I’d like to know any information you’ve got on the USS United States. It’s an old Navy ship from the War of 1812. I heard some guy on the East Coast is going to build a replica of it next year, so I want to know about that, but I also want to know about its history.

Okay, that’s fairly straightforward. The only major catch is that almost every single book or website that contains the keyword “uss” will also contain the phrase “united states,” so searching might require a different strategy.

I know we have books in the collection on historical ships, but nothing concrete was coming up with a search for “uss united states.” I then searched for just books on Navy ships, and from the indexes I found some basic information.

I next tried the internet, with a search for “uss united states” to get started. The first result was a Wikipedia disambiguation page, from which I learned that there’s been more than one ship called the USS United States. I chose the ship from the right era, and read about the its history - but no mention of a replica.

However, the best part about the article was the bibliography at the bottom. It listed seven books, two of which had reasonably recent copyright dates, which means I could probably request them from another library.

[Now comes my favorite part of this question]

But just because they were listed here, I wasn’t sure how much information they’d have on the ship. I looked them both up on Amazon, hoping they’d have the “search inside this book” feature. They did, so I was able to flip through their indexes, and saw that both books had numerous entries for the USS United States. This made me feel comfortable requesting them for the patron.

A third book didn’t have this feature, but was in the reference collection of another library in my consortium, so I did an old-fashion favor-asking to see if they could check that book’s index and fax me any useful pages.

That seemed like enough historical information, so I switched to looking for news about someone building a replica. On this point I couldn’t find a thing. I found a lot on model building, but nothing about someone building a full-scale replica.

I called the patron and told him the book titles to expect, and also that I couldn’t find anything on the replica. He said he wasn’t surprised, since the guy didn’t have any funding yet and was trying to keep the whole project a secret. Hmm.

1. A couple weeks ago, I was talking to a colleague about Google Books, and I made a comment like, “since Google is scanning all these old books, if they allow some kind of print-to-bind option, it would mean that no book would ever be out-of-print again.” The idea intrigued me, so I looked around and found an article saying Google is doing exactly that.
    
2. A week or so later, a post on LibraryStuff.net talked about HP and the University of Michigan teaming up for a print-on-demand service of their library books.
    
3. And then this week, a friend of mine tweeted about free print-your-own mini books from Featherproof books.

The first two are useful and technologically interesting, but my reaction was, “I’m happy that exists somewhere in the world, but it’ll probably never apply to me and my medium-size library” (except perhaps it might be a way to replace missing books from our Local History collection).

But the third one is cool in a Make/ReadyMade sort of way, and my reaction was, “hey, we could do that here.” Chelmsford’s Teen Librarian is participating in NaNoWriMo, and printing the kids’ final books in this style would be a lot of fun. Plus, putting them on the Library’s website means that their friends could print them too - and it’s a much more interesting format than just 8.5×11 term-paper-looking printings.

It’d be great if there were web-based software that would do the formatting for you - just copy/paste in the text, and if flowed everything to the right page and orientation - but I’m guessing there is not. So in the meantime, I’ll see what I can do with Publisher.

Now they’ve gone one better - the ALA partnered with Safeway to take the Library Calculator out of the virtual world and bring it to the breakfast table.

The artwork [pdf] on the back of their cereal box looks great*, and it certainly gets the point across (I think the “get rich” angle is odd, but I guess that’s marketing). It seems fairly intuitive, lists useful facts, and also includes a nice library-related quote from Barack Obama.

Check out the ALA’s webpage, the box itself [pdf], and if there’s a store near you that carries Safeway cereal, look for it. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be any in New England.

Hi. What’s Elvira doing now? Is she dead?

The control I have over my laugh-response sometimes astounds me.

I really had no idea, and neither of us knew her real name, so the first stop was an Internet Movie Database search for Elvira. There we learned her real name is Cassandra Peterson, which I then looked up on WhosAliveAndWhosDead.com to see if she was still alive. Happily, she is.

To find out what she’s doing now, I started with a general Google search for elvira 2009, which, among other interesting websites, led to Elvira.com - What’s New?. Not surprisingly, she’s a busy woman this time of year - multiple appearances in New Jersey this weekend, as well as being a special guest on this week’s Medium.

