WebJunction

Is Open Source software a panacea or just an empty promise? While Open Source has its pros and cons (as even its firmest supporters will admit), there is enough of interest to our community that we felt it worthwhile to provide you with a suite of investigative tools.

Reports from the Field
Firsthand accounts from the front lines:

• New Zealand Leads the Way: the Horowhenua Open Source Story
• by Rosalie Blake, Head of Libraries, and Rachel Hamilton-Williams, Manager, Katipo Communications
• Open Source Software in the Meadville Public Library
• by Cindy Murdock, Network Administrator
• Nelsonville Public Library: Questions and Answers About Open Source
• by Stephen Hedges, Director
• A Public/Academic Open Source Partnership: the Windsor Internet Booking System
• by Art Rhyno of the University of Windsor

WebJunction Articles on Open Source
Technical overviews and concepts to consider:

• What is Open Source Software?  by the Gates Foundation's Ed Sargent
• Open Source Application Primer   by Eric Lease Morgan
• Open Source Library Systems: Getting Started  by Dan Chudnov of the oss4lib listserv

Discussions
You can join in today with the All Aboard discussions about Open Source. Lively discussions are taking place in the Public Access Policies and Practices forum and in the Software forum.

More Resources
WebJunction's Open Source page has more articles and links to additional resources.