Theme Focus: Open Source

The key projects with an interest in open source are as follows:
- #OSSVIAB: Project to produce a detailed evaluation of functionality to UK Core Specifications requirements of the open source library system, Evergreen. [project blog]
- #BLATHULL: Case study examining the implementation of the open source Blacklight discovery interface system over the library catalogue at the University of Hull. [project blog]
- #JANGLEFB: Create API connectors (via the OSS Jangle framework) between the Sirsi Dynix library management system and Facebook [project blog]
- #CREDAUL: Project to select and implement an Open Source next generation resource discovery tool (http://vufind.org/) to contain all the records of Sussex and Brighton Universities. [project blog]
- #VUFINDKEVEN: project implementing a re-skinned VuFind interface for the Kent University library catalogue. [project blog]

There's an associated JISC/SCONUL event happening early next year which you might want to attend if you have an interest in open source and academic libraries. It's a 2-day event which is taking place in Edinburgh from Tuesday 25th January to Wednesday 26th January 2011 as part of Mashed Libraries:
- More information about the 'Haggis & Mash' event
- The registration page for the event

Tabbloid #11: 10 Dec 2010

Open publication - Free publishing - More lmsmash

Last week's Tabbloid proves that big announcements come in small packages:
- the #ENCLAVELMS project announced that the code for their wordcloud software has been uploaded to sourceforge and are inviting suggestions for how it can be enhanced.
- the #OSSVIAB project shared news that version 3 of the United Kingdom Core Specification has been made available under a Creative Commons licence.

Tabbloid also picked up an interesting post from the UX2.0 project at Edinburgh University which reported on a number of university libraries (in the UK and further afield) which are offering services via mobile devices

Tabbloid #10: 3 Dec 2010

Open publication - Free publishing - More lmsmash

The main contributors last week were the #OSSVIAB project team at Swansea University with two substantial blogposts:
1) publication of the project team's scoring of Evergreen against the UKCS (United Kingdom Core Specification) functional requirements for LMS document.
2) a 'coming to the end of our project' post which reflects on the limitations of the UKCS as a standard to evaluate LMS against, and also on how well Evergreen has stood up against their scrutinising. It looks like there is a bit of a chicken and egg issue regarding a lack of functionality to fit the UK model of inter-library loans. The post also echoes the sentiments of other JISC LMS projects around continuing to share their thinking and progress after the official end of the project has passed by.