The patron was hoping she was hosting (hostessing?) some kind of spooky movie marathon this weekend, but I couldn’t find anything. He asked how far away New Jersey was, and after I told him, he said he doesn’t have a car and would have to walk, so he’s not going to go. He just wanted to know.

But his parting words were positive:

At least she’s not dead, so maybe she’ll show some movies next year.

Hope springs eternal. Happy Halloween.

Massachusetts Open Source Project
Information Session - 10/29/09

The Open Source Task Force consists of three MA networks (and MBLC) looking to cooperatively move to an open source library system. The key personnel of this task for so far are:

• NOBLE: Ron Gagnon, Elizabeth Thomsen, Mark Martha Driscoll
• C/W MARS: Joan Klakinski Kuklinski
• MVLC: Jason Stephenson, Tracy Swaim, Larry Rungren
• MBLC: Paul Kissman

Why even look at an Open Source Library System (OSLS)?

Open source software is free. However, like “free kittens,” there’s still the ongoing maintenance costs (which is true whether you paid for the kittens or got them free). Free = freedom to:

• download - you want it, you got it
• view - (seeing the source code is huge) everyone can see exactly what’s happening, and nothing is hidden
• share - have as many copies as you need (no registrations or license fees)
• modify - the code can be edited (but do you know what you’re doing?)
• you also get more freedom in support options - you can support it yourself, or contract out with numerous companies, or rely on the user community for help. This is great because you’re not locked into one provider

Open source has a participatory culture - people want to develop and share their improvements to make the system better, not to make money (people can charge for support services, not the software). The online community of the internet makes this possible, and so does “versioning software” (keeps track of what version you have, what’s new, and whether or not you need to upgrade).

Open source communities are generally self-defined - you make yourself a member by showing up, participating, and contributing:

• software development
• bug fixes
• testing (looking for bugs)
• documentation and training materials (tech and style/design skills needed)
• spreading the word
• discussion of the software, both official and unofficial (no artificial proprietary limits on what you can say where)

This is messy, yes?

• tight controls protect the core code (you can edit your own version, but changes to the general software get reviewed and approved to be included in the next release)
• Release managers review and decide what changes will go into each new release of the core code
• Committers are developers with the ability to add (commit) new code to the core
• these positions must be earned by contributing and participating

Fear of Forking - forks are separate, increasingly incompatible versions of the software

• although it’s possible to customize your own software, as soon as you change it, you’re unique and the community is less helpful (because their core software is different than yours)
• there is pressure to work within the community - there are guidelines for discussing and submitting changes
• but when one group funds development, everyone benefits from that investment

Who uses OS?

• everyone (at least indirectly) - Amazon, Google, US Navy, Gov. of Canada, Ticketmaster, Firefox, ebay, Open Office
• many companies and organizations run a combination of proprietary and OS, and contribute back to the OS community

Vision for the MA Open Source Project

Wouldn’t it be great if all networks in MA were on the same ILS? This would allow

• collaborative staff training, patron ease of use, financial cost sharing
• leveraging state and local resources during this time of statewide budget problems. Instead of sending money out of state (to vendors), keep it in-state by providing jobs for support and development

Why now?
We are all frustrated with traditional vendors. Despite this, well over $500,000 goes out of state each year for systems that do not meet our needs. Open source software has proven itself as a successful business model (see above partial list of open source software, and the companies that rely on it). Also, open source library systems have proven themselves to be stable and practical (namely, Koha and Evergreen).

What are the advantages of adopting open source software now?

• we can engage end users in design and testing
• we will have control over development and can establish our own priorities
• collaborative development and support will reduce overall costs
• the openness of open source means we can adopt a transparent development process
• the openness also avoids locking us in to one vendor (multiple support companies out there)
• we’re not “buying blind” - staff can kick the tires and evaluate all aspects of each system before we choose (all three networks have downloaded Evergreen and Koha and played and tested - don’t need to take salesmen at their word on how the system works)

Creating the system we want

The task force reviewed existing ILS’ and determined that no proprietary system meets our needs - they are all very expensive, very slow in development, falling behind patron expectations, and there are concerns about corporate stability (Horizon got cancelled, Sirsi is being sued).

