I was asked by Palinet  to fill in for a conference speaker who was unable to keep a committment. I was happy to do so as I know that I have sometimes had to cancel — I figured it was payback; I thought it would all come out in the wash;  or maybe I figured it was pay it forward — whatever…

Topic of my talk — Hidden Downsides and Possible Future Directions of Open Source Software for Libraries."  The conference sponsors offered me a chance to change the title — but I said,  "Clearly this topic interested you and others, let’s go with it ! "

When attendees arrived, I had ThunderRoad (Bruce)  playing (see earlier post for why.)   I asked for some suggestions from the crowd; I said "What are some of the hidden downsides of open source software deployment?" and I got no suggestions.   I then proceeded to talk about Howard County Library and our work with open source software.  Things started going and ideas starting popping up.  Questions were asked and within the questions were some downsides. So we talked.  I had fun.

Readers, what do YOU think people suggested were the hidden downsides of open source software deployments?  Don’t yell all at once - but share them! 

I am one who always has a new favorite song that is an old song.  My newest one is Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen. The version that has me mesmerized is off a two CD set from a 1975 performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.  I find myself playing Thunder Road over and over - and I think partly, it is because it resonates with my work life right now.  (It could also be that I recently turned 40 and part of me wants to be 18 again?)

For me, Thunder Road is about adolescents standing at the precipice of adulthood.  They are dreaming big dreams, and in the voice of our narrator, the commanding performer Mr. Springsteen, I hear every emotion of the rainbow –  happiness and sadness;  confidence and trepidation; pride and failure — and the ever likely yet-to-be made mistakes.

Howard County Library and our work with free and open source software (FOSS) is also in an adolescence.  We stand ready to make real contributions to software and provide innovative and dependable services to our customers.  We believe we are on the right track and have ideas worth sharing.   We have regrets and hard memories to get over and we are also likely to make more mistakes.

Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen  — see it live (1975)

I just can’t face myself alone again

When Howard County Library deployed a vended ILS (integrated library system) a few years ago, it did not work.  The vendor tried to resolve it and got the situation stable, but not fixed.  We were blind - we could not help the vendor because the code is closed to us.  We did not know what was really wrong,  so our explanations to customers and those in authority were weak and fuzzy.   With a vended software and its supporting company behind us, we were still alone. 

scared… maybe we ain’t that young anymore

As we talked to our customers and waited for a solution to our technical problems, we got scared.  We were consistently compared - negatively - to Amazon and Google. Were we a dead profession?  Were we no longer providing a service that was needed?

hide ‘neath your covers; throw roses in the rain; waste your summer praying in vain for a savior

We had counted on our vendor to help us. We had deferred our role as information providers to the vendor and while we hid under our covers, we ended up with software we did not really want.

When we got out from under our covers, we realized what we wanted was freedom to make things our way — with an assurance of support and help and guidance from others in the know. Those things – support, room for collaboration, and knowledgeable users who were using the software in a real world setting — are plentiful in the FOSS community.

no hero; make it good somehow; roll down the window and let the wind blow back you hair

We decided to be our own hero and to make it good somehow.  We decided to go for it – bust open expectations and meet our customers where they were.

make it real

We asked our customers and ourselves what was good about Google and Amazon. We asked, with the intention, however, of taking what was good and making it better.

In other words, yes, Amazon can tell you that if you that others who bought item A also bought items R, K, and Z.   However, just because someone bought an item does not mean they liked it. 

Libraries can tell you more; we can tell you what is good about an item.  Libraries can take an item you liked and connect you to other things that you will ENJOY.  Libraries can invite you to classes and seminars related to the topics covered in the item you liked. 

Libraries make it real.

door is open but the ride it ain’t free

Moving to open source solutions is not free.  Koha, the ILS we are migrating to with the vision of providing dynamic information about our collections, does not have all the functionality we desire. We have work to do – and we are going to do it.

ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away

Vendors selling closed software,  for me, are ghost -like – they have all the best intentions and bring many talents, but their time has passed.  What can they do? They can open their source code, join the community, gain countless contributors to their product(s) which will make those products stronger and more valuable. 

In no way do I have all the answers.  We leave our adolescence behind with trepidation. No more curfews (or enhancement requests in a queue managed by someone else..)  No more safety net of a vendor who might or might not fix our problems.   If our adulthood is any like mine, there are dead-end jobs, a broken heart, and a few public mistakes in our future!  However, also ahead, is freedom, excitement, and the opportunity to serve.  And we look forward to that.

