PALNI and Open Source

Since its inception in 1992, PALNI has been committed to implementing and utilizing Open Source Software (OSS) and supports the principles and practices of the open source community. 

OSS is software that is free to use, but more importantly, the source code of the application is made available for further local development and redistribution.  The genesis of the Internet began as a “call for comments” from ARPANET in the 1960’s.  Later landmarks would include the code release of the now iconic Linux operating system in 1987 and Netscape’s Navigator internet browser in 1998.  The OSS movement has received a lot of attention in the library community in recent years as individual libraries have begun to develop their own Content Management Systems and Integrated Library Systems.

Vince Lucas, the PALNI Project Director, states “Open Source is about choice; not just the access to the source code and software, but the choice of which tools work best for your needs.” Vince also points out that libraries and the open source movement share similar goals and philosophies – free and open access to information and content, sharing, collaboration, and community. 

This is a very popular blog post from Jeremiah Owyang, a web strategist and analyst in SF CA.  He spends most of his time traveling from tech conference to tech summit and hobnobs with the industry leaders. 

I have been following his posts through a variety of platforms and get lots of great info from him.  Anyway, this link is about the various software apps and platforms that are termed "white label", or easily integrated into, or used as the basis of, an existing brand and website.  They include lots of social networking platforms as well as the CMS standards like Drupal, Joomla, Movable Type, Sharepoint, etc. The current PALNI website runs on a pre-packaged version of Drupal called CivicSpace.

Anyway, this is mainly just a "best of" list and a nice introduction to Jeremiah's blog.  I know several librarians who follow his work and see more and more systems and web services librarians using web strategies like he describes to improve library integration and "market penetration".

Library 2.0 is still considered a 'buzzword' by some, but is fast becoming a standard concept at conferences and user groups, in journals and the 'biblioblogosphere', as well as part of the curriculum in many SLIS programs. The debate has been heated, and while there are still some nuances as to what is meant when we use the term, it is most commonly thought of as this:

Library 2.0 is a loosely defined model for a modernized form of library service that reflects a transition within the library world in the way that services are delivered to users. With Library 2.0 library services are constantly updated and reevaluated to best serve library users. Library 2.0 also attempts to harness the library user in the design and implementation of library services by encouraging feedback and participation. Proponents of this concept expect that ultimately the Library 2.0 model for service will replace traditional, one-directional service offerings that have characterized libraries for centuries. The key principles of Library 2.0 are not just about access to books and information. It is about innovation, about people, and about community building, enabled through the participation that social computing brings. Source: Library 2.0.  Wikipedia 11/05/2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_2.0

While there are individual efforts that fall within the aegis of Library 2.0 in specific PALNI institutions, the collaboration and participation that so fundamentally characterizes Library 2.0 has thus far been missing within the consortium as a whole.  I think there are numerous valid reasons for this.