Libraries in Georgia created Evergreen 4 years ago, because all vendors fell short after a comprehensive review. Instead of developing a new system for Massachusetts, we adopted Georgia’s system and invited all 9 MA networks to participate. C/W MARS, MVLC and NOBLE opted in.

These networks were awarded a $412,000 LSTA grant from MBLC to Investigate, Select, Develop and Implement an open source library system to replace the current systems.

Investigate

• review current state of each network
• brought in both LibLime (Koha) and Equinox (Evergreen) for demos
• did lots of independent research and local testing (since a traditional RFP wouldn’t suffice)
• talked to actual users of both systems

Selection - Decision Criteria

• Multiness: (”have it your way”) ability to support multiple sets of circulation parameters and network transfer rules
• Scalability: how well can the system handle the load of many large libraries and networks
• Extendibility: ability to play nice with other software libraries rely on (self-check machines, time limit and print management software, museum pass software, etc). Also, how well can the system be customized to meet our needs?
• Current customer base: are the current users like Massachusetts networks? Evergreen came out ahead in this criteria - Koha user seemed to use one set of rules for all systems

Based on these criteria, the Task Force recommended Evergreen as better suited as a consortia system

A lot of data came from Marshall Breeding’s librarytechnology.org - some stats:

• Koha: developed in 1999 in NZ for small libraries with limited telecom capacity
• Evergreen: developed in 2006 in GA for 252 libraries
• Evergreen customers are more like us (MVLC has fewest bibliographic records of the three systems, but more than the biggest Koha customer)
• Of Liblime customers, 28 have migrated away from LibLime, but 21 still use Koha and 7 moved to Evergreen
• 0 libraries have migrated away from Evergreen

Similarities

• Both systems run on Linux, Apache (my)SQL, Perl
• Both have mature circulation and cataloging
• Both have immature serials and acquisitions

Evergreen

• flexible hierarchy, allows for different levels of library structure (library, branch, system, network, consortia)
• Rule and parameters are associated with hierarchy (can apply to different levels)
• Cluster-friendly architecture - allows for load-balancing throughout entire network

Koha

• Separate loan rules for each branch
• Most other settings are single system-wide (funds, notice templates, calendar [days open/closed], borrower mandatory fields, ceiling due date)
• Hierarchy structure coming in v3.2 - but a lot of this is in the form of “yes, it will be able to do that” but no one has seen it yet

Evergreen is the winner for us

• Unanimously selected by three networks
• Can provide scalability and meet the complexity required by our networks
• released under the GPL - designed to spread beyond Georgia
• designed from the ground up to support and scale to a state-wide library consortium
• Customer list most resembles our networks
• The developers asked the right questions: “is the data driving the procedure or is the procedure driving the data?”
• Developers worked with front-line library staff to develop all aspects of software

Where do we go from here?

MassLNC (MA library network cooperative) created by administrators of the 3 networks to drive this project - http://masslinc.cwmars.org

In the First Year:

• Hold information sessions on open source and this project
• Get network approval of Task Force recommendation by Boards of each network
• Hire a Project Coordinator (job listing)
  • will take the load of network staff
  • will work closely with networks to guide the project moving forward so that systems are as similar as possible
  • will review development options
  • be point of contact between networks and vendors
• Track development of ILS software
  • library systems on/moving to Evergreen:
    • Indiana Evergreen
    • Sitka in British Columbia
    • Michigan Evergreen
    • King County Library System in WA
    • Bibliomation in CT
  • Using Koha:
    • MassCat
    • SCLS (WI)
    • WALDO (NY)
• Draw up development requirements via user involvement
  • establish functional requirements, which will be compared to what the system can do
  • there will be an online database of potential features - OpenRFP, but not quite ready
  • committees within networks will evaluate current Evergreen modules and suggest improvements or modifications
  • survey patrons to get their input, to rank what is important to them (placing holds on all items at a time, or social tagging, etc.)
• Develop helpdesk and intranet support infrastructure and procedures
• Develop database migration tools and procedures
• Beginning of development - can hire support vendor (Equinox [spin off from PINES], Alpha-G in Utah (lots of former Sirsi staff), local developers, train/hire network staff, work with other Evergreen users on joint projects)

Second Year

• Continue development
• Staff training
• Data migration of first network (likely MVLC) - spring/summer of 2011
• Migrate other two networks afterwards

The Future

• Get more MA networks involved
• Creation of statewide support organization

Closing thoughts

We will be the “owner” of our system, not a “renter.” We won’t have a landlord to rely on, we’ll make our own decisions on our schedule, depending on resources - but with more control comes more responsibility. Think of open source as buying a fixer-upper - sound underneath, and we can customize the surface.