I was in my  office one day. My phone rang. I reviewed caller ID and saw the caller was from a local t Ellicott City phone number - one I did not recognize.    I picked up and said "hello"   — and yes, if I had known the number — for instance,  if it had been my husband or someone else to whom I was related - I would have let voice mail handle it

I had a quick conversation with a customer who had just seen our new customer computer set up.  This set up features:

• Ubuntu 8.04 and much of the software that comes with it
• Firefox 3; Open Office 2.4, Opera
• Mucho music management software

What it lacked, I learned, was a feature in Firefox, which allowed for print manipulation in the print preview section.

I am not a big printer. My home printer ran out of toner nearly a year ago, and I got sick of buying toner and stopped.  That printer is now in the Christmas closet (in other words, out of sight.)   At work, I print evaluations and other audit-required things.  But, otherwise, I just don’t print.  So, I asked how this feature would be useful, because, in all honesty, I had no idea how it would be used.

The customer shared  a great example — when looking at a page from, for example, in The Wall Street Journal, and deciding to print, you can shrink the page to 75%, still find it readable, but use less paper.  Hard to argue that this is a nice feature.

So, I had never looked at print preview in Firefox.  While the customer was on the phone, I looked.

I saw that in Firefox, when choosing, File / Print Preview — the options for Print and Shrink to Fit were not there.  So, I agreed to learn more and see what I could do.  I said goodbye.

I got up and walked to a computer running Firefox 2.* and found it also lacked these features.  However, the machine I was visiting was running Ubuntu. One of our remaining XP computers (30% of our fleet) was my next stop — and Firefox 2 and Firefox 3 on XP had a "shrink to fit" option on the print preview screen!  I was not pleased. 

I googled " print preview firefox 3 ubuntu" and the 6th option was this link

While at an Ubuntu computer, I did as instructed and VOILA - the features were there. 

I told staff how to make this change and I arranged for the change to be made system-wide — upon next reboot - with our vendor.

At the most, from time of call to solution — 30 minutes.  Gotta love open source! 

Staying put is just not an option. We have a bunch of projects in the works!

DeskNow:  for email, collaboration and document management: We migrated to DeskNow of many disparate systems (Thunderbird, Palm, written calendars, domain controllers and networked drives.)  We like it a lot — the down side for some staff has been that DeskNow is 100% web-based, so document storing involves an upload, not a File/ Save AS command.  We are working on deploying WebDav but are having trouble choosing a Windows client (we still have 35 Windows machines to support) and are finding that DeskNow and WebDav and Ubuntu don’t seem to like each other.  So, we continue to test.  Any readers out there with tips or interest in  helping?  We’d love it.

Catalog: The fancy term for a library catalog ILS (integrated library system.)  An ILS is used to order, purchase, inventory, and circulate library collections. Howard County Library is migrating to Koha, an open source ILS, with rich customer focused offerings including faceted searching, integration with Amazon for cover art and book reviews, and dynamic list creation for customers.

When I talk professionals with other educational organizations about use of open source software, I frequently get the question "how did you do it?" My answer is not all that helpful; I say "we just did it!" And, it is true ! Howard County Library’s migration to open source predates my employment here; Apache was used on servers for some time and when I arrived, nearly all of the customer computers featured Firefox and OpenOffice.org.

****

The first step we took in our migration was to evaluate what staff needed to do, vis-a-vie computers, in order to "do" their jobs. This step was the most time consuming and the most revealing. We learned that the majority of staff worked on 2-3 different computers in the course of a work week; that staff conveyed ideas, information, and concepts exclusively in email; occcassionally, a document was ATTACHED to the email; and that these documents were, on average, 2-3 pages long, longer documents were the exception, not the rule. We also noted that most key applications (software packages) used by staff were web based (payroll, scheduling, catalog searching, etc.) Conclusions from Step 1: Staff may be best served by a web-based desktop, offering them content storage, rich searching, and quick access to key information via web browser. This approach would mean that any web based computer could become, in essence, a staff member’s desktop!

*****

The second step we took in making open source software avaiable was to place it on staff computers, along side comparable proprietary software. We encouraged staff to give the software a try. While I don’t have detailed numbers, the sense of success, based on help tickets and usage by staff are as follows:

Migration to Firefox from Netscape and Internet Explorer was effortless. Much as we observed with our customers, staff easily used Firefox to navigate the web. Our support tickets on Firefox are less than .1% — so the "burden" on IT for managing this browser has not been a problem in my shop.

