Hi Ken,

Aren't we barking up the wrong tree with Open Source? Isn't it just another techie issue for libraries to get bogged down in?

You've been in the industry for many years - as a user, as a supplier, and now a consultant - so you've seen trends come and go.

We started on proprietary Minicomputers for catalogues and proprietary mainframe processing of offline captured data  - Hollerith punch cards, punch tape and mag tape - for circulation.

Then we went to the Mini-based 'turnkey' systems - you tried to sell me CLSI, remember? -  on proprietary Mini's and then on more 'Open' standardised processors such as DEC PDP's, and Intel arrays such as Pyramid.

Then we all went Unix, 'cos it was 'Open' - but which Unix? Sun Solaris,? DG-UX (etc. etc..) or the 'standardised 'SVR4' version for ISO compliance, which was never *quite* standard.

Then the proprietary suppliers (e.g. IBM and ICL) went 'POSIX' compliant for ISO to beat back Unix, so Unix  flavours' retreated.

And we couldn't run Microsoft, 'cos NT Server wasn't truly multi-user - but the world has clearly moved on.

Now we're all moving to Microsoft or Linux  - but which 'Linux distribution'? Dell recently said it would love to ship Linux PC's, but will someone please tell it which 'flavour' to standardise upon? It gave up on an earleir attempt for this reason - One version of Microsoft OS at a time is hard enough to support, but multiple Linux distributions!

And we had the database wars - Index-Sequential (ISAM), Pick, Relational (or Pick or ISAM sitting on top of Relational)

But which relational database - Ingres? Sybase? Oracle? SQL Server? MySQL?

And then we had programming language debate - proprietary, C, C++, then Object Oriented Programing (OOP's) and Fourth Generation Languages (4GL's) were going to revolutionise speed of programming - but whatever happened to the latter two?

And now it's the shift to Platform and Web/Library 2.0, with 'Sprints' and 'Permanent Beta' etc. etc. 

And there'll be something else coming down the pike - be very sure. Remember the Gartner Production Adoption Hype Cycle!

It's enough to frighten the horses!

Many years ago, I was asked in an interview which I thought more important - hardware or software? (This was before Sun's motto of 'the Network is the computer'), so I said they were interdependent - and was offered the job!

But today I think that there is one thing more important than the hardware, software or network, and that's the 'Wetware' - what's between people's ears!

I think we need to concentrate on other issues:

a) the tasks we need the applications to do, and the workflows inside them, in a rapidly changing world - e.g. why does a public library need to buy separate, expensive (and complex to integrate with the LMS) ERM, PC Booking and Self-Services systems for low percentage of their total business when the LMS could be extended to encompass these new roles?

b) the close working of suppliers and customers to define the business needs and produce 'quality' applications - quality defined as 'fitness for purpose' - rapidly, and evolve them quicky in a rapidly changing environment. But do library services really know what they want from these systems?

c) develop solutions (e.g. standardised 'front ends') which mean that the *true* costs of moving from one LMS supplier to another (I submit these are the inertia and staff training issues) are lowered. We used to by everything from one supplier, but that is now not the case, and that needs, IMHO, to go deeper.

Change only seems to occur when a 'Tipping Point' is reached in any authority - e.g. the old system is 'time-expired', a corporate edict is issued on the OS or database to be used, otherwise it's 'stick with what you know'? Nice for the suppliers!

d) good support - from library staff, from IT staff, from suppliers. If Open Source is the tool to do this, then fine, but is it? IBM seem to be making good use of Open Source, so perhaps its the level of commitment and owhership by suppliers to support that Open Source (or anything else) which is the real issue?


Feel free to tear this to pieces - would be good to see a real debate about this!

Regards

JU

John Usher
ICT Development Manager
Islington Library & Cultural Services
Islington Council
Central Library
2 Fieldway Crescent
LONDON N5 1PF

Tel: 020 7527 6920
Mobile: 07825 098 223 <NEW NUMBER> 
Fax: 020 7527 6926
Alternative contact: Michelle Gannon - 020 7527 6907

www.islington.gov.uk 




-----Original Message-----
From: lis-pub-libs: UK Public Libraries
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Ken Chad
Sent: 08 August 2007 16:43
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [LIS-PUB-LIBS] Open Source LMSs


I'm just completing an article for CILIP Library+Information Gazette on Open 
Source--and more particularly Open Source LMSs. In the US especially, a 
number of major libraries, (inc. large publics, research and academic 
libraries as well as smaller libraries) has gone this open source route but 
I haven't detected anything here in the UK (yet?). Have I missed something? 
If you are looking at (or even interested in) Open Source solutions for your 
LMSs I'd be really interested to know.

In the US there is *very* vocal dissatisfaction with the LMS vendors. The 
consolidation, changes of ownership, private equity stuff, paradoxically 
seems to be much more strongly resented there. There is a strong feeling in 
some quarters that the market model has failed libraries and a new paradigm 
is needed.  A growing community is springing up dedicated to the support and 
further development of Open Source LMSs. Commercial companies are emerging 
(cf Redhat and Linux) to support and develop Open Source LMSs

I don't detect the anything like the same depth of feeling here in the UK. 
Is this true or are we in true Brit fashion just less demonstrative 
('mustn't grumble')? Or maybe the LMS vendors simply do a better job here in 
the UK? Or could it be that the sector is so wedded to the traditional 
procurement model (RFP/Tender), which organisations like OSS watch in the UK 
think are not appropriate for Open Source

Of course some LMS vendors (VTLS and Talis --others? ) do offer Open Source 
solutions that they make freely available but they have not yet gone the 
route of offering the complete LMS in this way.

Any view on the role of Open Source in the UK LMS marektplace?

Ken

Ken Chad Consulting Ltd. www.kenchadconsulting.com
Tel 07788 727 845

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