Practical application of knowledge…
…is the definition of technology according to the Public Software Foundation. They further suggest that it’s only natural for libraries to lend software which is designed to be openly shared. Thanks to a post at LISNews I discovered what an excellent concept the PSF has. What a most excellent idea.
Howard County Library has given out cd’s with OpenOffice, Firefox and soon our latest version of Groovix (Linux based operating system that we use on our PACs). But this takes it a step further by actually circulating it as another format in the collection. I’ve submitted a request to become a Library Liaison for PSF and I can only hope that since HCL is such a big proponent of open source that we will soon be adding software to our collection. Can’t make any promises since I’m not the one who will make the decision but I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
3 Comments »
Leave a comment
-
Around the World
-
My Flickr Photos
More Photos
yep, open source evangelist.
Sorry but that title is already taken by Nicole Engard of Liblime. How about Open Source Convert?
Nice idea. The question I’d have is a library style distribution of open source software the best way for distribution?
Given the rapidly changing nature of open source software, this could become a very expensive idea, because of the resources required to maintain this collection.
I’m not ruling this idea out, it’s certainly better than buying out of date software from Staples, then fighting for a free upgrade.
If done correctly, this idea would have a lot of potential in making a very valuable educational resource available to people who otherwise wouldn’t have access.
Paul Misner
http://www.smartchive.com
410-740-3490
paul@paulmisner.com