• Cost savings will be in
  • not having vendor contracts
  • running system over internet, instead of dedicated telecommunication systems
• Disadvantage/caveat
  • OS won’t solve every problem we have
  • We’ll still have policy issues, but we will have more control over implementing our resolutions

Questions and Answers

How do we develop modules if we can’t change the core code?
-We’ll play by the rules of module submissions, and we don’t currently have plans for radical changes. And we plan on working with other major customers

Based on research, what are the function that are ready to go, and which need more development?
-Basic modules are in a pretty good place. Acquisitions and serials are in development. The two areas of most concern are workflow issue with the circ client (we’d prefer it as a browser) and the “curb appeal” of the opac - King County is also focusing on these two modules. Also, we need to make sure it works with 3rd party software and Virtual Catalog

Evergreen works across the internet - are we susceptible to downtime and attacks?
-We have more problems now with dedicated circuits than internet connection. As for attacks, Evergreen won’t make anything different - firewalls will still protect us like we do now, using SSL encryption between servers

From individual libraries point of view, does PC requirements change?
-As long as it runs a web browser, you won’t need upgrades

Updated info on how King County migration went?
-They’re still in the thought process. They got a $1M grant, but haven’t really started development. They’re just a little ahead of us.

Have any Evergreen libraries migrated from Horizon or III?
-Yes, and this information is readily available (unlike with proprietary vendors). No migration is flawless, but the system that gives the most problem has been from Koha. Lots of Alpha G employees are former Sirsi employees, so they are familiar with our systems. Evergreen also has a development roadmap, to show where they plan to be in the coming years and beyond.

On the timeline, Spring/Summer 2011 is the first network - when are the next? And how does this affect the network fee structure?
-Depends on how well the first migration goes.
-Initially, it won’t affect fee structure at all - they should stay the same until things stabilize, and then will likely decrease when the support system has been established. In the short run, maintenance dollars will go towards development, and then shifted back to support.

Will it require additional tech support within individual libraries?
-Probably not, in fact perhaps less

Will these presentations be online, with links to what Evergreen looks like?
-It will be available on the MVLC wiki, everything will be on the MassLNC website. An Evergreen demo is also available on their website.

Since Georgia did this, has there been research into what other states have done as far as statewide proprietary systems?
-The shortcomings of proprietary systems are pretty much the same across all vendors, and the biggest shortcoming is in “multiness” - the number of sets of rules you can use. The only system that could have met this criteria was Horizon 8, which was cancelled and now Sirsi is being sued because their resulting product is technologically inferior to the Horizon 8 specs.

Can you talk more about the development of the Acquisitions module?
-It is one of the modules in the later stages of developments, and has a lot of activity. We can mirror the good features of other systems, like Overdrive’s automatic purchasing when hold/copy ratio reaches a certain level. We and King County plan on doing a lot of work on this.

What are the downsides of OS, and is anyone considering leaving Evergreen and why and how easy is it to transition away from Evergreen?
-It is a relatively new system, so it’s not fully mature in all areas. It’s a different involvement model, and change is always tough, especially when it required a complete rethink. It will require more involvement from us. An anti-downside is that we won’t have to bend our policies to fit the system anymore (as much). Two people are thinking of moving from Evergreen to Koha because they are single libraries and Evergreen is more complicated than they need, but since it’s all open source and standard formats, migrating shouldn’t be a problem.

Is each network voting in November and is that all we need for a green light?
-Yes

When you spoke to other libraries, how did they negotiate what developments they wanted and got - how did they set priorities for development?
-Evergreen has a document for the process for an enhancement, that gives guidelines for how much work is involved, how long certain changes take, etc.

Why didn’t the other six networks want to join in now?
-Minuteman is taking on major RFID project and so it’s not the right time to switch vendors. Others are happy with their current systems than the three of us are. One network has a homegrown system and is skeptical of OS. Many didn’t want to be the first to do it, so are waiting to see how it goes for us - especially in the areas of staff reconfigurations and cost savings. Other networks don’t have the same economic pressures, so can sustain their system for a few more years, because their systems are little newer than the OS3’s networks. One network just launched a new opac to address curb appeal.

