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We experienced freedom to explore alternate avenues, to innovate, to take risks in ways that would have been difficult under the direct control of a district council.

patrons made it clear that while they appreciated that computers were a necessary part of a modern library, they did not consider them the most important part.

Our overall objective was to source a library system which: could be installed before Y2K complications immobilised us, was economical, in terms of both initial purchase and future license and maintenance support fees, ran effectively and fast by dial-up modem on an ordinary telephone line, used up-to-the minute technologies, looked good, and was easy for both staff and public to use, took advantage of new technology to permit members to access our catalogue and their own records from home, and let us link easily to other sources of information – other databases and the Internet. If we could achieve all of these objectives, we’d be well on the way to an excellent service.

Ten criteria must be met in order for a software distribution to be considered open source:

Free redistribution

the source code freely available to developers.

the vast majority of libraries continue to rely on legacy proprietary systems

libraries using open source integrated library systems indicates that the vast majority of libraries continue to rely on legacy proprietary systems

there are at least a dozen active OSS projects based in or with their genesis in library organizations

Powerhouse experie

her APIs

Flickr AP

The number of influential libraries publishing their metadata onto the web as linked open data, which is the heart of the Semantic Web, is growing

many librarians at major institutions have recognized that a key to the bibliographic future lies in migrating their data out of library silos and into an open, global pool of shared data.

the linked data cloud is seen as the most promising way to ensure that library data remains accessible and reusable

Debate has risen again in the past year about whether government legislation is needed to protect net neutrality.

Accessing the information within an Internet packet is equivalent to wiretapping a phone or opening postal mail.

Totalitarian governments aren’t the only ones violating the network rights of their citizens.

Web Consortium’s royalty-free patent policy says that the companies, universities and individuals who contribute to the development of a standard must agree they will not charge royalties to anyone who may use the standard.

Apple’s iTunes system, for example, identifies songs and videos using URIs that are open. But instead of “http:” the addresses begin with “itunes:,” which is proprietary. You can access an “itunes:”

martphone “apps” rather than Web apps is disturbing, because that material is off the Web.

New Zealand content difficult to discover, share and use

DigitalNZ is testing ways to create digital content, collect and share existing digital content, and build smart, freely available search and discovery tools.

Memory Maker blurs the line between consuming and producing content. What’s sometimes called ‘remix culture’ […]. Digital technologies have opened up new possibilities for young people to access and represent the stories of their culture by taking sound and images and recombining them to say something new, something relevant to them. (Sarah Jones, Lunch Box: Software & digital media for learning, November 2008) http://lunchbox.org.nz/2008/11/get-coming-home-on-your-schools-website-wiki-or-blog/)

The Safer Internet Group brings together a diverse group of stakeholders who all share the goal of developing the Internet as a platform for education, communication and economic activity.

Australia needs to take effective action to ensure that Internet users, and particularly children, have a safe experience online, while ensuring that the benefits of the open Internet are available to all Australians.

We believe our way is comprehensive and practical. More importantly, we know it works. It delivers:

Several threats to the Web’s universality have arisen recently. Cable television companies that sell Internet connectivity are considering whether to limit their Internet users to downloading only the company’s mix of entertainment.

Social-networking sites present a different kind of problem. Facebook, LinkedIn, Friendster and others typically provide value by capturing information as you enter it

The sites assemble these bits of data into brilliant databases and reuse the information to provide value-added service—but only within their sites.

Linking to the Future As long as the web’s basic principles are upheld, its ongoing evolution is not in the hands of any one person or organization—neither mine nor anyone else’s. If we can preserve the principles, the Web promises some fantastic future capabilities.

Locked within all these data is knowledge about how to cure diseases, foster business value and govern our world more effectively.

We should examine legal, cultural and technical options that will preserve privacy without stifling beneficial data-sharing capabilities.

The Web is an application that runs on the Internet

Although internet and web designs are separate, a Web user is also an Internet user and therefore relies on an Internet that is free from interference.

Technology for interference has become more powerful

profound concept: that any person could share information with anyone else, anywhere.

Web evolved into a powerful, ubiquitous tool because it was built on egalitarian principles and because thousands of individuals, universities and companies have worked, both independently and together as part of the World Wide Web Consortium

Large social-networking sites are walling off information posted by their users from the rest of the Web.