Re: [oss4lib-discuss] pros of oss in libraries
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From: Chris G. <cp...@li...> - 2003-10-24 20:11:26
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On Wed, 22 Oct 2003, Walter Lewis wrote: > Eric Lease Morgan wrote: > > >There are many advantages of using open source software in libraries. I will > >list a few: > > > [snip] > > Outside of the specific advantages there is a more cultural one that > people have cited. OSS fits the "sharing" mentality that is part of the > environment in many libraries. > > Walter Lewis > HHPL Amen, Brother Walter, In the corporate world, Eric Raymond-style arguments <http://catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/> are likely to be most effective, as Raymond points out in his "Shut Up And Show Them The Code" piece <http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/shut-up-and-show-them.html>. However, librarians are possibly more sensitive to the importance of public goods in addition to private gains. (For some theory, look at Phil Agre's comments on Martyne M. Hallgren and Alan K. McAdams, The economic efficiency of Internet public goods" <http://commons.somewhere.com/rre/1997/notes.and.recommendation1.html>.) Librarians, I hope, are able to fit Raymond's description of hackers as "thinkers and idealists who readily resonate with appeals to 'principle' and 'freedom' and 'rights'." In which case it might be worth considering Richard Stallman's arguments for Free Software the context of the library. On the other hand, it's worth looking at the article that provoked Nicolas Morin to post to the group: <http://morinn.free.fr/bernon_fr.html> <http://morinn.free.fr/bernon_eng.html>. It isn't formulated in ignorance of the standard Eric Raymond arguments for OSS. Chris "Okey dokey.. free my mind. Right, no problem, free my mind, free my mind, no problem, right... " -The Matrix |