This might be a good time to reflect upon where we've been and where we're headed.  Almost exactly ten years have passed, I think, since open source software in libraries became self-aware as a movement.  Sure, there has always been open source software, but I would mark the real start as when the oss4lib listserv came into being.  It provided a forum for like-minded folks to kick around ideas and discuss what they were doing.

I remember ALA 2000 in Chicago.  That was cool!  Tim O'Reilly graciously gave us space at his booth there, letting us show off the early projects we were doing.  And to any of you who happened to be at NERCOMP at Wesleyan University in Connecticut the following year -- I apologise.  I am not an extemporaneous speaker, as I discovered!

Then Koha happened.  Then Evergreen, and a multitude of other projects.  Overall, I am pleased by what has happened.  Open source software for libraries has matured into a real option for any library.  My little project fell by the wayside during that time, but it's always been there -- I just haven't done much with it.  I am returning to it now with fresh ideas.

What do the rest of you think about the past ten years?  What about the next ten?

Peter Schlumpf
Avanti Library Systems
http://www.avantilibrarysystems.com