Public Libraries: techno trends and collective memory

By public library I mean here a library providing some kind of universal access to its assets, one whose readership isn’t exclusively tied and restricted to a particular organization – including the generally called public libraries, but also many specialized libraries, such as the academic of the open kind. Despite all efforts, public libraries continue to face strong barriers to their participation in the information society. Participants of the World Meeting on the Future of the ISIS Software recognized that “the ISIS Software Family has a unique technological concept and developmental mission to cope with Information Storage and Retrieval Systems (ISRS), particularly for developing countries where the technology is widely known and used; that the ISIS Software Family has now fully embraced the Free and Open Source Software approach and the support of UNICODE structures to be fully open and multilingual” (Rio Declaration 2008), restating thus the persistent relevance of this software family. OSS (Coar 2006) is defined as software whose source code is freely available, therefore allowing for free inspection and/or utilization, i.e., it is available for study and use by everyone without any payment or any other barrier to access. the lack of technical skill in libraries, a situation that libraries share with much of the public and cultural sectors. The study of OSS ILS, and of the their adaptation to the needs of specific public libraries may be the solution to this. Library Management Systems) that enhances digital archive interoperability between a diverse range of libraries

Guía del Software libre en bibliotecas

Emerging trends and themes within the information environment are currently being followed that provide a unique opportunity for libraries and align perfectly with the open source philosophy. These developments include the open movements such as: linked open data; open research data management; open science; open content; open government; open educational resources (OER); crowdsourcing; and, of course, open access. Open source solutions for the library fit very well into an especially more broadly open moment affecting the academic world today. The reasons why libraries do not adopt or replace open source software with proprietary software lie in training, awareness and lack of government commitment, so professional training programmes should include open source issues in their professional curricula. The motivation for libraries to use an Open Source library management system is usually mainly economic, although other issues are also taken into account, such as the greater flexibility that Free Software programmes provide to design customised systems to better meet the needs of their immediate users. Here are some of the Free and Open Source Software programmes classified by categories that are useful for librarie

Zotero: Information Management Software 2.0

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight how the open-source bibliographic management program Zotero harnesses Web 2.0 features to make library resources more accessible to casual users without sacrificing advanced features. This reduces the barriers understanding library resources and provides additional functionality when organizing information resources. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews select aspects of the program to illustrate how it can be used by patrons and information professionals, and why information professionals should be aware of it. Findings – Zotero has some limitations, but succeeds in meeting the information management needs of a wide variety of users, particularly users who use online resources. Originality/value – This paper is of interest to information professionals seeking free software that can make managing bibliographic information easier for themselves and their patrons

OpenBiblio: A free and open source integrated library management system that answers small libraries’ automation needs

Purpose-This paper sought to assess the suitability of Openbilio as a free and open source integrated library management system that answers small libraries' automation needs considering the fact that many free and open source integrated library management systems exit that require more skills and resources which these libraries do not have. Methodology-The study was a qualitative technical paper on OpenBiblio. Qualitative data through documents analysis on OpenBiblio was collected and analyzed in light of its strengths and weaknesses. Secondly, the author used his personal experience of working with OpenBiblio to evaluate its suitability for use among small libraries. Findings-The findings show that OpenBiblio is suitable for small libraries because it is easy to install and configure as compared to Koha, Evergreen and other integrated library management systems which require immense technical knowledge of Linux, MYSQL, HTML and CSS. Further, it has also been observed that OpenBiblio can run on a small computer with at least 512Mb of RAM and can run on both Windows and Linux. The study also discovered that OpenBiblio has four modules (Cataloguing, Circulation, OPAC, and Patron management that represent the core functions of small libraries; thus it computerizes the main functions of the library. OpenBiblio was also found to comply with main library standards such as Z39.50 and MARC 21. The paper however discovered that OpenBiblio has limited documentation on the Internet that makes it difficult for new beginners to install and configure it. Originality/value- Very few scholarly papers exist on OpenBiblio as automation software suited small libraries. Many treatises exist only on giant free and open source library management systems such as Koha, ABCD and Evergreen. This paper therefore provides information for small libraries that wish to automate their operations using OpenBiblio. Implications to small libraries- Small libraries should consider adopting and use OpenBiblio to automate their operations as it is easy to install and use

Open Source Software for Integrated Library System : Relative Appropriatness in the Indian Context

