to examine and alter
It’s like if you go to a restaurant and they include the recipe along with their meal
Companies like Microsoft and Apple don’t release source code – they just release the finished product
By altering the source code of a program, you can change the way it works
If you don’t like the way internet explorer works, you can’t do anything about it
If you don’t like the way Firefox works, you can (if you’re a programmer) look at the source code and find a way to make improvements
Change the “recipe” and cook a new version
OSS is often also called “free software”. Next I want to talk about some of the different things we mean by Free in this context
[next slide]:
Without cost -- gratis
An early model of this was called “freeware,” which means without cost but not necessarily open source
Free of cost is one characteristic of OSS, but doesn’t define it
Gdocs
itunes
Why do people give this stuff away?
The same reason that universities publish scholarship: to share information
The same reason that libraries provide free information to the public
Because it is a worthwhile public good
Sometimes OSS projects sponsored by a nonprofit
Sometimes individuals join together ad hoc
“Gift culture”/gift economy:
(Anthropology): what you give away determines your social status
programmers gain prestige by giving their time and energy
See “Homesteading the Noosphere” by Eric S Raymond http://catb.org/~esr/writings/homesteading/homesteading/
Why is free as in beer/gratis an important concept?
Obvious: free is good
Individuals: Take it with you if you leave GSU
Library budgets: obvious benefits, but drawbacks too (see kittens)
Free Software Foundation’s definition
Run the program for any purpose
Study how it works and change it (access to the source code)
Redistribute the software and any changes
Why does this matter?
Producers of commercial (non-free) software “have a vested interest in locking users into their own proprietary formats” (quote Trevor Owens at Zotero)
OSS generally designed on open standards to import/export from other programs
Tends to have frequent upgrades and improvements, “to many eyes all bugs are shallow”
Not dependent on a single entity since someone could take over the source code
“free” can sometimes include a burden
Free kittens aren’t really free even if they’re without up-front cost
Free software doesn’t generally include tech support
Cost in staff time, energy, problems
Support available?
Can you install w/o your IT department? Will they install something that’s in permanent beta?
Open source does not always mean better. Commercial does not always mean more expensive.
Is using OSS worth it even if you have to support it yourself? Maybe.
We do a lot of our own tech support anyway
By solving our own problems we learn more about how the tools work
OSS often has very active community support as good or better than commercial tech support
Some specific examples of OSS that libraries are using:
All software we use at GSU, software you might not know is OSS
Wordpress
Possibly the most widely used blog software in the world
Many library blogs are using this; if your lib has a blog, it’s probably WP
Designed to be extensible by third parties: thousands of plugins
Easy to install, easy to use
We use it for our blog
Firefox
One of the most popular browsers on the web, 2nd most used browser
Designed to be extensible by third parties
Most web designers consider it a superior browser because of its standards compliance
Mediawiki
Originally written for Wikipedia
We use it for our intranet
Apache web server
Most widely used web server since 1996
Your web server probably runs on Apache
Pidgin chat client
Used by many libraries for chat reference
Designed to interact with many chat networks (open standards)
Most libraryh3lp libraries use it as their client
Works on any OS
Next some OSS that you might not be using yet that GA libraries are
Audio editing
Used at GA Tech radio station
I use it in podcast production
A little harder learning curve than Garageband but free & runs on any OS
Virginia Tech U Libraries
Search box built into browser
Adds library links to amazon, google results,
GALILEO has a version (second link)
Create custom editions for your library
Example of OSS extensibility – Firefox designed to allow mods like this that alter how it shows web pages. (IE version now exists but was much longer coming)
What is it
CHNM at George Mason U
By academic researchers for researchers
Wanted an alternative to expensive difficult commercial reference managers
The browser is the common tool of almost all researchers, provides a unified workspace for saving references
Recognized that Firefox is designed to allow third parties to create add-ons that give it new functions
Built on open standards:
Imports/exports to other citation managers
Because OSS, users have contributed localization help, available in dozens of languages
Complete free open source reserves system
Developed by librarians and library programmers at Emory U
Allows users and library staff to upload and manage files; can be set up as self-service (users manage everything) or library staff manage everything
Demo at reservesdirect.org/demo
Development status? Not sure, last update May 2009
Another library could download the source code, give it to its programmers and start adding new features
(Some of you may know a lot more about Evergreen than I do)
Open source ILS developed by PINES, a consortium of 51 GA public library systems
Found no commercial ILS that met their needs, developed their own
“free as in kittens”: shifted budget from commercial software licensing to support/infrastructure needs
544 libraries now run on this open source ILS: 275 in GA, more in Canada, Michigan, Indiana, SC, TX, CT, elsewhere in the US and 20 in India planning to come online
The more libraries that use it, the larger the development community becomes and the more ideas and improvements can potentially happen
OpenOffice:
Complete free office suite compatible with MS office
Runs on any operating system
Deployed by many governments to save money on MS licenses
Linux
Complete free operating system, replaces Windows or MacOS
Many versions, link above is to my favorite version Ubuntu which is easy to install and use
Small libraries can put linux on public workstations; if all you need is a browser you’ll never notice the difference
A friend of mine, med librarian, has customized their linux workstations to look and behave exactly like Windows
