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![Open Source & Libraries
Libraries and Open Source make
the perfect pair
[Librarians] "are almost ethically
required to use and develop open
source software."
Crawford, R. S. http://www.lugod.org/presentations/
oss4lib.pdf
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cavort/
151687944/](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/opensource-tblc-pt1-100726112052-phpapp02/85/Practical-Open-Source-Software-for-Libraries-part-1-19-320.jpg)
![Open Source & Libraries
Libraries and Open Source make
the perfect pair
[Librarians] "are almost ethically
required to use and develop open
source software."
Crawford, R. S. http://www.lugod.org/presentations/
oss4lib.pdf
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cavort/
151687944/](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/opensource-tblc-pt1-100726112052-phpapp02/75/Practical-Open-Source-Software-for-Libraries-part-1-19-2048.jpg)
Uploaded byNicole C. Engard
Practical Open Source Software for Libraries (part 1)
The document discusses practical open source software options for libraries, providing examples of open source operating systems like Ubuntu and Qimo for Kids that can be used for patron computers, as well as virtual machines, email clients like Thunderbird, and web browsers like Firefox that offer security and customization benefits over proprietary alternatives. Concerns about open source are addressed, noting that with support options and no greater risks, libraries are a natural fit for open source software.
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Practical Open Source Software for Libraries (part 1)
- 1. Practical Open Sourcefor Libraries Nicole C. Engard Director of Open Source Education ByWater Solutions nengard@gmail.com
- 2. Outline • What isOpen Source? • Products for your Library • Q&A Throughout
- 3. What isn’t OpenSource? Common Open Source FUD (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt) •“Isn’t that insecure?” •“I don’t want to share my data!” •“How can it be any good if it’s free?” •“We don’t have the staff to handle open source.” •“We’ve never had success with homegrown systems.”
- 4. What is OpenSource? Open source software is software that users have the ability to run, distribute, study and modify for any purpose. Open source is a collaborative software- development method that harnesses the power of peer review and transparency of process to develop code that is freely accessible.1 Open source draws on an ecosystem of thousands of developers and customers all over the world to drive innovation.2 1,2 http://connect.educause.edu/display/47941
- 5. Open Source isnot New "Anyone who hears this, if he can sing, may add and change at pleasure. Let it go from hand to hand: let those who request it have it. As a ball among young women, catch it if you can. Since this is of 'Good Love', lend it out gladly: do not make a mockery of its name by keeping it in reserve; nor exchange it for money by selling or renting it; for 'Good Love' when bought, loses its charm." Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita. The Book of Good Love (14th century, original in Ancient Spanish) http://ftacademy.org/materials/fsm/1#1
- 6. What is FreeSoftware? • Often you will hear Free & Open Source Software (F/OSS) in conjunction. • The Free Software Definition (http:// www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html) is similar to, but not identical to the Open Source Definition (http://www.opensource.org/ docs/definition.php) • Free does not mean free of cost - it means Free as in Freedom
- 7. Sharing of ideas "Ifyou have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." Attributed to Bernard Shaw http://ftacademy.org/materials/fsm/1#1
- 8. The Cathedral &The Bazaar The Cathedral The Bazaar (proprietary software) (open source software) •Development •Code developed occurs behind over the Internet walls with several •Source code is others in public usually not view provided - kept •Source code open locked up to all users •Corporate •“Given enough hierarchy eyeballs, all bugs are shallow” http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/
- 9. Open Source Governance Whatkind of quality control is there? •Most open source projects have a release manager or a manager of some sort who reviews the code and approves it before adding it to the final release What is the roll of the community? •The community looks out for the best interests of the software. They work as the governing body behind all decisions related to the software. The community decides what features to develop next and who the managers are.
