Category Archives: Open Source

Dyslexia Typeface

Posted on 3 May 2013 by Rick Mason

I stumbled upon this typeface nearly eight months ago, and thought that I had written about it, but after recommending it for the 3rd or 4th time, I realized that I had failed to actually create the post. OpenDyslexic is … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright, Education, Licensing, Open Source | Comments Off on Dyslexia Typeface

Wikipedia Redefined

Posted on 8 August 2012 by Rick Mason

Wikipedia Redefined is a proposal by a creative agency called NEW! which presents changes that would make Wikipedia more usable, both as a user and as an editor. Having used MediaWiki (the software that runs Wikipedia) extensively, I can vouch that … Continue reading →

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New Hybrid ILS Front End

Posted on 14 August 2010 by Rick Mason

A regional group of public libraries in Antwerp, Belgium have announced a new hybrid OPAC for their library software. They have merged WordPress with AquaBrowser to create a web presence with the capabilities they felt were most important for their … Continue reading →

Posted in ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, OPAC, Open Source, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on New Hybrid ILS Front End

One Possible OCLC Solution

Posted on 2 August 2010 by Rick Mason

I am going to be very presumptuous and put forth a possible solution to the OCLC situation. Ready? Divide OCLC in two. One entity, which we will call OCLC.org (just to keep from having to make up some name for … Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloging, Ethics, ILS, Libraries, Licensing, News, OCLC, Online Databases, Online Services, OPAC, Open Access, Open Source, Search, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Practical Open Source for Libraries

Posted on 1 August 2010 by Rick Mason

Nicole Engard has posted the slides for one of her presentations: Practical Open Source Software for Libraries (Part 2)

Posted in Education, ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, Licensing, Open Source, Software, Training | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Practical Open Source for Libraries

Thinking about the Free Range Librarian Thinking about Open Source

Posted on 24 June 2010 by Rick Mason

Karen Schneider has been Thinking about Open Source.  This is a good thing, as she tends to do a great job exploring the interrelationships between people, organizations, and technology. I want to highlight one portion of her post in order … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Groups, Language, Libraries, Library 2.0, Open Source, Software | 1 Comment

Open Source ILS Glossary

Posted on 23 June 2010 by Rick Mason

Earlier this month, Equinox Software‘s Bob Molyneux posted an Open Source ILS Glossary in Pdf format.  It is a great overview of the concepts and environment of the current open source library software environment. Today Bob posted an updated version … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs, Definitions, ILS, Libraries, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Open Source ILS Glossary

Upgrade

Posted on 17 June 2010 by Rick Mason

Libology has upgraded to WordPress 3.0, which is a significant jump ahead in standards and features.  One of the most interesting, for me, will be support for HTML 5. I have also switched to the Twenty-Ten theme, as it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs, Books, Libraries, Library 2.0, News, Open Source, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Upgrade

Practical Open Source Software Website

Posted on 27 April 2010 by Rick Mason

Nicole Engard’s forthcoming book, Practical Open Source Software for Libraries, has a page on the accompanying website consisting of links mentioned in the book.  Not only is this a tantalizing glimpse of the book, but it is a source of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, Open Source, Publishing, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Personality Spectrum

Posted on 14 April 2010 by Rick Mason

There is an interesting “personality type” post on Dougal Campbell’s Geek Ramblings titled Open Source Personality Spectrum. In and of itself, it is interesting and basically true.  Giving it some thought, I suspect that this range of personality traits can … Continue reading →

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Open Source Integrated Library Systems

Posted on 2 March 2010 by Rick Mason

Found a fantastic slideshow covering the basics of Open Source ILS software via the Proverbial Lone Wolf Librarian: Open Source Integrated Library Systems View more presentations from stellacomans. Direct link to the slides on SlideShare

Posted in ILS, Libraries, Licensing, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

ILS Turnover

Posted on 6 February 2010 by Rick Mason

Library Technology Guides has a couple of interesting data sets that, in a limited way, shows some of the dynamic patterns in the Integrated Library System (ILS) market: Integrated Library System turnover in 2009 (listed by the ILS migrated to) … Continue reading →

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Business Models and Comments

Posted on 1 December 2009 by Rick Mason

A link to a thought-provoking article on Open Source business models was posted by Stephen Abram on his blog, Stephen’s Lighthouse.  If you follow that last link, you may note that not only does he post the link “without comment”, … Continue reading →

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Koha LiveCD

Posted on 12 November 2009 by Rick Mason

Most of us who have used and installed any of the many variants of Linux started off with a live CD.  These allow you to boot your computer up using the CD, and try out the operating system without having … Continue reading →

Posted in ILS, Libraries, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Social Your Site

Posted on 23 August 2009 by Rick Mason

Jenny Levine makes a great case on The Shifted Librarian for adding a feature to your sites that allows users to easily share your content via social networks.  Not only will this offer a way for your users to help … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, OPAC, Open Source, Promotions, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Social Your Site

Center for History and New Media

Posted on 17 August 2009 by Rick Mason

I have been aware of the Center for History and New Media for quite some time (even posted a link here), but only recently did I take a look at their site beyond the work they do with Zotero.  I … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, History, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Databases, Online Services, Open Source, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Center for History and New Media

Perfect Storm

Posted on 16 August 2009 by Rick Mason

The Perfect Storm is a brief essay in the current issue of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) newsletter.  G. Sayeed Choudhury, the author of the essay, states that “Universities have authentication and authorization systems to identify who … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs, Google, Groups, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, Open Access, Open Source, Software, Wiki | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Perfect Storm

RECAPing PACER

Posted on 16 August 2009 by Rick Mason

PACER is the online access portal for “U.S. Appellate, District, and Bankruptcy court records and documents nationwide”.  Because the documents it provides are created by the federal judiciary, they are not copyrightable; because PACER is the only place to obtain … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival, Copyright, Government, Online Databases, Online Services, Open Access, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on RECAPing PACER

Open Source Documentation

Posted on 10 August 2009 by Rick Mason

One of the more frustrating things about open source software is the fact that many projects have little-to-no documentation.  William Shields, a software developer from Australia, posts about his experiences and concludes that he isn’t going to patronize projects that … Continue reading →

Posted in Groups, Open Source, Software, Training, Tutorials, Wiki | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Open Source Documentation

Simple and Evolvable Standards

Posted on 6 August 2009 by Rick Mason

May All Your Standards Be Simple and Evolvable is a post by John Wilbanks on Science Blog’s Common Knowledge.  It is written with medical data standards in mind, but it could be discussing the state of library data as well: … Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloging, ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, Medical, Online Databases, OPAC, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Simple and Evolvable Standards