I love and use oss4lib but it doesn't by any means provide some things I'd
like when it comes to open source software in libraries. I hope that this
new effort can collaborate with the oss4lib folks and build new things and
meet needs that perhaps oss4lib hasn't met yet. I'd also encourage these
folks to try to collaborate with the efforts that revolve around specific
open source applications for libraries. I know there is a Joomla for
Libraries site and someone mentioned to me that a Drupal for libraries
list/website might exist.

Seems like trying to make connection between these different things would be
a good thing. Maybe we should add links to some of these things to the
code4lib website to make people more aware of them.

Karen


On 3/27/08 12:35 PM, "Jonathan Rochkind" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Agreed wholeheartedly with that.
>
> Someone suggested the people behind this new effort should be convinced
> to come on board with Dan's oss4lib.
>
> Alternately, Dan could abandon the (as far as I can tell) not
> particularly maintained oss4lib, and himself join the new effort.
>
> Things, whether software or communities or organizations, 'fork' when
> the original is not meeting someone's needs. shrug. I don't see it as a
> discouraging thing that there is new energy behind a project to have
> more "user" (rather than programmer) level collaboration on open source
> software in libraries.  They probably didn't even know about oss4lib.
> It's not exactly a thriving project. Rather than say "Oh, that's a good
> idea, but only if you do it using the software that Dan has already set
> up, whether or not you think that will meet your needs", I'd rather "we"
> (Anyone working on oss4lib right now--and if there is no such people
> this whole thing is moot, isn't it?) say "Great, welcome aboard, let's
> figure out how you work together, feel free to use our tools if you
> think they'll be helpful, as we progress let's think about whether to
> merge our projects."
>
> Jonathan
>
> Kyle Banerjee wrote:
>>> ..... I would hope that it would
>>>  be a community that feels more welcoming to the librarians who usually hand
>>>  off anything related to technology to "the people who are supposed to
>>> handle
>>>  those kinds of things for us."
>>>
>>
>> It concerns me that technology is seen as belonging to another
>> discipline entirely despite the fact that libraries are extremely
>> technology dependent. It is this dynamic which has led to a "shopping
>> club" mentality presumes that the best solutions will come from the
>> outside.
>>
>> Anything that encourages librarians to be more technology
>> aware/capable is a good thing. Given that oss stuff has better
>> prospects of success with larger rather than smaller communities, it
>> seems like the better way to address the issue is find where people
>> naturally gravitate, and then try to make that environment work for as
>> many people as possible. That ultimately leads to better cross
>> pollination of ideas.
>>
>> kyle
>>
>>
>
> --
> Jonathan Rochkind
> Digital Services Software Engineer
> The Sheridan Libraries
> Johns Hopkins University
> 410.516.8886
> rochkind (at) jhu.edu

--
Karen A. Coombs
Head of Libraries' Web Services
University of Houston
114 University Libraries
Houston, TX  77204-2000
Phone: (713) 743-3713
Fax: (713) 743-9811
Email: [log in to unmask]