Oops, I just noticed you had a link to Stephen Abrams paper in your required readings section as well as the great response by Mark Leggott. Sorry for missing that. It is great to see that the discussion is taking place at UBC and It looks like a great course!
Thanks, Robert ________________________________________ From: open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org [open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Soulliere, Robert [robert.soulli...@mohawkcollege.ca] Sent: January 31, 2010 9:31 AM To: Evergreen Discussion Group Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Library course using Evergreen Hi Shirley, I think it is wonderful that you are using Evergreen in your course and I think it can provide many other opportunities for classroom learning. Given the scalability of Evergreen, I think it would be really great if a course allowed students to install and configure local instances of Evergreen ILS systems in an advanced course dedicated to Open-Source ILS systems. I do want to question this statement in your course blog: "We now know these systems have one of the most important roles within or libraries, why would we trust other people to provide the code and host our servers?" I know this is more of an introductory question where you then list the advantages of Open-Source, but just note that Evergreen does not have be be hosted by other people. Mohawk College uses its own server and I believe many other organizations do as well to run Evergreen. The part about code also seems strange since vendors also provide "code". The different being that we can see and edit the code in Open-source software. I do think that Stephen Abram's position paper against open source software might be an interesting read for classroom discussion: http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/Open%20Source%20Position%20Paper%2020091014%20FINAL%5B1%5D.pdf It is not an academic paper, but may be something students will be exposed to in the real world and need to be able to analyze critically. Students should also look at the Evergreen blog at: http://www.open-ils.org/blog/. I think it provides a great historical perspective of Evergreen since the can find entries going back to 2005 and track the evolution and growth of Evergreen to the present. This is probably all beyond the scope of this introductory course, but I think a good comparison and discussion of proprietary vs Open-Source ILS options should be explored in library schools today so that students will understand all of their options when choosing an ILS. Thanks, Robert ________________________________________ From: open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org [open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Shirley Lew [shirley...@gmail.com] Sent: January 31, 2010 1:39 AM To: open-ils-general@list.georgialibraries.org Subject: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Library course using Evergreen Hello! I've been lurking on this list for several weeks and thought I should introduce myself. My name is Shirley Lew and I'm teaching a course, Library Automation & Systems, at the School of Library, Archival & Information Studies (SLAIS) program at UBC this term - course web site is here http://blogs.ubc.ca/libr551/blog/. The course is using an instance of Evergreen for teaching and learning purposes, provided for us by the Sitka Consortium in British Columbia. For the majority of students, this is the first opportunity they will have had for hands-on exploration of an open source ILS. They're curious and excited to see what Evergreen has to offer, for good reason! The major course assignment this term involves evaluating some of the functionality of Evergreen (specifically the circulation module) and comparing it with Koha for Class, the other ILS system to which we have access. I will be encouraging students to subscribe to this listserv, both to observe the discussion and to ask questions as they get to know the system. This discussion list is clearly a very supportive and collegial one, so I thank everyone in advance for any help/support you can offer students who may ask questions. - Shirley This E-mail contains privileged and confidential information intended only for the individual or entity named in the message. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the agent responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is prohibited. If this communication was received in error, please notify the sender by reply E-mail immediately, and delete and destroy the original message. This E-mail contains privileged and confidential information intended only for the individual or entity named in the message. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the agent responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is prohibited. If this communication was received in error, please notify the sender by reply E-mail immediately, and delete and destroy the original message.