Do you get the impression that we’ll have a lot of influence since we’re three networks working together?
-we’ll be better off working together because we’ll have more funding, but it’s also why we’re trying to work with Bibliomation, King County, and whoever else we can. We’re also trying to talk up developments now, so they might be ready by the time we come online.

What does the new cluster of networks look like?
-roughly half public libraries in the state

Question for attendees: What do people want to see?
-non-cludgyness
-better opac (less embarrassing)
-happy that the focus in on the patron
-staff-time saving features (but staff can be trained to do workarounds)
-getting the whole state together for better resource sharing and interlibrary loan
-a system that doesn’t slow down during peak times

UPDATE 11/5/09: There’s a great summary of the project so far in the Nov09 issue of the MVLC Connections newsletter [pdf] - it includes more stats that I wasn’t able to get while I was typing during the session.

Are the two mutually-exclusive? This is all just rhetorical thinking on my part, but two interactions this month brought this dichotomy to light and got me thinking about it.

Situation 1
In my library, patrons are allowed to use a computer for one hour (or longer if no one is waiting). A patron came in to complain to the Director that our computers are full all the time, which makes it hard for him to use one. His complaint is that often, he sees kids playing games or checking Facebook for hours at a time, and he is frustrated because he wants to spend half the day looking for a job.

Situation 2
A patron who does a lot of historical research asked if we could digitize our collection of Town Annual Reports - and not just scan them, but OCR them so the text is searchable. That is, of course, a huge project, and we are in the process of indexing all historical town records, but due to limited resources, we’re not going to get to the annual reports any time soon. She got agitated when I explained this, and told me “the Library is here to serve the residents of Chelmsford, and I AM CHELMSFORD.”

Answers?
So, what is a librarian to do? In the first situation, the bottom line was that the patron wanted us to stop other patrons from using computers for hours at a time so that he could use a computer for hours at a time. In the second, the patron wanted us to scrap our project timeline for improving access to all Town records for all patrons so we could focus on the records she wanted.

The problem seems to stem from point of view. The library’s point of view is to serve all patrons equally, as faceless members of the community. The patrons’ point of view is that they want whatever subset of our service they’re interested in right now, without consideration to how that impacts other patrons.

Situation 1 - Fail/Win?
On the surface, perhaps looking for a job is more important than playing games or chatting with friends - but should it be up to the library to make that call? If someone “checks out” a library resource, be it by taking home a book or by using one of our computers, they are pretty much entitled to use it for whatever they want, so long as they don’t damage it.

This means that if someone checks out a book and uses it for the three-week loan period to prop up a broken table leg, they are entitled to do that. Similarly, if someone spends their hour on the computer playing games, that is their business. Libraries make information and resources available, not police how patrons put them to use. But to the first patron, us not kicking someone off a computer so he could (ironically) do the same thing they were doing is not providing good service.

Situation 2 - Fail/Win?
When the second patron said that “She is Chelmsford,” my first response (which I managed to keep to myself) was, “yes, and so are 32,000 other people.” We have to make decisions that best serve the community, and with a project like this, we’re thinking long-term. We just don’t have the resources to do what she wants.

But instead of doing nothing, we’re doing what we can, and eventually we’ll be able to digitize the records she wants. This project will not only improve access to our collection overall, but will also help to preserve it for future generations. Put like that, we’re serving the community - but from her point of view, we’re totally failing to serve her needs.

I know it’s always a balancing act, but it’s tough to tell a patron they are no more important than every other patron - that seems like the opposite of good customer service.

Shortly after we opened, someone walked up to the desk said he saw some Flags at half-mast, and asked why the Library’s Flag wasn’t. No one on staff knew, so I went online looking for some kind of government Flag-flying website. I found all kinds of useful resources.

