[ba-unrev-talk] Open Source & Librarianship
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From: Grant Bowman <grantbow@grantbow.com>
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Subject: Open Source & Librarianship
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FYI, (02)
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-- Grant Bowman <grantbow@grantbow.com> (03)
Frumkin, Jeremy, editor. [28]"Special Issue: Open Source Software"
[29]Information Technology and Libraries 21(1) (March 2002)
(http://www.lita.org/ital/ital2101.html). This special issue was
reviewed briefly in the Volume 13, no. 4, April 2002 issue of Current
Cites. The Open Systems Software (OSS) concept of sharing is so akin
to the basic tenet of librarianship, that this reviewer thought a
reprise look at the issue was merited. The three articles reviewed,
available in full text on the LITA website, blend well, to give the
reader a multifaceted view of the promise and the obstacles facing
the
OSS initiative. David Bretthauer in [30]Open Source Software: A
History (http://www.lita.org/ital/2101_bretthauer.html) traces the
philosophy of the Open Source movement. In 1984 Richard Stallman
resigned from his position as a programmer at the MIT Artificial
Intelligence Lab in order to pursue his vision, and remain unfettered
by organizational constraints. He envisaged the development of "free
software," and a programming environment which gave expression to
four
essential freedoms: Programs could be used for any purpose, they
could
be modified for any requirement, and the source code for the original
or the modified versions would be freely distributed. Thus the only
restriction was that the free availability of the code be maintained.
It is important here to define the meaning of "free" in this context.
Free means the freedom to use, develop, enhance, and distribute
source
code. It does not imply gratis or no fee software. Open source code
has proliferated, and yielded such important free software as Linux,
Perl, Python, Apache web server, mSQL, MySQL, and Samba. Of note,
this
article contains ample notes and references for those wishing further
investigation. [31]Karen Coyle (http://www.kcoyle.net/) in [32]Open
Source, Open Standards, (http://www.lita.org/ital/2101_coyle.html)
brings OSS into the library context. Before OSS projects can achieve
success, there must exist open standards permitting the
interoperability of programs. It is interesting to note that the
first
interoperability standard was that of the standardized catalog card,
adopted by ALA in 1877. Key standards that followed were ANSI Z39.2,
and the commonly accepted MARC. These now interconnect with
non-library standards including Z39.50, Electronic Data Interchange
(EDI), and hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). There is evidence that
standards successfully adopted define background technical functions,
while allowing wide flexibility of presentation. Eric Lease Morgan in
[33]Possibilities for Open Source Software in Libraries
(http://www.lita.org/ital/2101_morgan.html) funnels the Open Source
Software endeavours right down to the concerns of librarians. What do
librarians want and need in order to realize the potential and
promise
of OSS. Librarians are people oriented, being primarily concerned
with
collecting organizing, and disseminating information. The underlying
code of the resource-sharing infrastructure is not high on the
agenda.
Librarians require a set of tools, packaged for easy installation and
use. This could provide a niche for third party software aggregators,
who could profit from the integration and packaging of OSS, all the
while leaving the source code "free" to all. - [34]MG (04)
Current Cites 13(5) (May 2002) ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright B) 2002 by the Regents of the University of California All
rights reserved. (05)
Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by computerized bulletin
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Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their collections at
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cost. This message must appear on copied material. All commercial use
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address. (06)