Palinet 2007 - Offering Superior Services with Open Source Solutions

Open Source Solutions
Offer Superior Service

Howard County Library

nearly 5 million annual circulations

over 2 million visits annually

large, active, engaged customer community

300 customer computers

250 staff computers

Why open source?

Howard County Library uses a wide range of open source computer software in order to:

provide customers with internet and computer access

expand access to library collections and services

contain hard costs for software licenses and computer hardware

Why choose open source?
CNET October 2, 2007

Mike my #1 reason - Security, according to wash post, IE vulnerable for 9 months last year, active exploits with credit card numbers being stolen. firefox vulnerable just 9 days. If you put a credit card number or other identify information into a public computer running IE you're nuts!

my #2 reason - Accountability if there is a problem you can always hire someone to fix it. in proprietary software, a company may refuse to fix a problem or end of life a product and you're stuck.

What does open source mean?

Access to source code

Freedom to make changes

Rich user / developer community

minimal costs; free of costs but not cheap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVOnFdMf0RU

Who creates open source software?

Communities

groups are successful

Developers

Benjamin Keen

http://www.benjaminkeen.com/

Anyone in this room

You might never write a line of code but:

the fact that anyone can contribute means that some do, and the features users want are implemented instead of the features that software companies want (like DRM).

, you can HIRE a developer to make the changes you want, try getting microsoft to customize Internet Explorer for you.

What are open source solutions?

Apache

Firefox

OpenOffice

GAIM

Linux

How do you migrate to open source?

Watch and listen to what folks need

monitor help desk

review change requests ignoring proper names

ie: a request for Access is really a request for a database


Add first take away later

OpenOffice on current operating system

Firefox along side other web browser

Ubuntu machines along side a Microsoft machine


Orient first, train only if needed

prior to first orientation, determine key uses of application

train to that list

ie: If staff use word processing for evaluation writing, show how to do an evaluation in OpenOffice Writer

Review existing documentation; augment if needed

What has Howard County Library done with open source?

LAMP

LuMix Firefox

OpenOffice

Groovix


LAMP...Linux Apache MySQL PHP

code flows both ways, providercustomer

Open Sense Solutions is using HCL developed tools like PACMon






LuMix: Luis Salazar Mike Ricksecker

initial open source offering

custom kernel on 250+ PACs (Public Access Computers)

deployed 2004

Firefox 0.9 with Open Office, XPDF for document viewing


OpenOffice

word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, database

given to staff along side MS Office 97

encouraged migration

available on all customer machines

will be only option for all by April 2008


Groovix Public Access Computers

OpenSense Solutions, Inc. -- Michael Pardee

extensive functionality available on all

Firefox Opera GAIM Open Office RealPlayer Mplayer

300 PACs Dell GX 150s (5 years young)

2-3 help desks tickets a month system-wide

We use papercut for print management, everything doesn't have to be open source, if it is designed well and uses open standards everything fits together nicely.

What have other libraries done with open source?

University of Vermont Bailey Howe Library

42 workstations on 11SLIM machines

Mead Library, Sheboygan WI

SIP2 authentication

users login with same barcode/pin as self check units

Time quotas and guest passes

custom computer reservation system

SLIM -- http://groovix.com/slim.html

http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Open_Source_Software

What will Howard County Library do next with open source?

Ubuntu

Paperless purchasing and accounting

HRIS

Koha

Mobile Mobile Mobile


Ubuntu

all staff computers are being moved to Ubuntu

weve started with willing staffers

migration complete in Summer 2008

weve left all XP machines in place; renamed them HACs (Horizon Access Computers)

purchased HPs for Ubuntu install --- all staff machines will be same hardware and same image


Paperless purchasing and accounting

accounting process 60 invoices a week

many are received in the Central offices and sent to branches

goal is to image them and store images in local database users will approve payment via web based interface


Human Resources Information System

HR process managed manually, using spreadsheets and mail merge to generate forms

specifications being developed

open source options of which we are currently aware:

OrangeHRM


Koha

open source integrated library system

staff and customer interface are web based

kids catalog, faceted searching, frbr, etc

April 2008 launch projected


Mobile... appliances... staff.... services

OpenMoko?

roving computers

micro chips in staff?

Sage observations

Discomfort is not part of our world; and change can cause discomfort

Lack of consensus on computers and the role they play in service

Limited computer skills among staff even among those you assume get it

What can you do ?

Consider what you need

survey, talk, survey again

try

approach software with an open mind

know that any problem will be perceived to be software-related; remember most are user-caused

lean into discomfort

What can you do?

Research

Eric Hebert, of Degree Tutor, has some ideas

Talk to key vendors

Open Sense Solutions, Mike Pardee

http://opensensesolutions.com/

LibLime, Joshua Ferraro

http://www.liblime.com/

How can you do this?

Start with us

http://www.hclibrary.org/oss2oss.php

use our surveys

http://www.hclibrary.org/training/GroovixFAQ.htm

learn Open Office from us

What has Howard County Library accomplished by this work?

Fiscal responsibility

$3000 Groovix support contract for 300 computers

$10 / computer for all software: os, apps, security

Extended services

all customer computers offer:

screen magnifiers and word processing

We are presenting at PALINET!

Thank you for your interest

Howard County Library

Amy Begg De Groff

[email protected]

OpenSense Solutions

Mike Pardee

[email protected]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa1RCg-Ccp0

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Howard County Library October 2007 Palinet Annual Conference

Palinet 2007 - Offering Superior Services with Open Source Solutions

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