Welcome to LIS-OSS. There are about fifty members of the list so far.
Do please continue to publicise the list so that we can reach out to
anyone who is concerned with software solutions in libraries. There
doesn't seem to be any one place where you can easily reach all UK
systems librarians, for example, as we tend to congregate on a lot of
separate vendor-specific support lists. If you are a member of one of
these lists and LIS-OSS has not yet been publicised there, please copy
the announcement message (see below) to the list to encourage people to
sign up.
I thought I'd better set up the list quickly while the appetite for
discussion was still strong, (and before everyone on Twitter gave up
looking up #openedge !) but I'm afraid I may have to leave it to someone
else to get the ball rolling in starting the discussion as I'm busy
preparing for a meeting tomorrow. We're in the middle of selecting a
"discovery system" (integrated search?) and we're looking to define our
requirements, so this is keeping me busy this week.
However, perhaps this is a good starter question:
If you are currently considering an open source software solution for
your library, what kind of product are you looking at? A full LMS, or a
smaller component like an OpenURL resolver, a room bookings system, or
something else?
And would you be looking at an open source solution for your
next-generation search interface, or is the lure of the "big index"
going to mean you're bound to go with the likes of Summon, EBSCO, Primo
Central or similar?
Any thoughts? Please let us all know!
Matthew
And here's another copy of the announcement for you to circulate to
colleagues and contacts:
---------------------
Announcing LIS-OSS: a new email list for open source software in
libraries
Following the Open Edge meeting, held in Edinburgh 25/26 January, a new
JISCMail list has been set up to continue the discussion on the
potential for open source software in UK libraries. University
libraries are already deploying open source solutions in several areas,
with repositories based on DSpace, EPrints and Fedora, and user
authentication using Shibboleth being almost universal. Some
universities have launched catalogue interfaces based on VuFind or
Blacklight. Recently the University of Staffordshire became the first
UK university to announce deployment of an open source library
management system, Koha, hosted by PTFS Europe, and there are several
examples of special libraries and public libraries using these systems
as well.
It is hoped that this list will help to build a community which will
encourage the take-up of open source solutions where these are
well-placed to meet the changing needs of our libraries, by connecting
librarians across institutions and across sectors with each other and
with those companies that offer support and development of the software.
If you are using open source software already in your library, please
join the list to share your experiences. If you are not, please join to
find out more. We are entering an interesting time in the development
of libraries, with the monolithic library management system being less
able to meet our needs, and shared services very much on the agenda.
Please join the debate and help to shape the solutions of the future.
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=LIS-OSS
--
Matthew Phillips
Electronic Systems Librarian, Durham University Durham University
Library, Stockton Road, Durham, DH1 3LY
+44 (0)191 334 2941
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