[Web4lib] Planning open source Library system at Duke

[John Little]

Web4Lib:

The Duke University Libraries are preparing a proposal for the Mellon
Foundation to convene the academic library community to design an open
source Integrated Library System (ILS).  We are not focused on developing an
actual system at this stage, but rather blue-skying on the elements that
academic libraries need in such a system and creating a blueprint. Right
now, we are trying to spread the word about this project and find out if
others are interested in the idea.

We feel that software companies have not designed Integrated Library Systems
that meet the needs of academic libraries, and we don't think those
companies are likely to meet libraries' needs in the future by making
incremental changes to their products. Consequently, academic libraries are
devoting significant time and resources to try to overcome the inadequacies
of the expensive ILS products they have purchased. Frustrated with current
systems, library users are abandoning the ILS and thereby giving up access
to the high quality scholarly resources libraries make available.

Our project would define an ILS centered on meeting the needs of modern
academic libraries and their users in a way that is open, flexible, and
modifiable as needs change. The design document would provide a template to
inform open source ILS development efforts, to guide future ILS
implementations, and to influence current ILS vendor products. We would use
the grant to fund a series of planning meetings, with broad participation in
some of those meetings and a smaller, core group of schools developing the
actual design requirements document.

At this stage, we're seeking feedback on our ideas and finding out who might
be interested in participating, prior to our formal submission of the
proposal to the Mellon Foundation in early March. We would greatly
appreciate your responses to the following questions.

1) Does designing an open source ILS seem like something worth exploring for
academic libraries?

2) Given the information above about the proposed project, is your
institution interested in:

--  staying informed of our progress?

--  contributing time and effort to the planning process, even if only
through the first or second workshops?

-- possibly being one of the core schools that participates throughout the
full planning and writing process

3) If  you have any initial feedback on our ideas, we would love to hear it!

Please email us at openlib at duke.edu.

Thank you for your interest and considering this opportunity to work with us
on this project.  If your answer is yes to number two above, we will be
contacting you to further explore participation. Please send your reply to
openlib at duke.edu.



-- 
John.Little at Duke.edu
ILS Support Section Head
Duke University Libraries
919.660-5932