[Web4lib] More music questions

[John Creech]

Hi.  I got a number of good ideas from the recent "Where to invest in
music collection" thread but am wondering if anyone could could speak to
some technical questions and processes.

On the top floor of our library we have a music collection that consists
of ref materials, sheet music, LPs and CDs, mostly.  We have capital money
for physical remodeling as well as money for hardware and server-based
software apps to offer digital music to our patrons.  We are basically
aware of the status of online subscription services but some on my campus
are expressing a keen urge for us to store and serve audio files.

I and my staff of 3 manage all of our servers, desktops, and apps here in
the building.  My colleagues have asked me to explore hardware/software
solutions for offering online digital audio class reserves.  Whatever
solution we ever went with would likely be unix/linux or Mac Servers -
otherwise they'd have to reside in the campus computing DMZ.

 Would anyone be willing to share any info on how they've proceeded, what 
worked and what didn't, listservs to read, reviews, whatever?  Open source 
solutions are always welcome.  We have to do a major remodel of our comm 
room in the building before we proceed with any implementation so we're 
probably six to twelve months out.

Thanks very much for any suggestions.

John Creech, Systems Librarian
Brooks Library, Central Washington University
400 E. University Way | Ellensburg, WA 98926
office - 509.963.1081