- 10. Open Source Community •Opensource is about more than free software •Community is crucial to the growth of open source •Without shared knowledge and collaboration the project will not grow •“Critiquing the community is a right reserved for those who have proved themselves by making valuable contributions”1 •People who use open source can collaborate and contribute in many ways with the community Graphic From: http://eaves.ca/ •Write code 2009/07/28/remixing-angie-byron-to- create-the-next-million-mozillians/ •Write documentation •Debug •Educate others 1. Tapscott, Don, and Anthony D. Williams. “Embracing open source culture and strategy.” In Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything, 82-83. Expanded Edition. New York, NY: Penguin USA, 2008. www.wikinomics.com/book/.
- 11. Open Source Crowdsourcing “Crowdsourcing has it genesis in the open source movement in software. The development of the Linux operating system proved that a community of like-minded peers was capable of creating a better product than a corporate behemoth like Microsoft. Open source revealed a fundamental truth about humans that had gone largely unnoticed until the connectively of the Internet brought it into high relief: labor can often be organized more efficiently in the context of a community than it can in the context of the corporation. The best person to do a job is the one who most wants to do that job; and the best people to evaluate their performance are their friends and peers who, by the way, will enthusiastically pitch in to improve the final product, simply for the sheer pleasure of helping one another and creating something beautiful from which they all will benefit.” Howe, J. (2008). Crowdsourcing: Why the power of the crowd is driving the future of business. New York: Crown Business. p.8
- 12. Who’s Using OpenSource? •Government Agencies •All Kinds of Businesses •Schools (K-colleges) •Web Developers •Librarians
- 13. Open Source inBusiness http://www.unisys.com/about__unisys/news_a_events/industry__analyst__reports/open__source__software__expanding.htm
- 14. Making money onopen source • “IBM not only accepted open source software products and processes but also its philosophy, which is to spur quality and fast growth rather than just profits based on proprietary ownership of intellectual property.” • “Giving up so much control is unconventional to say the least, but the rewards for doing so have been handsome. IBM spends about $100 million per year on Linux development. If the Linux community puts in $1 billion of effort, and even half of that is useful to IBM customers, the company gets $500 million of software development for an investment of $100 million.” Tapscott, Don, and Anthony D. Williams. “Joining Linux.” In Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything, 79-82. Expanded Edition. New York, NY: Penguin USA, 2008. http://www.wikinomics.com/book/.
- 15. Open Source onthe Web Total Active Servers: 10/2000 to 7/2010 http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2010/07/16/july-2010-web-server-survey-16.html
- 16. Why so popular? •Reliability through Peer Review • Freedom to Innovate • No Vendor Lock-in • User-centric Development • Collaborative Environment • Zero License Fees
- 17. Why should librariescare?
- 18. Open Source &Libraries Libraries and Open Source Both... • Believe that information should be freely accessible to everyone • Give away stuff • Benefit from the generosity of others • Are about communities • Make the world a better place -- Horton, G. http://tinyurl.com/3jvumn
- 19. Open Source &Libraries Libraries and Open Source make the perfect pair [Librarians] "are almost ethically required to use and develop open source software." Crawford, R. S. http://www.lugod.org/presentations/ oss4lib.pdf http://www.flickr.com/photos/cavort/ 151687944/
- 20. Open Source &Libraries Libraries and Open Source make the perfect pair “Libraries are committed to the notion of the ʻcommons.ʼ Libraries are in fact one of the last best hopes for the preservation of the intellectual commons. That value system should extend to the intellectual work we do on our access systems. We should reclaim the domain of library technology from the commercial and proprietary realms and actualize is as part of our vision of the commons. ... We are also congenital collaborators. Can you think of any other group of institutions that share their stuff the way we do through ILL? -- Lucia, J. http://pln.palinet.org/wiki/index.php/Open_source_plans
- 21. Open Source Concerns http://www.unisys.com/about__unisys/news_a_events/industry__analyst__reports/open__source__software__expanding.htm
- 22. Open Source &Libraries Common questions libraries have: • Is there support? Do I have to know how to program? • Do I have to skimp on features? • Isn’t Open Source risky? • Can I do it myself?