Encouraging staff to use OpenOffice took more effort. We put OpenOffice on computers along side MS Office 97.  Most staff were self-taught on MS Office and did not want to spend the time to learn something new. When OpenOffice.org 2.0 was released, it was a much easier for staff to migrate — as the software was perceived to be MORE usable than the Microsoft equivalent many staff had at home — most notably with the ability to generate a PDF imbedded directly in the application. We had ten staff members who needed an outside trainer to guide them in migrating mail merge processes from MS Office 97 to OpenOffice 2.4 and a few more with involved spreadsheet questions that IT staff (who in our case, rarely build or use spreadsheets) could not answer. Otherwise, all staff migrated on their own, at their own pace. Our outside trainer — Solveig Haugland.

*****

The final step we took was to give staff a new computer, loaded 100% free software. Before this step came to be, IT staff worked on many Gnu-Linux distros  and in the course of doing so, univerally fell in LOVE with one -Ubuntu. The desktop is slick; the interface intuitive; and the available features, add-ons, and applications are many. To be sure it was user friendly, I installed it at home (my family jumped right in and was fine.)

We turned to a vendor, Open Sense Solutions, LLC to do the destkop configuration and upate management (Linux updates daily — the arguement being that new ideas are out there — get them; we use our vendor to review and manage our updates for us. )

We sought volunteers from staff and had to organize a timeline for rollout because it started to seem like everyone wanted a new machine immediately! Staff enjoy the experience and are often now vocal and enthusiatic supporters of Ubuntu.

Many of you may know me as the Open Source Evangelist for LibLime or the author of What I Learned Today…, but today I’m a guest author here and I’m going to write about a topic that I’m very passionate about - open source and libraries.

Whenever I teach open source to librarians I always start by outlining why libraries are the prefect breeding grounds for open source.  What many librarians probably don’t realize is that the open source community actually shares a lot of the same ethics, ideals and characteristics as the library world.  I think that Glen Horton put it best in his talk at the 2008 Computers in Libraries conference:

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

While the last point is not completely objective, the other similarities are completely accurate.  While Glen’s list is the one I refer to the most, he’s not the first to find these correlations between the open source movement and libraries. In his report Open Source Solutions for Library Needs, Richard Crawford says:

[Librarians] are almost ethically required to use and develop open source software.

And in Tina Burger’s, Libraries facilitate open access to information with open source software, she says:

The open source movement and libraries have a lot in common, not the least of which is the belief in free and open access to ideas and information.

Lastly, Joe Lucia (an amazing speaker on open source) says:

Libraries are committed to the notion of the ‘commons.’ Libraries are in fact one of the last best hopes for the preservation of the intellectual commons. That value system should extend to the intellectual work we do on our access systems. We should reclaim the domain of library technology from the commercial and proprietary realms and actualize is as part of our vision of the commons.
…
We are also congenital collaborators. Can you think of any other group of institutions that share their stuff the way we do through ILL?

So, why then aren’t more libraries doing what Howard County is doing?  I’ve read Amy’s post where she talks about other libraries saying that they can’t do what she has done, but the fact is it’s pretty simple.  Start small, switch your browsers to Firefox and then try putting OpenOffice on the public stations and then give it a whirl on the staff stations.  Little by little you can make a change in your library.

If you aren’t ready to make a change, then find a way to help the open source community.  I’m writing a manual for the Koha ILS - and I’m doing all on my lonesome, help me out :)  Or find another project that you want to help out with and test it, debug it, document it or just promote it.

Before I was an Open Source Evangelist I was an open source enthusiast and it was my love for spreading the word of open source that brought me to where I am now - tell you to go out and give open source a try - you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Okay, so I’m not Moses (ala Ten Commandments). But I am proud to announce that the Howard County Library is taking part in Software Freedom Day. What I find heartening is the big name sponsors involved in this movement such as Ubuntu, Google, and Sun Microsystems. I’m proud to say that partners include Free Software Foundation as well One Laptop Per Child.

If you want to be part of the global celebration and education of why transparent and sustainable technologies are now more important than ever - join the Maryland Ubuntu Local Community Team, Howard County Library IT staff members, and others for a day of free software, presentations, and fun.

This fun and educational event will take place at our Miller Branch on Saturday September 20 from 10am until 4pm.

Nearly 70% of Howard County Library staff use Ubuntu on their staff desktop.  The exceptions — our Marketing department uses Macintosh and our staff who work closely with our collection inventory system (currently a product called Horizon, by Sirsi Dynix) remain on Windows XP (they will move to Ubuntu in December when we migrate to Koha.)

