Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Thing #2 - Learn about Web 2.0 & Library 2.0

Ok, I've actually already done both of these things, since I've been taking the more technology-oriented courses from SLIS.  The main point that most of the Web 2.0 and especially Library 2.0 discussions I've had in class have boiled down to is that many libraries are still trying to cope with Web/Library 1.0.  The trouble is that, even though many patrons and libraries would welcome a chance to move on to higher technology, many patrons and librarians struggle to accept and use the current technology level effectively.

That aside, there are plenty of Library 2.0 options that don't make drastic changes, and the changes they do make are easily and effectively used.  My real interest with Library 2.0 has been next-generation OPACs, especially open-source next-generation OPACs.  They've been around for quite a while already (Koha, the first one, was released in 1999) and offer a lot more options than standard, contracted OPACs.  For one thing, purchased OPACs tend to be based off of the (archaic) card catalog model, and don't have too much flexibility beyond that.  They're also made by non-library companies, whose goal is to make a salable product that librarians can be convinced to buy.  Open-source OPACs, on the other hand, are usually created by or with librarians who want a better product and realize that, with nothing on the market, they need to make one themselves.  They're free (being open-source), usually very flexible for whatever type of network or operating system they need to be installed on, and are often compatible with other software programs that increase their functionality even further (such as SOPAC's Locus and Insurge, programs that allow it to link with any ILS and create "social data" [such as user tags], or how Evergreen works as an OPAC and ILS combined). 

The real downside to open-source next-generation OPACs is that there is no tech support.  To install and use it, someone in the library has to be willing to work with it, to customize it to their library's needs and work out the kinks.  There are discussion and help boards created by other people who have used it, but you do need to be a bit tech-savvy to make a lot of them work.  And, like anything, it takes time to get functional and set up, and then once it's implemented, both librarians and patrons have to get used to it.  After the learning curve, though, next-generation OPACs begin to more than pay for themselves, involving users in tagging and searching books and increasing overall functionality.  For more information, here's some of the more popular open-source OPACs available:

Evergreen: http://www.evergreen-ils.org/
Koha: http://koha-community.org/
Scriblio: http://about.scriblio.net/
SOPAC: http://thesocialopac.net/
VuFind: http://vufind.org/

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