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"Using the Crawford County Federated Library System's development of an open source web kiosk management system, as an example, this article will illustrate how an open source library project is defined, specified, written, tested and rolled out. The article will also discuss how the project was released as an Open Source project and future development of the project. The web kiosk project is called Libki and was written to authenticate users and allow access to the Internet kiosks based on time limits. Libki is a completely Open Source project and is now used by multiple libraries across the US. The client side of Libki is cross platform and supports multiple operating systems including Microsoft Windows and Linux. The administrative side of the program allows access to user logs, controls time and access and allows the librarian to log a patron off the system in real time. Libki was completely developed and written by staff members of the Crawford County Federated Library System."

"This article highlights the benefits of open source databases for businesses and libraries. No matter what size your library is, databases play an important role in providing services. The reason for this is simple: libraries exist to organize information, and databases make it easy to store and retrieve information. Setting up and maintaining open source databases is easier than most people realize. Not too long ago, only systems experts had the skills to install and use a database server. Nowadays, graphical tools have made it a snap to administer databases in a production setting. Open source products are widely used and do not require you to pay licensing fees, so chances are you will be able to apply what you learn in a variety of setting. There is an excellent chance that existing open source products contain all the functionality you need--that is why millions of people, businesses, and libraries use them. The learning curve for open source database is about the same as for most types of software. Because so many people use them, it is easy to find someone who can help you when you encounter challenges. Once you have created your first database, you may discover that you can improve services, gather statistics, or help staff in just a few minutes."

"eSciDoc is an e-Research environment developed specifically for use by scientific and scholarly communities to collaborate globally and interdisciplinary. It comprises core functionality including a Fedora repository (eSciDoc Infrastructure), a set of complementing services (eSciDoc Services), and application build on top of the infrastructure and the services (eSciDoc Applications) that enable innovative eScience scenarios. Scientists, librarians, and software developers can work with research data, create novel forms of publications, and establish new ways of scientific and scholarly communication."

When a library end-user searches the online catalogue for works by a particular author, he will typically get a long list that contains different translations and editions of all the books by that author, sorted by title or date of issue. As an attempt to make some order in this chaos, the Pode project has applied a method of automated FRBRizing based on the information contained in MARC records. The project has also experimented with RDF representation to demonstrate how an author's complete production can be presented as a short and lucid list of unique works, which can easily be browsed by their different expressions and manifestations. Furthermore, by linking instances in the dataset to matching or corresponding instances in external sets, the presentation has been enriched with additional information about authors and works.

In 2008, seven Michigan public libraries migrated to Evergreen, an open source integrated library system developed by the George Public Library Service. The Michigan Library Consortium and Grand Rapids Public Library provided the support, training, networking, and system administration for the system. This article examines the reasons for implementing an open source system and the challenges to running and sustaining it.

"MINT services compose a web based platform that was designed and developed to facilitate aggregation initiatives for cultural heritage content and metadata in Europe. It is employed from the first steps of such workflows, corresponding to the ingestion, mapping and aggregation of metadata records, and proceeds to implement a variety of remediation approaches for the resulting repository." A sideproduct of the European Athena -project.

"The article looks at the development of library technology, focusing on library automation, integrated library systems (ILS), and the use of open source software. Additional topics discussed include the competition between supports of ILS and proprietary library services vendors, the decreases in library finance, and litigation between library service companies over the violation of antitrust laws. The author also presents several profiles of companies engaging in library automation services, such as Auto-Graphics, BiblioCommons, and Cuadra Associates."

"The article addresses the cost of library automation software. The cited factors that influence software pricing are private negotiation, economic climate, hosting options such as software-as-a-service, and the components of public open source contracts. Also discussed is the impact of the inclusion of confidentiality clauses in license agreements and contracts prohibiting disclosure of prices on libraries. It suggests the possibility to gather pricing and expenditures data for libraries and stresses the need to understand pricing benchmarks."

"One of the scripts which I wrote as a mashup demonstration used the New York Times Bestseller API to add Best Seller indicators and links to a full record screen being generated via data from the WorldCat Search API. Michael Beccaria at Paul Smith College in upstate NY has taken my prototype script and revamped and incorporated it into their VuFind powered library catalog."

"ProgrammableWeb is more than a directory and community, it's programmable. Our "API for APIs" gives you a simple and structured way to access the powerful registry and repository capabilities of PW. "

"In this article, the author explores some patterns in how perceptions and misperceptions about Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) form and guide decision making in libraries in the U.S. The author hopes to rectify some of these misperceptions because they can get in the way of making good decisions. He explains some considerations about the use of FLOSS. In addition, the author discusses the role of software vendors and consultants in addressing the misperceptions. He also discusses the benefits of using FLOSS."

"In this article the author discusses aspects of the automation and electronic data industry in a library setting. He investigates a number of factors including the use of automated library systems, advanced electronic library catalogues and databases and the application of open source computer programming. The article analyzes sales trends in library data systems for the period 2003-07."

"The article presents options for libraries on the type of software to use to gain access on the web. For libraries without money or technical staff, the author recommends free and inexpensive Web 2.0 options. The programs are usually free or demand a small fee and require a few technical knowledge. For libraries with technical staff but less money, the open source option is suggested. No cash is needed but the program requires more technical skills and staff time. Buying software is a choice if the library has the cash."

The Next Generation Library Catalog: A Comparative Study of the OPACs of Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager (141-150) [HTML] [PDF] Sharon Q. Yang and Melissa A. Hofmann

"This is a plan for a multi-national, multi-institutional discovery environment built on Linked Open Data principles.  If instantiated at several institutions, will demonstrate to end users the value of the Linked Data approach to recording machine operable facts about the products of teaching, learning, and research.  The most noteworthy advantage of the Linked Open Data approach is that it allows the recorded facts, in turn, to become the basis for new  discovery environments. This model includes the basic functions of generating, harvesting, and iteratively reconciling URIs as well as consumption of Linked Data."

A column in The Code4Lib Journal issue 5 2008 about the role of open source software in libraries and libraries failures in grasping the fundamental ideas of sharing and contributing in the FOSS -community, even among libraries themselves. A great essay w

5 minute lightning talks from Code4lib about a variety of subjects related to LIS and libraries. Includes links to lighning talks of 2006-2008. At a glance, most talks seem to be intruductions to existing web-services and technologies.