Call for participation: Open Source in libraries

[Ed Lawson]

On Mon, 05 Jan 2004 10:41:47 -0500
Rob Lembree <lembree at jumpshift.com> wrote:


> The OpenCD is definitely part of my list!  
> 

It is not clear to me what is great about the OpenCD package other than
it exists.  It is rather easy to create a CD with the software and a
simple web page that describes the software, has links to home pages and
to install the files.  I always add a section to the CDs I give to
students in my CLE classes with this setup and it works well.  

I think we could create a better collection of software frankly.

> I know that we're a Linux user group, but I think that introducing
> folks to open source in general makes sense too.  

I guess this has been a item of debate within the group, but I agree
that promoting Open source solutions is a good adjunct activity.
> 
> I'm curious, what things should the library have in its circulating
> collections?  What distributions should be there?  Other things?

Seems to me it could get out of control fast in terms of too many items
and lack of support or the support burden would be too great.

Better to have a limited selection known to work well and easily with
specific people to provide assistance within reason.  Which is to say
the devil is in the details.

Providing software as part of the classes seems like a more doable
exercise without the support issues.

Ed Lawson