open your mind: open source in libraries
TRANSCRIPT
Open Your Mind: Open Source and Libraries
Nicole C. Engard VP of Community Outreach, ByWater Solutions
Author, Practical Open Source Software for Libraries Community Moderator, opensource.com
Who Am I• Animal Lover
• Librarian
• Writer
• Educator
• Koha Manual Author
• Open Source Community Member
What is Open SourceOpen source software is software that users have the ability to run, distribute, study and modify for any purpose.
Open source is a collaborative software-development method that harnesses the power of peer review and transparency of process to develop code that is freely accessible.
Open source is only as strong as the community behind it!!
Open Source FUD• “Isn’t that insecure?”
• “I don’t want to share my data!”
• “How can it be any good if it’s free?”
• “We don’t have the staff to handle open source.”
Comic: Author: Unknown | Year: Unknown | Source: Unknown
The Cathedral and The Bazaar
The Cathedral (proprietary software)
• Development occurs behind walls
• Source code is usually not provided - kept locked up
• Corporate hierarchy
The Bazaar (open source software)
• Code developed over the Internet with several others in public view
• Source code open to all users
• “Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow”www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/
Open Source Governance• What kind of quality control is there?
• Most open source projects have a release manager or a manager of some sort who reviews the code and approves it before adding it to the final release
• What is the role of the community?
• The community looks out for the best interests of the software. They work as the governing body behind all decisions related to the software. The community decides what features to develop next and who the managers are.
Crowdsourcing“Crowdsourcing has it genesis in the open source movement in software. The development of the Linux operating system proved that a community of like-minded peers was capable of creating a better product than a corporate behemoth like Microsoft. Open source revealed a fundamental truth about humans that had gone largely unnoticed until the connectively of the Internet brought it into high relief: labor can often be organized more efficiently in the context of a community than it can in the context of the corporation. The best person to do a job is the one who most wants to do that job; and the best people to evaluate their performance are their friends and peers who, by the way, will enthusiastically pitch in to improve the final product, simply for the sheer pleasure of helping one another and creating something beautiful from which they all will benefit.”
Howe, J. (2008). Crowdsourcing: Why the power of the crowd is driving the future of business. New York: Crown Business. p.8
Open Source Community• Open source is about more than free software
• Community is crucial to the growth of open source
• Without shared knowledge and collaboration the project will not grow
• People who use open source can collaborate and contribute in many ways with the community • Write code • Write documentation • Debug • Educate others • Share ideas
Open Source & Libraries• Libraries and Open Source Both...
• Believe that information should be freely accessible to everyone
• Give away stuff
• Benefit from the generosity of others
• Are about communities
• Make the world a better place-- Horton, G. http://tinyurl.com/3jvumn
Open Source in Libraries“The hard drive on one of our reference desk PCs died today. I threw in a new one, but I didn't feel like spending the day sitting through Windows updates, so I loaded Ubuntu 11.04 on it instead. The install, as I'm sure you know, only took about 15 minutes. Now, before I add my next point, keep in mind that I manage a staff whose average age is about 63. No joke. Most of them have been working at my facility longer than I've been alive. Still, once I had Ubuntu up and running, they were literally fighting over who got to use the new operating system. They loved it that much.
Now I agree, Linux kicks butt. I use it about 80% of the time. Typing to you on Mint right now! However, I never expected novice users to take to it so quickly. Please, next time you do an open source webinar, impress on your attendees that libraries aren't sacrificing a thing by switching over to open source software. If anything, open source operating systems and applications can be far more user friendly for the novice user than Windows will ever be...”
-- Mark at the The Rahway Public Library
Who’s Using Open Source• In 2015 78% of respondents said their companies run part or all of
its operations on OSS and 66% said their company creates software for customers built on open source. This statistic has nearly doubled since 2010.
• 93% percent said their organization’s use of open source increased or remained the same in the past year.
• 64% of companies currently participate in open source projects – up from 50 percent in 2014 – and over the next 2-3 years, 88% are expected to increase contributions to open source projects.
• Open source has become the default approach for software with more than 66% of respondents saying they consider OSS before other options.
www.blackducksoftware.com/news/releases/seventy-eight-percent-companies-run-open-source-yet-many-lack-formal-policies-manage
Open Source Future• 58% believe open source affords the greatest ability to scale and
43% said OSS provides superior ease of deployment over proprietary software.
• 55% believe open source delivers superior security when lined up against proprietary solutions. The superior security of open source is also expected to rise to 61% over the next 2-3 years.
• When evaluating security technologies for internal use, 45% of respondents said open source options are given first consideration.
• Cloud computing (39%), big data (35%), operating systems (33%), and the Internet of Things (31%) are expected to be impacted most by open source in the next 2-3 years.
www.blackducksoftware.com/news/releases/seventy-eight-percent-companies-run-open-source-yet-many-lack-formal-policies-manage
Spreading the Word• Open source is still very misunderstood in libraries
• Dispel the FUD by:
• Writing articles
• Presenting
• Using open source and doing case studies
• Teaching community leaders what it means to choose open source in the library
Find a Community• Choose an open source project you like and join
the community
• Write documentation
• Debug code
• Join the chat room/mailing list and just talk
• Share ideas for growth
Use your community
• Reach out to your patrons and :
• Start events on programming for kids
• Teach adults about open source
• Learn more about open source yourselves
Resources• My Bibliography:
www.zotero.org/nengard/items/collectionKey/MB5S62ZP
• FOSS4Lib: www.foss4lib.org
• Opensource.com : www.opensource.com
• Open Source & Libraries Group Bibliography: www.zotero.org/groups/freelibre_and_open_source_software_and_libraries_bibliography
