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On Tue, 29 Jan 2008, Jonathan Rochkind wrote: > On another topic, I also think it's good to have options, so I'm not > sure I expect (or would welcome) total convergence between various open > source ILS projects. But to the extent we're imagining various loosely > coupled modules which can be mixed-and-matched, I fantasize that the > modules from various open source (AND proprietary!) ILSs can become > inter-operable, so an institution can take the one that best meets it's > needs in each class, and mix-and-match them. Different ones may meet > different institutions needs best. > Just to take this idea a bit farther, I believe it that to design a successful "next-generation" ILS you will need to decompose the problem into its constituent parts. At that point, I strongly suspect that the library-specific pieces will be a small percentage of the whole. In fact, the idea of an ILS itself is probably outdated. What we are talking about is a distributed system for organizing metadata, inventory control, workflow, etc. Surely metadata/cataloging practices will come into play, but on the edges of the system, not at it's core (i.e., metadata schemas & library practices are implementation artifacts, not design principles). The emergence of the OpenSRF framework from the Evergreen project is certainly a sign that this sort of thinking is taking hold (and is a hopeful sign, for sure!). The question becomes: what do we need to do, and what tools do we need to do that. E.g., we need sophisticated messaging -- Jabbber looks to be the proper protocol, so lets build the tools to make that possible -- thus emerges OpenSRF. One can find either best-of-breed software OR best-of-breed architectural principles (e.g., REST) as a starting point and build a compelling framework to allow the next steps towards tackling the library domain-specific tasks. I suspect a distributed system used by a library will look a heck of a lot like a distributed system used in other domains, so constantly looking "outside the walls" will be a real key. --Peter Keane The University of Texas at Austin Liberal Arts ITS > Jonathan > > >> --John >> >> On Jan 29, 2008 11:02 AM, Eric Lease Morgan <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >> >>> On Jan 28, 2008, at 5:26 PM, John Little wrote: >>> >>> >>>> The Duke University Libraries are preparing a proposal for the Mellon >>>> Foundation to convene the academic library community to design an open >>>> source Integrated Library System (ILS).... >>>> >>> Personally, I think this is a good idea. Yes, there are existent >>> ILSs, but such things are not the be-all and end-all of ILSs. The >>> software implementation, whether it be operating systems, text >>> editors, or integrated library systems is an iterative process. It >>> repeats. Moreover, there are many ways to get there from here; one >>> size does not fit all. The process outlined will enable a thousand >>> flowers to bloom, or call it friendly competition. >>> >>> -- >>> Eric Lease Morgan >>> University Libraries of Notre Dame >>> >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> [log in to unmask] >> ILS Support Section Head >> Duke University Libraries >> 919.660-5932 >> >> > > -- > Jonathan Rochkind > Digital Services Software Engineer > The Sheridan Libraries > Johns Hopkins University > 410.516.8886 > rochkind (at) jhu.edu >