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Library Issues

OPAC and ILS

So pretty much everyone is convinced that their OPAC sucks. With the exception of the GA system, is there anyone out there actively trying to switch to Open Source?

I admit, I desperately want to give it a go, but it’s the backend stuff that gives me pause. I would be curious if others out there are tinkering, behind the scenes, out of sight. If so, let me know…

By griffey

Jason Griffey is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at NISO, where he works to identify new areas of the information ecosystem where standards expertise is useful and needed. Prior to joining NISO in 2019, Jason ran his own technology consulting company for libraries, has been both an Affiliate at metaLAB and a Fellow and Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and was an academic librarian in roles ranging from reference and instruction to Head of IT at the University of TN at Chattanooga.

Jason has written extensively on technology and libraries, including multiple books and a series of full-periodical issues on technology topics, most recently AI & Machine Learning in Libraries and Library Spaces and Smart Buildings: Technology, Metrics, and Iterative Design from 2018. His newest book, co-authored with Jeffery Pomerantz, will be published by MIT Press in 2024.

He has spoken internationally on topics such as artificial intelligence & machine learning, the future of technology and libraries, decentralization and the Blockchain, privacy, copyright, and intellectual property. A full list of his publications and presentations can be found on his CV.
He is one of eight winners of the Knight Foundation News Challenge for Libraries for the Measure the Future project (http://measurethefuture.net), an open hardware project designed to provide actionable use metrics for library spaces. He is also the creator and director of The LibraryBox Project (http://librarybox.us), an open source portable digital file distribution system.

Jason can be stalked obsessively online, and spends his free time with his daughter Eliza, reading, obsessing over gadgets, and preparing for the inevitable zombie uprising.

3 replies on “OPAC and ILS”

I know that WALDO is *talking* about it, for the Westchester Academic Libraries. I don’t know how far they’ve gotten on the project, but they sounded serious about not buying another commercial solution. I could put you in touch with someone, if you want. Lemme know.

King County in Washington is testing Evergreen and looking to make it more “turnkey” in regards to deployment and implementation according to something that I read in an issue of Library Hotline about six weeks ago. They are the largest system that I know of that is doing something substantial and devoting the resources to it. I am not sure that I would be able to characterize it as “actively switching”, but I think they are looking at it as an option.

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