[OPLINTECH] [OPLINLIST] Open source state ILS, Evergreen project terminated

[Owen Leonard]

> I don't want to add a negative to this but, I find that a lot of libraries
> are afraid to bet the farm as it were, on open source.

I hope people aren't put off by Open Source because they think they
have to maintain a Linux server all by themselves. The Nelsonville
Public Library has had Koha hosted off-site for a few years now, and
it has been a great move for us. Much better reliability for us.

Using Koha doesn't mean you have to wade in and start coding. That
part is just a perk: an open system which you can hack if you need to
or want to. If the system does what you want out of the box you can
sit back and wait for your royalty-free (if not maintenance-cost-free)
upgrades.

On the other hand, here at Nelsonville we've found that being engaged
users has a lot of benefits. By submitting bug reports, communicating
with developers, and even submitting fixes we've had a better return
on our investment. I would argue that this kind of engagement in and
of itself has improved the staff's satisfaction with the software.

  -- Owen

-- 
Web Developer
Athens County Public Libraries
http://www.myacpl.org