I didn’t find any government proclamation lowering the Flag that day, but I did find a few half-mast calendars, as well as many flag companies that offer email notification reminders of when to lower the Flag:

Flag Flying Calendars & Notifications

• http://halfstaff.org
• http://www.flagsexpress.com/half_staff/half_staff2.html
• http://www.aflag.com
• http://www.gettysburgflag.com/NewsletterOptInOut.php

It was also interesting (to me) to read about when the Flag could be flown at half-mast. Lots of pages offered general information, including the Flag Code:

General Flag Information

• Flag Code: US House of Representatives - American Legion - Cornell Law School - USHistory.org
• Our Flag [pdf] - 56 page pdf handbook on Our Flag and well as state/territory flags and the Great Seal
• Our Flag - Federal Citizen Information Center (same information as above, but as html and with fewer pictures)
• USFlag.org
• Wikipedia’s article on the Flag

However, none of this answered my question about why some Flags in town had been lowered and some hadn’t. I called the Town Manager’s office, to see if they knew of (or had issued) a proclamation, but they were as puzzled as I.

So I called the Fire Department, since it was Fire Station Flags I had seen lowered. The person I spoke with there said the Stations lowered their Flags because a former Fire Chief had died, and they were honoring him.

Okay, so that answers that question. I’m not sure this is permitted under the Flag Code, but I wasn’t going to push it. In researching this, I did learn that it was okay to put a black ribbon on a Flag to mourn someone’s death (or when a fixed Flag can’t be lowered), which I hadn’t known.

And being the person I am, my favorite finds of the day were Flag Code Violations in the News and American Flag Wall of Shame, which detail prominent gaffs of people who really should have known better.

Among those that didn’t make the cut was Night of a Thousand Boyfriends - a choose-your-own-adventure book about dating. Ha. I loved those books when I was growing up, and thought one about dating was a funny idea.

I flipped through it, curious how “far” a YA book would go, and got quite a surprise. Here are some excerpts:

• If you take the Ecstasy, turn to page 23.
• If you decline the offer, turn to page 72.

and

• If you suggest things are moving a little too fast anyway, turn to page 88.
• If you insist that Brian run to the drug store for protection, turn to page 67.
• If you throw caution to the wind and unfasten his belt, turn to page 39.

I’m sure teens have to make choices like this, but we both were amazed this made it into the YA collection.

Beyond that, this book was just bizarre - which is to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book is about dating, so many of the paths involved going to clubs or bars, drinking, and going home with strangers. But some of the endings resulted in passing out, lesbian sex, kidnapping, internet porn, marriage, pregnancy - and being the Queen of Neptune.

So if you’re looking for a book for a book club, Night of a Thousand Boyfriends by Miranda Clarke will certainly provide plenty topics of discussion.

Since that is no longer possible, I thought I’d offer them here. I have 40 of them, so the first 40 people to email me will get them - free, but you will need to send me an stamped return envelope (I’ll email you back with more details).

My cousin and graphic artist Tom created the artwork (thank you again), and CafePress did the printing. I put the same artwork on shirts, too, but haven’t seen how those look - maybe I’ll get one for myself for Christmas.

And speaking of gift ideas, here’s a few other Swiss Army-related products I’ve had kicking around in my bookmarks folder for awhile:

• T-shirts:
  • “Anger is the Swiss Army knife of Emotions”
  • WWMD?
  • The Geek Army knife
  • “Yes Kids, I’m A Toy”
  • Swiss Army Knives
• Swiss Chocolate Knife (this website also has a cool “image zoom” feature)
• Swiss Writing Knife for inspiration
• Swiss Army Knife costume (this definitely qualifies as “tool”)
• Jedi Swiss Army Knife
• Miss Army Knife (better than a purse)
• Uber-Shades (everything you need when you’re tooling around town)
• Left-handed Swiss Army Knife
• And remember that giant Swiss Army knife?

And just because I thought it was funny, here too is a Swiss Army Knife FAIL comic:

*This is also the week of NELA09, which I attended and blogged Sunday and Monday. Yay for library conferences.

The Seattle Public Library has a regular feature on the website of a local paper, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It’s titled Shelf Talk, and in addition to general library content, it also features interesting reference questions (and their answers).

I think it’s a great idea for libraries to have regular columns in the paper, in addition to events listings. It’s not only entertaining and informative, but also promotes the library’s reference service, subtly reminding people they can get help with tough questions at the library. And not surprisingly, Seattle is doing an excellent job of it.

via LISNews