Event: A Peek Inside Open Source Communities: An Open Panel Discussion
Time: Wednesday, February 21, 2018 at 11:00AM EST / 1600 GMT
Register Here

Libraries and open source software share a common thread — a desire to work together to solve problems that organizations can’t solve by themselves. For libraries this means shared cataloging records, cooperative reference, consortia and interlibrary loan agreements, and regional book depositories. In open source software, organizations work together on discovery layers, integrated library systems, and digital archives.

Cooperation cannot be assumed however. Conflicting goals, uneven institutional support, and challenges communicating across distances can hinder any project. How do open source projects move past these issues?

In this moderated panel discussion, participants from open source projects address these questions:

How does the project scale in an organized manner?
How do participants provide input, help define requirements or contribute code?
How do features get prioritized and by whom?

Panelists will offer experiences from their communities and participants will be able to ask questions about how open source software is developed across this broad set of communities.Participants will come away from the session with knowledge about how open source projects work and how they can get involved in a project’s goals and outcomes.

Host: Peter Murray, Index Data

Panelists:

• Paula Sullenger: Associate Dean for Information Resources Services, Texas A&M University
• Evviva Weinraub: Associate University Librarian for Digital Strategies, Northwestern University
• Rosalyn Metz: Director, Library Technology and Digital Strategies
• Kathy Lussier: Project Coordinator, Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative

Please use the hashtag #FOLIOforum on social media for these events.

The Open Library Community Forum is sponsored by OLE (Open Library Environment) and is governed by the OLE Code of Conduct.

A recording of this Forum will be made available on the OLE website.