[OPLINTECH] Open Office Software

[Nicholas Slone]

shivelri at oplin.org wrote:
> Hello, I am the IT Specialist at Greenville Public Library and we have 
> started to use OO for some of our patron and staff computers. I was 
> curious as to how many other libraries are using OO and what their 
> experience has been with it? Do the patrons get along fine with it? 
> Does the staff?
>
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First of all, I want to let everyone know that it has been fantastic 
reading the response to this topic. If we're even asking ourselves these 
questions, I think it's a good indicator that MS will be offering a low 
cost/free Office product in the near future (we can hope).  I'm the 
technology trainer at my library, and this is an issue that I'm 
definitely preparing to deal with...as I'm going to be offering my first 
classes on word processing and spreadsheets in a couple of months. 

I can still remember the depths of my own frustration when I bought my 
first laptop, only to discover that it didn't come with Office already 
installed.  It was like having access to the internet with no browser.  
I often see the same frustration in the eyes of our WiFi users when they 
ask me to find Word on their brand new Vista laptop.  I let them in on 
the sad truth....and then tell them about Open Office and Google Docs.

IMHO, the learning curve is so negligible, it shouldn't even be a factor 
in a decision regarding MS and OO.  Last year, when I began working in 
my library, fresh off my MLIS, I suggested that we make the switch to 
Firefox for internet browsing and Thunderbird for email on all of the 
staff computers. I was prepared for a barrage of complaints and 
questions.  But I didn't hear anything.  Other than clicking a different 
icon, most people didn't really notice a difference. 

Similarly, I completely switched to Ubuntu Linux at home in September.  
I told my wife about Open Office and she got down to business (she just 
returned to college).  The only comments and complaints I heard were 
about MS Word 2007, which they apparently use exclusively at Ohio 
University (in addition to selling $300+ versions of Vista).  It took 
her 5 or 10 minutes to figure out how to "save as."  She couldn't open 
the docx format anywhere and everywhere.  Subsequently, she devised a 
system of saving her work in Google Docs, so that she could easily 
export it to either MS Word or OO.  Plus, she didn't have to worry about 
carrying a flash drive. 

In my classes, the most difficult things for people to learn are 
fundamental concepts about how things work.  Once they get comfortable 
clicking a mouse, moving a cursor into a box, typing, entering commands, 
the rest is mostly practice.  Changing from MS Word to Open Office and 
back again shouldn't be any different than redesigning your website.  
Sure, things might be in different places, but it still performs the 
same functions.  

We've just begun to put Firefox on all of our public computers, and Open 
Office is likely soon to follow.  For me, the real question is whether 
or not to completely pass on MS Office 2007.  Why pay for something that 
you can get for free?  It may be the mantra of my generation, but in a 
county that ranks third in the state in poverty and a recession looming, 
for me it rings true.

While I wait to see how that pans out, I'll be teaching my classes on MS 
Word 2000...from the last round of Gates donations.







-- 
Sincerely,
Nicholas Slone
Reference Assistant
Garnet A. Wilson Public Library of Pike County