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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