- 23. Support for OpenSource Is there support? • ByWater Solutions • BibLibre • Equinox • YourLibrarySite • And more! Do I have to know how to program? • Local Students • Freelance Developers
- 24. Do I haveto skimp on features? • Open Source developers follow the rule of “Release early and release often” • Users vote with their dollars and time • Freedom to develop on your own • Developers love their products http://www.flickr.com/photos/programwitch/ 2505184887/
- 25. Isn’t Open SourceRisky? • Casey Coleman, chief information officer for the GSA (U.S. General Services Administration), said in a speech ... that the GSA heavily relies on open source to drive down costs, increase flexibility of IT dollars, and reduce risk. ʻYou get much more transparency and interoperability, and that reduces your risk,ʼ she said. • US Department of Defense memo encourages the use of open source • http://news.cnet.com/ with many reasons “including cost 8301-13505_3-9921115-16.html advantages, reduced risk of vendor lock-in, better security, and increased flexibility. It says that the positive aspects of open source software should be given consideration during procurement research. • http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/ 2009/10/dod-military-needs-to-think-harder- about-using-open-source.ars http://www.flickr.com/photos/gmcharlt/3805445236/
- 26. Isn’t Open SourceRisky? For a total 284 days in 2006 (or more than nine months out of the year), exploit code for known, unpatched critical flaws in pre-IE7 versions of the browser was publicly available on the Internet. Likewise, there were at least 98 days last year in which no software fixes from Microsoft were available to fix IE flaws that criminals were actively using to steal personal and financial data from users. In a total of ten cases last year, instructions detailing how to leverage "critical" vulnerabilities in IE were published online before Microsoft had a patch to fix them. In contrast, Internet Explorer's closest competitor in terms of market share -- Mozilla's Firefox browser -- experienced a single period lasting just nine days last year in which exploit code for a serious security hole was posted online before Mozilla shipped a patch to remedy the problem. Quote: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2007/01/ internet_explorer_unsafe_for_2.html Image: http://www.seo-quotient.com/firefox-v-internet-explorer-v-safari-web-browsers/
- 27. Risk of ProprietarySoftware • “Closed-source efforts often suffer from flaws and problems which the original development team never anticipated. Lack of inspection of the code by other programmers can mean that inappropriate design constraints and other errors might not be discovered until the code is already in use.” Pavlicek, Russell. Embracing insanity : open source software development. Indianapolis IN: SAMS, 2000. p. 33.
- 28. Software is Risky! Allsoftware has risks, you need to evaluate open source the same way you do proprietary systems. Several Levels of Risk to consider: • Software security issues • Open source is just as secure if not more secure than proprietary systems because of its transparency • Evaluate open source software no differently than you do other software! • Company mergers and acquisitions • Because you own the code to your system you are not tied to one support source and will never be left without support
- 29. Can I doit myself? • Absolutely, with the right in-house skills • Linux server management • Web programming • Perl / PHP / MySQL • Systems knowledge
- 30.
- 31. Open Source &Libraries When asked what Open Source apps they use at work, 977 librarians and library workers answered as follows http://opensource.web2learning.net/archives/category/survey-results
- 32. Open Source &Libraries When asked why they chose and open source app, 977 librarians and library workers answered as follows http://opensource.web2learning.net/archives/category/survey-results
- 33. Give me some examples!!
- 34. Operating System • Isand always will be free of charge • Ubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need: • word processing • email applications • web server software • programming tools • games • Designed with security in mind • Great for patron stations!! Jessamyn installs Ubuntu in her library: Lock down Ubuntu for Patron http://vimeo.com/4169783 Stations: http://ashkev.weblogs.us/ archives/478 Download Ubuntu: http://ubuntu.com
- 35. Operating System -For Kids! •Is and always will be free of charge •Qimo has applications specific to kids •Based on the open source Ubuntu Linux desktop •Comes pre-installed with educational games for children aged 3 and up •Interface has been designed to be intuitive and easy to use •Great for children stations!! http://www.qimo4kids.com/
- 36. Virtual Machine •Try operatingsystems without reformatting your machine •Run as many virtual machines as you’d like •Runs operating system concurrently without using up too many resources •Great way to demo software without making the switch right away http://www.virtualbox.org/
- 37.
