There is a free (or open access) chapter available from Scholarly Communication for Librarians a book that will be published by Chandos Inc. on Open Access. The chapter is an:

In-depth overview of open access, covering definitions (open access publishing, open access archives, gratis and libre, open access works versus open access processes), major statements and declarations, types of open access, major initiatives, trends, advocacy and lobbying.

Read the entire chapter online.

Technorati Tags: open access

There is a great article in the recent Code4Lib Journal release about developing open source applications. How Hard Can It Be? : Developing in Open Source by Joann Ransom with Chris Cormack and Rosalie Blake talks about the process of developing Koha:

In 2000 a small public library system in New Zealand developed and released Koha, the world’s first open source library management system. This is the story of how that came to pass and why, and of the lessons learnt in their first foray into developing in open source.

Make sure you read the entire thing to learn all about the Koha project.

Technorati Tags: koha

According to Mashable, Amazon has released the source code for the various Kindle releases.

Keeping true to what Jeff Bezos had said about the Kindle Reader and Kindle books being two separate businesses, Amazon has released the source code for the 1st generation Kindle, the new Kindle, and the Kindle DX.

The Kindle OS is Linux with a special set of drivers; we’re sure that someone, somewhere will thoroughly comb through it and reveal more details, particularly about its DRMed parts.

After reading around a bit, I do not see which license Amazon is using with this code release, but it’s still pretty neat that developers can poke around and see what makes the Kindle tic.

Technorati Tags: amazon, kindle

If your library is using Drupal or Joomla you might want to help another librarian by answering these 5 questions about why you chose the system you chose.

I was going to answer the survey, but it assumes that I’m talking about my experience in a library - and I never used either in a library, but have used both. My preference (if I can only pick between those two) is Joomla - but neither is really perfect.

Technorati Tags: joomla, drupal

What’s your full name (middle name too)?

Susan Joan Wright Buchanan

What is your official Job Title?

Vice President, Library Partners

Did you (or do you) have a nickname?

Not one that I’d really like to make public. Too silly.

What’s your favorite color?

yellow - sunshine, sunflowers

What’s your favorite food or meal?

Boxing Day, or day after Thanksgiving, lunch - turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce and dressing on multi grain bread. Ideally, two of them.

What’s your favorite word (keep it clean)?

Friday

Are you a dog or a cat person?

Can you be both? I’m both. I currently own neither but have had one or the other most of my life. If my condo board rules and travel schedule permitted, I’d have one or the other.

Do you have any pets?

No, but I do have a (real) plant that I’ve managed to not kill for 5 years.

Why did you want to work with LibLime?

I see open source solutions for libraries as the next logical step for the community. The technology has finally come to the point where this was the natural evolution, and I see this as the basis for the next generation systems. I’m excited to be part of that!

What did you know about open source before taking on this job? What have you learned since taking the job?

In hindsight, my knowledge was pretty sparse before I took this step. I didn’t understand the development possibilities or the depth and breadth of the functionality that is possible.

I’m learning that the success of open source comes from commitment at an individual level, and open source ILS enables librarians to take ownership, and feel that they can make a difference, in a way that is not possible within a proprietary framework.

What’s at the top of your wishlist for the next version of Koha?

ILL. It can’t come too soon.

If you had all of the skills, time and money, what open source application would you like to develop?

A killer app to find my car keys, no matter where I am

What are your top three favorite websites?

• ual.com - to juggle my flight segments around airline delays and weather issues

• facebook - to track my friends and family
• lotto649 - see below

What would you do if you won the lottery?

I’d do the altruistic thing and make sure friends, family and specific charities were taken care of. And then I’d just start traveling….(first class, of course!)

Are you an organized desk person or a messy desk person?

I believe the definition of organization is completely individual. (that likely answers your question..!)

Anything else you want our readers to know about you?

I’m not very good at filling out questionnaires.

