Many public libraries are using arduinos, makey makeys, raspberry pis, littleBits, Scratch software and so much more to educate and explore with children all the way through adults. Public libraries like Skokie Public Library and the Chicago Public Library as well as my own library, Vernon Area Public Library District, in the Chicagoland area alone are all exploring open source software with technology. Want to make a banana piano? Purchase a relatively inexpensive kit through Makey Makey and check out their free apps or work with free Scratch software to come up with your own invention. Want to learn how to program code and work with a breadboard? Purchase a relatively inexpensive arduino, which is the hardware, and use their open source software to make it do something interactive.

But Shapiro is right, more public libraries need to make use of open source technology because in the end we can benefit not just by increasing our relevance as a source for digital literacy, but also save quite a lot of money in the long run as an institution. Charlie Reisinger, an innovative IT Director for Penn Manor school district in Lancaster County, discusses some of the incredible things his juniors and seniors are doing in a TED talk. His students are literally writing the code for an operating system that is run for the entire high school and used by all students and teachers.

Open source software allows the public to learn about innovation and invention, and collaboration, so that they are no longer “technology tourists” but have the control and confidence to be a part of this community as well.  One of the most interesting elements of this is that open source is actually more secure and stable than proprietary software or “closed” software because more people are looking at the code and constantly making it better, more reliable, and more productive. Whereas proprietary software can only be manipulated by the original “authors” of the code, open source allows for not only improvement but also the expectation that the code will continue to be shared by everyone. If the original authors no longer work with the code, the software will still be out there and available for public use.

Reisinger discusses how free and open source software is a “philosophy of free living.” It’s a way to study and review code, to modify it and give software control to the public, to the community, and to schools as well as public libraries. There are no costly computer programs where the “building blocks for coding are literally locked under glass.” (14) Public libraries are empowering their patrons in so many ways, why not also empower the institution itself? Something to think about.

Link to source article:  https://opensource.com/life/16/9/public-library-open-source

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With the Toronto Public Library in the middle of developing a new strategic plan, the staff decided to theme their hackathon by posing this question to participants: “How can the library make our communities more resilient, more knowledgeable, more connected and more successful?” The library provided data sets to participants, including statistics on circulation, programs, and attendance, top ten books borrowed by format and type, real time online catalog searches, and demographic information from the City of Toronto.  The participants chose the data they were most interested in to create their project. Because of the limited time that teams had to work on their projects, the focus of the event was more on ideas and concepts rather than working prototypes, though some projects did make it to that stage.

On Sunday, each team gave a three-minute presentation on their project and winners were chosen. The Best Idea winner, Sacha Chua, wrote a script allowing the library’s holdings to be visualized on a map.  Patrons can see which branches have the most items in a specific category, like foreign language material, and can also see that if their closest branch may not have many items of interest, a branch a few blocks away may have a better collection. “She got the library. She really used the data sets, and she presented the idea in a concise, compelling way,” said Ab Velasco, TPL’s Project Leader, Digital Innovation.  Sacha’s presentation and those of the other groups are available on the Toronto Public Library website.

The Best Idea and Awesome Team winners were presented with 3D-printed trophies, and other winners received weirder prizes.  One participant spent the day cleaning up a library data set to make it easier to use in the future and was given the “Scrubber Award” and a dish-sponge trophy.  The youngest participant received the “Lion Courage Award” and a stuffed lion.

Although the focus of the weekend was on concepts, some of those concepts may become reality.  Velasco said that a few of the hackathon ideas matched ideas already in progress and that the participants and staff will have discussions on implementation; other new ideas will go to library supervisors to see if they can be made into full-fledged library projects.  “It will be wonderful to continue the dialogue with our community,” Velasco said.

Preparation for the event included collecting the relevant data sets, creating a dedicated Wi-Fi network for hackathon participants with increased bandwidth, and, of course, getting the participants to come.  The Toronto Public Library worked with the City of Toronto and the Open Data Institute based in the city to advertise the event, recruiting people with a range of computer literacy from “first time hackers to pros,” Velasco said.

Nearly sixty people aged twelve to seventy-five participated in the hackathon, and even more potential participants were put on a wait list.  Because of the success of this first program, the library plans to host another hackathon next year with a new focus and brand-new ideas to consider.

Sources:

Velasco, Ab. “Great Ideas and Teamwork Displayed at Inaugural TPL Hackathon.” Toronto Public Library. November 28, 2015. http://www.tpl.ca/hackathon. Accessed December 15, 2015.

Velasco, Ab. Interview by Alison McCarty.. December 9, 2015.

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Open source literacy is a piece of digital literacy that is often given scant regard, if any at all.  Yet, when training community members on how to use Word and other Microsoft offerings, do you know if they will have access to these resources when they go home?  Open Office  and LibreOffice both offer powerful, free word processors (spreadsheets, etc.), but also a community that develops a wiki that can walk users through many questions of functionality.  I do not wish to imply that these solutions should be used instead of Microsoft, but instead that we need to know what our community actually needs and then respond appropriately.  Many libraries use Firefox, but do not necessarily point out that it is an open source application to their members.  Perhaps even acknowledging this would help disperse the myth that open source software is completely foreign.

Open source software also offers the opportunity for cost-saving measures within the library.  Many library websites are built around WordPress or Drupal, while few know the complete functionality of these resources, libraries, and users in general, have been able to create what they want with a relatively low learning curve.  Integrated library systems such as Koha, Evergreen and Greenstone require more programming knowledge.  Understanding whether they can be incorporated with the current staff, or if they will require paid expertise that will be in excess of a commercial solution is a question each library must consider within its own context.  I am not insinuating that we should move exclusively towards open source resources, but in conversations with vendors it is important that as consumers we understand what our options are.

A more recent development in open source is open source hardware.  At Computers in Libraries 2013, Jason Griffey presented on this trend, highlighting Arduino, a platform that can be used for a variety of educational and technical interfaces, and Raspberry Pi, a computer the size of a credit card running a fully operational Linux machine.  I have written a blog focused exclusively on open source hardware for InfoSpace at Syracuse University if readers are interested in more details about this.

More generally, I learned at this same presentation the extent of material that was already freely available and ready for download at sites such as Source Forge and GitHub.  While open source is a participatory activity, there is a wealth of material available for free download and to be modded to fit an institutions individual needs.  As budgets for libraries in many communities continue to be slashed, we cannot ignore the potential for open source, because it seems inaccessible.  Instead, we must, where possible, enhance its profile, and implement it where it is the cheapest best solution for our community.  The collaborative possibilities for libraries and open source programmers are great if we are willing to make their materials part of our strategic goal.  If we succeed we may see greater offerings for our communities at discounted rates, or at least a more equitable rapport with our vendors.  If we fail, we may find it impossible to afford to remain technologically relevant to our communities.  I cannot stress enough that open source is not a panacea, but we ignore its potential at our own peril.

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