- 38. Email Client • Customizablewith Plugins • Message Tagging • Saved Searches • High security • Phishing protection • Junk mail folder • Remote image blocking • Easy integration with Google Apps and popular web mail services Download: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/
- 39. Must Have ThunderbirdPlugins •Lightening •Adds a Sunbird (another Mozilla product) type calendar to Thunderbird •http://www.mozilla.org/projects/ calendar/lightning/ •Provider for Google Calendar •Connects Lightning with Google Calendar •https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/ thunderbird/addon/4631 Tutorial: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-integrate-google- calendar-into-thunderbird/
- 40. Web Browser •Customizable withPlugins •Offers more security that IE •Phishing protection •Built in pop up blocker •Spyware protection •Private Browsing •Frequent updates •Built in spell checking •Built in RSS recognition Download: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ Security Facts: http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/security/ Browser Stats: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
- 41. Must Have FirefoxPlugins •Adblock Plus •Block all ads from displaying •https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865 •Greasemonkey •Allows for running of small scripts to change webpages •https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/748 •Find 100s of Greasemonkey scripts: http://userscripts.org •NoScript •Block all scripts from running without your permission • https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722 •Flashblock •Block all flash movies from paying without your permission •https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/433 •DownThemAll •Download all files on one page with a single click •https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/201
- 42. Alternate Browser •Google Chromeis a new open source browsing option •Available for many operating systems •More security than IE: •Malware protection •Spyware protection •Anti-Phishing •Private browsing •Extend functionality with plugins http://chrome.google.com https://chrome.google.com/extensions/
- 43. Browser Syncing •Sync allyour Firefox installs •Encrypts and securely synchronizes the Firefox experience across multiple browsers, so that your desktop, laptop, and mobile phone can all work together •Currently supports continuous synchronization of your bookmarks, browsing history, saved passwords and tabs • https://labs.mozilla.com/projects/weave/ • http://arstechnica.com/open-source/reviews/2010/02/mozilla- weave-10-take-your-tabs-and-bookmarks-everywhere.ars
- 44. Additional Links •Top 50Programs that Drive You Crazy & their OS Alternatives: http://tinyurl.com/2xju2m •OSS Watch, open source software advisory service: http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk •Open Source as Alternative http://www.osalt.com •Open Source Software and Libraries Bibliography zotero.org/groups/ freelibre_and_open_source_software_and_libraries_bibliography •Nicole’s Delicious bookmarks: http://delicious.com/nengard/opensource •Open Source Living http://osliving.com
- 45. Open Source Blogs •TheOpen Road •ZDNet Open Source http://www.cnet.com/ http://blogs.zdnet.com/open- openroad/ source •Open Ended from Ars Technica •New York Times - Open http://arstechnica.com/open- http://open.nytimes.com source •OSS & Libraries (Yahoo! Pipe) •The H Open Source http://tinyurl.com/5aohv9 http://www.h-online.com/open/
- 46. Online Reading List •Open Source: Narrowing the Divides between Education, Business, and Community http://connect.educause.edu/display/47941 • Open Source Software in Libraries http://infomotions.com/musings/ossnlibraries/ • The concepts of Free Software & Open Standards: Introduction to Free Software http://ftacademy.org/materials/fsm/1#1 • We Love Open Source Software. No, You Can’t Have Our Code http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/527 • A Primer on Risk http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6611591.html • Nicole’s Zotero Library http://www.zotero.org/nengard/items/collection/1796131
- 47. Print Reading List •The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary by Eric S. Raymond • Embracing Insanity: Open Source Software Development by Russell Pavlicek • The success of open source by Steve Weber • The open source alternative: Understanding risks and leveraging opportunities by Heather J. Meeker • Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution by Chris DiBona, Mark Stone, and Danese Cooper • Producing Open Source Software: How to Run a Successful Free Software Project by Karl Fogel (http:// producingoss.com)
- 48. Thank You Nicole C. Engard nengard@gmail.com Upcoming Book: opensource.web2learning.net Slides: http://web2learning.net > click Publications & Presentations