This week I took the plunge and bought a Blackberry Storm. I’ve been looking at the apps available and came across this open source announcement I thought you might be interested in. I signed up for Brightkite a while ago, but don’t really use it because I never think about it - but maybe if I have a mobile device I will … and it’s open source so I have to give it a whirl right??

BrightBerry, which is available here, has been quite the hit with our community — offering most of the basic functionality that makes Brightkite on the go so much fun.

Currently, you can use the app to:

• View and navigate your streams (Friends, Nearby, Universe, Mentions, and User)

• Post a Note to your current location
• Check in to Placemarks
• Send and receive Direct Messages
• View and post comments on a post

You can also check-in via GPS and via Place Search, but both of those still need some tweaking. This is a big undertaking for one person, so Chris has decided to make the app open source and we’re hoping that there might be a developer or two out there with some free time that would be willing to contribute.

I’m all for not using Windows at all but if you want to keep using Windows and want to try Ubuntu, Wubi might be the answer for you.

Wubi is an officially supported Ubuntu installer for Windows users that can bring you to the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other Windows application, in a simple and safe way. Are you curious about Linux and Ubuntu? Trying them out has never been easier!

Wubi is Simple

No need to burn a CD. Just run the installer, enter a password for the new account, and click “Install”, go grab a coffee, and when you are back, Ubuntu will be ready for you.

Wubi is Safe

You keep Windows as it is, Wubi only adds an extra option to boot into Ubuntu. Wubi does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different bootloader, and does not install special drivers. It works just like any other application. Wubi is free of spyware and malware, and being open source, anyone can verify that.

Koha 3.0.2 Stable has been released on download.koha.org Its name is koha-3.00.02.tar.gz

This release is bug a series of bug fixes only and doesn’t include new features.

The next release scheduled in July will include features which are now in master but not ported yet to stable because of required database changes. The next release will inlcude many new enhanced features like integration of LibraryThing, Syndetics, Baker&Taylor, Babeltheque, and BranchTransferLimits.

This release of Koha 3.0.2 includes the following general improvements over the previous release fixes :

• XSLT support for UNIMARC added
• UNIMARC support for search available items only and weight field
• better IE7 support for intranet
• Show Summary in OPAC results
• opac-browser
• Serial subscription report
• translations improved

A total of 178 commits for bug fixes are listed in the release notes.

This from Open Road:

If you walk into the headquarters of open-source leader Red Hat, you’ll see this quote from Mahatma Gandhi gracing the wall:

First they ignore you,
then they laugh at you,
then they fight you,
then you win.

…
Forrester Research has crafted its own “Five Stages of Open Source Adoption,” as published recently in the May 15, 2009, edition of SD Times, which roughly follows the same pattern of doubt-giving-way-to-adoption that Gandhi suggested

5 Stages of Open-source Adoption
(Credit: Forrester (via SD Times))

Very very cool

Dave Shields has been using his blog to run his campaign for a position on the Board of Directors of the Library in Chappaqua, New York and has a very interesting post about who all open source developers are in fact librarians and authors.

For example, as an author of this kind of software I am known as an “open source developer.” We developers collect each set of related files into collections called “packages.” Individuals, groups, or, in some cases, companies, aggregate these packages into what are called “distributions,” or more colloquially, “distros.” Red Hat is an example of a distribution, as is SuSe. Debian is a distro created by open source developers that is also used as the base for Ubuntu, a widely-used distribution that has developed an extraordinary community of supporters, advocates, and experts.

That is the accepted view. Here is my view as an amateur librarian.

Every developer is an author producing copyrighted work that is available at no charge.

Every package is a “book” in what I have previously termed the “open source artifact.”

Most developers base their packages on prior art, and they often include parts of other packages in their new packages. This is not allowed in conventional publications, but is a matter of course when preparing a software package, due to the way in which these packages are licensed.

Developers are thus, for the most part, both authors and librarians.

Whether you agree or not, it’s a neat way to look at things - and I’m all for getting an open source developer/enthusiast on the boar of directors for a library