I think Allen just didn't know about oss4lib:

  http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/linuxinlibraries/message/858

Now he does, so maybe he goes forward with his plans to create a new
community--or maybe he doesn't. Either way I don't see that either is
a problem. On the one hand it's nice to work together on a single
project; on the other hand a bit of competition can be a healthy
thing..

//Ed