The dominant staff image is built on Ubuntu; applications used most heavily include: two web browsers (Firefox and Opera); and word processing OpenOffice 2.4. We’ve included many of the other Ubuntu features, Rhythmbox for music playing and GIMP for image manipulation.   Staff are free and actually, encouraged to learn how to use these applications.

Computers are one of the many valuable resources we offer our customers.  Educating customers on how to use them is a key role played by all our information specialists and instructors.   Providing our information specialists and instructors with more applications on their desktop - more than the customers see — ensures our staff are trained and familiar with the software our customers use — and allows us to get good ideas and suggestions from our staff for future upgrades to our customer computers.

What can’t Howard County Library staff using Ubuntu do?  They don’t have to run checks for malware!. And, if our help desk logs are any indicator, they don’t have to report many problems to the IT department — giving IT staff time to innovate, dream, and when lucky,  work directly with customers!

I’ve often heard staff express concern that "that open source stuff isn’t as good as…." fill in the blank with whatever proprietary software they are familiar with.  Funny thing is a lot of open source software isn’t less than or even as good as the other stuff - it’s better than it!

Case in point - OpenOffice.org productivity suite.  OpenOffice offers you the ability to use word processing (Writer), spreadsheets (Calc), presentations (Impress), database (Base), drawing (Draw) programs which is more than what you get if you buy Microsoft Office Home and Student.  OpenOffice also has the ability in all of their programs, except Base, to export your document as a PDF.  You no longer need to buy full-blown Adobe to create a PDF.  Why is this such a big deal?  Take a very frequent example here at our library. 

Customer comes in to update or create their resume.  They wish to send the resume to perspective employers either via email or online applications.  It is better to send a PDF which can not be manipulated or edited than a word processing document.

Another great feature that OpenOffice offers is the ability to create interactive (in a manner or speaking) PDF forms, again without using the full-blown version of Adobe or some online product.  I’ve used OpenOffice many times to create forms that our staff can fill out online, then print  and submit to their supervisor.  I’ve also used a trial version of an Adobe product that was nice but found it frustrating when setting up the tab order.  In OpenOffice this was not only easy to do but it allowed me to change my mind if I moved a text box from one location to another and had to change the tab order.

I understand that changing from a familiar piece of software to something you’ve never seen before can be daunting.   For some folks they just dive in and start using software with no introduction.  Case in point:   we slowly introduced our staff/customers to OpenOffice by just having it on 6 public computers in a few of our branches.  I witnessed many times customers using OpenOffice products without any help from staff or any online help.   For those who don’t like change there is the visual differences, as well as the different nomenclature, that can give you a bit of a start.  However,as my colleague, Danny Bouman, pointed out one of the beauties of open source is the community.  If for some reason you find that openoffice isn’t as easy for you to adjust to I would highly recommend that you visit Solveig Haugland’s blog, OpenOffice.org Training, Tips and Ideas.  There are other great helpful blogs and sites out there including the OpenOffice.org forums.  Trust me if you have a questions about OpenOffice, the community has the answer.

I remember the day when we first moved over to OpenOffice.  I thought there was no way you were ever going to convince me that this "free" stuff was as good as what I was already using.  And at first it wasn’t.  But OpenOffice has come a long way and as I’ve pointed out, offers options that other software suites don’t.  I can’t remember the last time I used something other than OpenOffice for work and home needs.  I guess I can proudly wear the nickname a friend of mine gave me - Open Source Convert.

Beth Tribe
Coordinator of Software Support and Training
Howard County Library

One of the things that I find most fascinating about open source software is the fact that it really allows you to get exactly what you want and customize the product to fit your needs. When you go with a proprietary product you get only what they decide to give you. Now instead of paying for the piece of software that doesn’t meet your needs, you are able to pay for custom programming to be done and get exactly what you want.

The other factor that draws me to open source products is that fact that you are not reinventing the wheel. You are sharing and collaborating with other developers all across the world, and you are able to build and improve upon existing software much more efficiently. With proprietary software you are forced to reinvent the wheel and build the code from scratch, even though that code may very well already exist.

To give an example, if we find that there is a feature missing in Koha that is important to us, there is a good chance that this feature is important to other libraries as well. I also happen to be a programmer and I decide to add this feature to Koha and contribute it back to the community. Now, every other Koha library is able to receive this added feature for free. Imagine the impact we could make if 100 libraries used Koha and each had 1 programer. That is 100 programers all working on the improvement of a single ILS. This ultimately allows us to save time, to save money, and to improve our service we provide to the community and to our own staff.

Danny Bouman
Web Programmer
Howard County Library