wedging open source into your library effectively

It’s great to mess around with open source tools if you’re geeky and techie. However what if, like many small libraries and solo librarians, you’re not? PALINET has been looking at open source tools and I really really like what PALINET is doing to make using an open source ILS a genuine option for their member libraries. Way to actually address the problem PALINET, nice job.

PALINET is aware that not all of our members have the technical support or skills necessary to install or test the open source applications that are currently available. We’re looking at a number of ways to address this issue, but we’ve taken two initial steps already. First, a member Technology Caucus has begun regular discussions of open source software tools in monthly meetings. Yesterday, a group of library developers met at the PALINET offices in Philadelphia to install test copies of Koha and Evergreen for evaluation and comparison. It’s my hope that we’ll be able to put together a couple of really clean, well integrated, model systems, which will demonstrate the kind of functionality that is possible with these open source ILS solutions.

[wilt]