Hi Code4Lib.

Back in January I posted a brief message about a next-gen ILS project we are
calling the Open Library Project.  Thanks to generous support of the Andrew
W. Mellon foundation the project received funding.  Support is also being
provided by a strong list of partners.  The press release just went out the
other day.  Since January the response has been positive and strong.  The
partners are a dynamic and motivated group.  You can find the press release
below and more detailed information at the project site:  <
http://oleproject.org/> .

I hope you will find this project interesting and will join in the open
webcast and discussions.  The dates of the webcasts are TBD so please
subscribe to the alterts <http://oleproject.org/subscribe/>.

--John
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Here's the press release...

- - -

A $475,700 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to the Duke University
Libraries will lead to the design of a next-generation, open-source library
system that is flexible, customizable and nimble enough to meet the changing
and complex needs of 21st-century libraries and library users.  The goal of
the Open Library Environment (OLE) Project is to develop a design document
for library automation technology that fits modern library workflows, is
built on Service Oriented Architecture, and offers an alternative to
commercial Integrated Library System products.



Leaders of the OLE Project, representing libraries in the U.S., Canada, and
Australia, will involve the library community in the design process through
workshops, meetings, webcasts and online discussions. Through those
activities, they will develop a plan for a library technology system that
breaks away from an emphasis on print-based workflows, reflects the changing
nature of library materials and new approaches to scholarly work, meshes
well with other enterprise systems, and can be modified easily to suit the
needs of different institutions. The project website at
http://oleproject.org <http://www.oleproject.org/> gives detailed
information about the project and includes FAQs, recommended reading, and a
comment section.



"The information environment is changing rapidly, but the technology of
library management systems has not kept pace," said Lynne O'Brien, principal
investigator on the project and Director of Academic Technology and
Instructional Services for Perkins Library at Duke University. "This project
is a wonderful opportunity to design a system that supports library
innovation and better meets the needs of today's researchers."


 O'Brien is joined on the OLE Project team by colleagues from Duke as well
individuals from the University of Kansas, Lehigh University, the University
of Pennsylvania, the National Library of Australia, Library and Archives
Canada, Vanderbilt University, the Orbis Cascade Alliance, Rutgers
University, the University of Florida, the University of Chicago, Columbia
University, the University of Maryland and Whittier College.


 Because the OLE Project is a collaborative, community-based venture, there
will be many opportunities for individuals from other libraries to
participate in the project through regional and virtual meetings, discussion
of plans and documents, comments via the project website and listserv and
discussions at professional meetings.


In addition to its development of a design document, the OLE Project is
intended to create a community of interest that could be tapped to build the
planned system in a follow-on project.


-- 
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ILS Support Section Head
Duke University Libraries