Link to handout: http://infomotions.com/musings/oss4cil/oss4cil.pdf
How is open source software free? It's free like a free kitten. You take it home, it's cute and it purrs. Then you have buy it a cat box, a collar, and toys. You pay attention to it, get attached to it, and then it runs away, and you're devastated. But it comes back, and you're happy again and pay for its vet bills for years to come--okay, I added the vet bills thing from my own personal cat and dog experience. Someday, when you have a couple of hours, I'll tell you about it. Open source software, like pets, come with emotional and financial costs.
The spirit of collaboration among open source developers mirrors the spirit of collaboration among librarians; open source software isn't possible without community. Eric gave the example of document delivery; you send books, articles, etc., off without asking what people want it for. Open source software distributions are sent out into the world without any concern about how they'll be used; in fact, modifying the code--and sending it back with your own tweaks and editions--is encouraged. Eric also likened open source development to peer review: with many eyeballs, all bugs are shallow; in peer review, the best quality (ideally) rises to the top.
Buying proprietary software can be like buying a car with the hood welded shut. You can't change the oil yourself. But, not everyone can become a mechanic. This can be a disadvantage
In spite of the rapid changes in technology, we still rely on a lot of early open source stuff. Prime examples: Sendmail, Apache. Most of the web runs on Apache, most of our mail is still sent with Sendmail.
Eric's 8 Library Skills
collections
organization/cataloging
preservation/archiving
public service
relational databases
XML
indexing
scripting/programming
The last four are the techie ones.
"Excel is not a database."
"MARC was cool in 1965."
No power points bonus awarded!
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