Libraries in all fields of human activity are involved in collection, preservation, management, and effective distribution of information that determines the quality of development in concerned sectors including that of higher education and research. Now information is flooding and along with that the recorded information to be managed; which necessitates automation of libraries to make the information stored in their collections useful and retrievable. Hitherto the cost of commercial packages for automation has prevented millions of libraries from using those tools. The recent emergence of Open Source Software has drastically reduced the cost of automation as well provided tools for new and innovative information services. The present research work focuses on comparative study of library automation packages with stress to appropriateness of Open Source Integrated Library Systems (OSILS) for countries like India. Study is based on a survey among library professionals from India using commercial and OSILS packages. The sample users belong to 601 libraries covering university, college, school, special and research libraries using any one of the integrated library systems. Packages covered is limited to the software /versions used in India. The survey found that features users of library automation packages consider are cost effectiveness, technical infrastructure, staff skills, software functionality and the availability of support, documentation and community. Study revealed that OSILS provides technological freedom and so is changing the landscape of library automation. Survey found Koha to be most popular in India. Suggests solutions to improve the situation. Few recommendations are provided to help libraries to choose suitable OSILS by understanding their advantages. Opines that being an attractive alternative to costly commercial package for any type of libraries OSILS, which is free to experiment and easy to use and customize for local requirements needs to be promoted in Indian libraries

Innovative projects and services in the Public library network of Andalusia

The inclusion of Andalusia in the “Internet in the libraries” programme has allowed an increase in the number of libraries offering free internet access to their users and working online with the same integrated library system. The most innovative projects set up by the regional government through the Public Libraries Network of Andalusia (RBPA) are analysed, along with new digital library services considered to be examples of good practice. Finally, the action plans for future implementation of an information and library management system based on free software and open source code are described

USE OF OPEN SOURCE TECHNOLOGY FOR EFFECTIVE ACADEMIC LIBRARY SERVICES IN NIGERIA

This study focuses on the need for academic libraries to adopt open source software technology for effective library services in Imo State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research method was used to elicit responses. About 82 respondents consisting of librarians from the six academic institutions in the state were used for the study. Consequently, 82 copies of the questionnaire were administered and 63 representing 78% were returned. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data gathered. The results indicated that out of the 6 academic libraries involved in the study 1 is presently using D space and word press while others are yet to commence any form of a digital management system. The finding of the study shows that certain factors such as lack of technological knowledge for its adoption 58(92%) passive attitude towards the use of technology by management 53(84%) lack of Internet facilities to download and use software 50 (79%) amidst others were found to be militating against the provision and utilization of information resources and services. The study recommends that academic libraries should key into the open source technology because it is free, stable, adaptable and supported by a network of global community. This is imperative for academic libraries in Nigeria to bring back their users

VidyaOnline: Design and Development of a FOSS based Virtual Learning Environment on Library and Information Science at Vidyasagar University, West Bengal

VidyaOnline, the prototype web-based modular and interactive learning system, is aimed to produce a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for library and information science courses. In its final contour, VidyaOnline will be acted as a generic e learning platform for courses offered by the Directorate of Distance Education (DDE), Vidyasagar University. As we know, learning system that supports VLE features (as prescribed by INSPIRAL project), is not restricted to distance education alone, VidyaOnline will have all the facilities to support off-campus learning and evaluation activities related to traditional courses of Vidyasagar University. In short, VidyaOnline will be emerging as a web integrated hybrid e learning system for library and information science courses as well as for other distance and traditional courses of Vidyasagar University. The structure of VidyaOnline extends support for all three forms of VLE – web-based training, supported online learning and informal e learning. The software architecture of VidyaOnline is completely based on FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). It uses LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP) architecture, Moodle course management system and GD graphics library to design and develop an interactive web-integrated e learning platform to accommodate library and information science courses along with other distance education programmes of DDE, Vidyasagar University. VidyaOnline is completely compatible with Unicode and one courseware is available in Unicode-based Bengali language interface

Conceptions of Indian LibSys Software Users on Open Source Integrated Library Management System

There are many Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) available for library automation in the market and are being instrumental in managing information and knowledge all over the world. Cost effectiveness and the availability of source code are the major rationalities for LIS professionals to adopt FOSS over the proprietary packages. Open Source Integrated Library Management System (OSILMS) is gaining widespread adoption in Indian libraries for the last two decades. The present study intends to evaluate the perceptions of Indian LibSys software users on the adoption of OSILMS and focuses to survey the level of agreement of LibSys software users on some selected statements related to the features and characteristics of OSILMS. Study also compares the impact, functional features and financial aspects of OSILMS with its commercial counterparts practised in Indian libraries. Online questionnaire method was used to collect the responses from the libraries in India using LibSys as their automation software. The study found that majority of the respondents positively agreed with most of the projected statements on the adeptness and rewards of OSILMS and a higher percentage of them expressed willingness to migrate to OSILMS