Library 2.0 Gang 10/08: Financial Crisis or an opportunity?

Originally posted on 10th October 2008 on the Talis Library 2.0 Gang Podcast.

Unless you have been living under a stone for the last few months, the turmoil in the world financial markets can not have escaped your notice, but how will this, and the inevitable recession that we are heading in towards, influence libraries and their suppliers?

Is the library world insulated from it? Does it mean that open source become more popular because it is perceived to be cheaper, or less because there will be less funding for those involved? Does it mean that pressure to purchase add-on components as against full systems will increase? What pressures will there be on the vendors both traditional and open source? Does this mean that libraries will become more or less significant in their communities? Is this an opportunity or a crisis or both?

Joining gang members Marshall Breeding and Carl Grant to discuss this, our guest this month is Talis CEO and avid Bloomberg watcher, Dave Errington.

The conclusion seems to be that it is definitely a crisis for the world economies, but this first recession in an online world could be an opportunity for libraries if they are willing to grasp it. Take a listen and see if you agree.

During the conversation Carl references a Chronicle of Higher Education, Tech Therapy, podcast about the culture clash between librarians and IT in the academic environment. You can listen to that podcast by following this link.

Library 2.0 Gang 08/08: Open Source Systems

Originally posted on 12th August 2008 on the Talis Library 2.0 Gang Podcast.

Open Source Software has been around for many years. Open Source components have been used to develop library systems since the late 1990’s. Koha, acknowledged as the first fully open source library system was launched by its New Zealand based developers in 2000. The growing interest around open source, stimulated by Koha, was given a significant boost when Georgia Public Libraries launched Evergreen in September 2006.

We have two guests this month:

• Karen G. Schneider, Community Librarian for Equinox Software, the support organisation which grew out of the Evergreen project.
• L J Haravu Chief Domain Specialist, Verus Solutions Pvt., Ltd., Hyderabad India, the software company behind NewGenLib the Open Source library system successfully spreading across India and the Middle East.

Stimulated by the success of the organisations represented by our guests, the gang for this month – Nicole Engard, Talin Bingham, Andrew Nagy, Marshall Breeding, and Carl Grant – go on to discuss how Open Source Library Systems, and the open approach behind them, have changed the way all system suppliers both commercial and Open Source are delivering their systems and engaging with their customers.

Talking With Talis :: A conversation with LibLime's Joshua Ferraro

Originally posted on Talking With Talis on September 26, 2007.

Joshua Ferraro President, Technology for LibLime discusses Open Source library systems in this Talking with Talis podcast. The Open Source alternative to the traditional model of library system purchase has attracted much interest over recent months. Joshua dispels a few myths and clarifies what it is like for a library to go OS.

Download MP3 [31 mins, 28Mb]

Code4Lib 2007 :: Bess Sadler and Tigran Zargaryan - Library-in-a-Box

Presentation by Bess Sadler and Tigran Zargaryan at Code4Lib 2007 in Athens, GA on March 1, 2007.

Libraries in developing countries have difficulty implementing and supporting commercial ILS systems. Poor support for internationalized interfaces and expensive software licensing fees contribute to an increasingly unsupportable situation in libraries around the world. Electronic Information for Libraries is currently planning the development of "Library-in-a-Box," an open-source, fully internationalized integrated library system, designed to be easy to install and support, and with next-generation OPAC features like faceted browsing. Library-in-a-box will build on the work already done by evergreen and koha. This talk will discuss the current state and future plans of this project.

Play talk on Odeo.

Video available.

Code4Lib 2007 :: Michael Doran - The Intellectual Property Disclosure Process: Releasing Open Source Software in Academia

Presentation by Michael Doran at Code4Lib 2007 in Athens, GA on March 2, 2007.

Presentation by Michael Doran at Code4Lib 2007 in Athens, GA

This presentation will cover the copyright issues and pitfalls that arise when a locally created software application is being considered for release under an open-source license. It will be based on the knowledge and experience gained shepherding two applications through the intellectual property disclosure process at the University of Texas at Arlington, so that the applications could be officially released as open source.

Play talk on Odeo.

Video and slides available.

EDUCAUSE CONNECT :: An Interview with Casey Bisson

Originally posted by Matt Pasiewicz (EDUCAUSE) on December 18, 2006.

In this 13 minute recording, we'll hear from Plymouth State University Library Information Technologist, Casey Bisson. Listen in as he discusses a range of topics, including social software, open source, and his new WPOPAC software.

This interview is provided courtesy of CNI and was recorded at their 2006 Fall Task Force Meeting. The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) is an organization dedicated to supporting the transformative promise of networked information technology for the advancement of scholarly communication and the enrichment of intellectual productivity.

EDUCAUSE CONNECT :: An Interview with Brad Wheeler

Originally posted by Matt Pasiewicz (EDUCAUSE) on December 18, 2006.

In this 15 minute recording, we'll sit down with Indiana University CIO, Brad Wheeler. Listen in as he takes on the issue of patents, cyberinfrastructure, open source as a professional development exercise and the role of librarians in research.

This interview is provided courtesy of CNI and was recorded at their 2006 Fall Task Force Meeting. The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) is an organization dedicated to supporting the transformative promise of networked information technology for the advancement of scholarly communication and the enrichment of intellectual productivity.

Dan Chudnov :: Library Geeks 009 - eIFL-FOSS

Originally posted by Dan Chudnov on December 10, 2006.

Bess Sadler, Erik Hatcher, and Art Rhyno joined me to discuss the recent eIFL-FOSS meeting they attended in Cupramontana, Italy. Bess, Erik, and Art have each done fascinating work in the past and are involved in many exciting projects today. We discussed many of these and how they led to their respective involvement in eIFL, and what the goals and next projects for eIFL-FOSS will be.

Bess also interviewed many other meeting attendees, and those interviews are included as well. I hope you'll agree that hearing straight from this diverse, dispersed community of library supporters is a unique opportunity to get a sense of both the scale of work that needs to be done to improve libraries everywhere, and of the enormous opportunities available to us now.

Show notes include:

• Visit the eIFL home page
• NGO-in-a-box
• Erik's books on Amazon.com
• Art's book on Amazon.com
• See Collex in action and visit the Collex blog
• Read up on Solr
• Attend the Solr workshop/preconference at code4lib 2007