Helping Libraries Consider Open Source Software

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One of the key activities that brought me to LYRASIS many months ago is going to see the light of day in about 10 days at ALA Midwinter -- a set of tools to help libraries determine if open source software is right for them and what open source software works the best. Here is the announcement snippet from today's LYRASIS newsletter:

FREE Open Source Sessions at ALA Midwinter: Take Control of Your Library's Software

Open Source LogoIs your library thinking about jumping into open source software, but not sure if you have the tools in place to succeed, or where to start?

To find out how open source software can save your library time and money, make plans to join Peter Murray at a free session about the LYRASIS Open Source Decision Support suite during ALA Midwinter.

With the financial support of the Mellon Foundation, LYRASIS Technology Services (LTS) offers a suite of tools designed to help you assess your needs and select the right open source tool for your institution. Available to LYRASIS members and non-members, the Open Source Decision Support suite provides self-guided readiness assessments to help you determine if open source software is right for your library, as well as a registry of software packages to assist you in finding information about open source software service providers, events and usage by peers. With these free tools, librarians and technologists can determine the best approach to leveraging open source software.

To learn more, reserve your space for one of these two FREE sessions during ALA Midwinter, open to all:

  • January 21 from 10:30 am to 11:30 am CST, City Center Marriott Somerset Room
  • January 22 from 10:30 am to 11:30 am CST, City Center Marriott Bordeaux Room

Not attending ALA Midwinter? Join us for one of these 1-hour webinar sessions.

  • January 25 from 10 am to 11 am EST
  • January 31 from 2 pm to 3 pm EST
  • February 10 from 3 pm to 4 pm EST

Space is limited, email Peter Murray to sign up for one of these FREE sessions today.

If you've been following DLTJ you've probably seen evidence of what we're preparing in a call for consultants to write me self-guided decision support tools and a post seeking feedback on a software registry design. That work is going to be released just prior to Midwinter and I'll be leading people through how to use it during these one-hour in-person and online sessions. These tools will be available to all, so if you are interested please let me know.