Group 12
Jamie Addy
Melanie Swain
Holly Phillips
Using Open Source Software in Integrated Library Systems
With the reduction of funds and budget cuts throughout public services, libraries have been hit hard at a time when communities need their services even more. Open source software is a viable option during these hard times. While the use of proprietary software has benefits, the overall cost can be quite expensive for the library. The appeal of proprietary software is strong to libraries. Many libraries do not feel they have qualified staff with the knowledge, abilities, skills, or time to support the use of Open source software for their needs; proprietary software offers the safety net security they need. Technology is ever changing, and keeping up with these changes requires finances, maintenance, and dedication. Open source software offers a low cost, reliable, community centered, evolving option to their technological needs.
Using open source in libraries is a natural fit. Both the mission and purpose of each go hand in hand with the other. Generally, libraries and librarians believe that information should be accessible to everybody and that this access should be free. On the Open-ILS website, they describe this alignment: “The open source community is a natural ally of the library community. Both try to enrich their members through sharing and disseminating knowledge, and both are open to everyone, private or public, commercial or non-commercial.”
Open Source can be linked to the early days of computer technology. In the beginning, software was shared, and programmers were paid for programming services not the program itself. As computing and programming hit the business world, the free software ideal was replaced by the opportunity to benefit financially by the restriction to access. In February of 1998, OSI was founded by Eric Raymond and Bruce Perens.
The Open Source Initiative of 1998 gives users certain rights. This initiative was an attempt by the Open source software movement to have a more friendly relationship with business. Information from the Open Source website states that software can not be considered as Open source software without the following user rights. Users have the right to make copies of the programs and then distribute those copies. They have the right to view the source code of the software. Users then have the right and are encouraged to make improvements to the program. One large misconception is that open source means free. While in some cases this is true, the Open Source Initiative does not mean zero cost, they mean that you have the freedom of the rights mentioned previously in the paragraph.
There are many uses for Open source software in Libraries. One popular open source software use in libraries is Content Management Systems (CMS). Wordpress, Drupal, and MediaWiki are a few popular CMS options. Other examples of how libraries can use open source software are work station software applications like document processing, pdf creators, media players, photograph editing, video editing, operating systems, and database organization software. Many of these programs may be difficult for novice users, but with a little assistance from the library staff, the transition from the proprietary software to the open source software alternatives will be easier. Integrated Library Systems are another excellent resource that open source software provides libraries.
Advantages and Disadvantages
A library faces few choices when considering which software to use. One option is to build its own software program. A major advantage to building a program is that the software would be designed with that particular library in mind. This option has inherent disadvantages, however. A highly technically-trained staff and a significant amount of time is required to develop a program and work through program glitches. Additionally, expansion is difficult. If new libraries are added or a consortium is built, libraries with custom-built software programs may not be able to adapt. In “Buy, Borrow, or Build,” Karen Coombs cites an example of libraries that were forced to “abandon their homegrown integrated library systems” altogether when they found migration to be impossible with their current systems (2007).
In the current culture of limited staff time and budget constraints, libraries tend to go one of two routes: buy an existing software program from a reputable developer, or utilize open-source software.
Buying a ready-made software program from a developer has its positive and negative points. Licensed software frees staff from the burden of creating and maintaining a program (Coombs 2007), however, by relinquishing control to the vendor, library staff is dependent on that vendor to address issues. If an aspect of the program is not meeting the library’s needs, the only choice may be to wait until the next version of the software is released and hope the issue is resolved.
By choosing an open-source software, a library is free to make changes to the program to meet its specific needs. By nature, OSS is developed openly, rather than in a tightly-controlled group. In Evergreen in Context, Molyneux states that “many eyes looking at software makes better code” (2009). In the case of Georgia public libraries in the PINES consortium, the choice was Evergreen open-source software. According to Hyman’s Evergreen case study, “PINES wanted a system that was designed with the specific needs of PINES libraries in mind (2008).”
With more than 280 libraries using the same system, the software had to be able to meet the needs of many while being able to handle a huge workload. Before using Evergreen, PINES was relegated to rebooting its system in the middle of the workday in order to handle the exhaustive transaction load (Molyneux 2009). Evergreen is described as a system that is stable, robust, capable of handling a high volume of simultaneous transactions and users, flexible, secure and user-friendly for both staff and patrons (Hyman 2008).
Applications of Open Source Software in libraries and information centers can take on many formats, but are particularly exciting when considering developments of integrated library systems. The philosophy of open source is related quite closely to library philosophy, with an emphasis on open access, resource sharing and non-profit. “Open Source ware is truly in the spirit of libraries’ missions to share information with our community. . . Open Source empowers libraries to share their knowledge and experience with each other and the world” (Phillips 2009).
Libraries are well-poised to embrace OSS, particularly when relying on closed source, proprietary software becomes a cumbersome liability that may or may not be designed to handle the demands of a particular library. OSS is also comparatively more cost-effective and there is more variety among open source vendors compared to the “shrinking proprietary vendor marketplace” (Terlaga 2010).
According to Breeding, “Open Source ILS isn’t so much a matter of viability as inevitability” (2008). There are two prominent examples of open source ILS in use in the United States: Evergreen and Koha. Evergreen is the integrated library system currently used by Georgia Pines Libraries, a consortia of over 250 libraries. Georgia Library PINES (Public Information Network of Electronic Services) was committed to providing for patrons a “borderless” library, allowing all Georgians equal access to materials from 140 counties and 275 libraries, totaling over eight million items statewide (Hyman 2008). Evergreen was created in 2005, when PINES found proprietary systems failing to meet the unique functional demands of this large group of libraries committed to resource sharing. “Due to the size and complexity of a consortium like PINES, many limits in the existing vendor solution had been reached . . . adding other libraries was impossible. . . no existing ILS solution had an available acquisitions system that would work well in a large-scale environment” (Hyman 2008).
PINES had specific and unique needs from an ILS and these needs highlight the benefits of using open source software for library integration: “PINES wanted a system that was designed . . . to be tuned and altered and upgraded as needed, on a timetable suitable for library business” (Hyman 2008). Listed on Evergreen’s website are several attractive circulation functions are available in Evergreen, including: customizable circulation rules, library defined statistical categories for patrons, fields for notes and alerts, linkable family member accounts, customizable, template based receipt printing, offline client and bill control, among other functions.
Because open source software is free to edit and the code is open, problems can solved more quickly and new features can be added when updates are suitable to the library. It can be frustrating for library staff to work with a system that cannot be fine-tuned to meet specific needs, especially if it is uncertain whether the specific need will be addressed in a later version of software, if at all. PINES libraries went live with Evergreen September 5, 2006.
Koha, another example of an open source ILS, was the first open source Integrated Library System. Koha’s creation was commissioned by the Horowhenua Library Trust and was first used mostly in small schools, special libraries and small public libraries. According to the Koha website, Koha, like Evergreen, offers an impressive list of features including: modules for circulation, cataloging, acquisitions, serials, patron management, reserves and branch relationships. Another feature is a dual-database design that ensures scalability, which guarantees Koha’s ability to handle the transaction load of any sized library. Koha is built with interoperability in mind and is compatible with other systems and technologies according to library standards. “Koha Classic supports MARC” and other versions of Koha (such as the integration of a program called Zebra to create Koha ZOOM) have been developed to handle larger collections with speed, relevance and accuracy (Carlock 2008).
The application of open source software systems in libraries has great implications for the library field and librarians. OSS is low-cost and flexible in ways traditional, proprietary software is not. There have been several, successful implementations of open source integrated library systems, Evergreen and Koha being just two prominent examples. As the demands of libraries become more specific and transactions loads become greater, the shrinking proprietary library system market will have difficulty matching the power, bargain and flexibility of open source software.
Breeding, M. (2008). The Viability of Open Source ILS. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 35(2), 20-25. Retrieved from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database.
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