[Discuss] Mass. libraries switching to FOSS

[Nilanjan Palit]

Came across this article: http://www.thedailyshrewsbury.com/news/cw-mars-library-software-upgrade-pushed-feb From the article: "The new software, known as "Evergreen," is an open-source library system first adopted by the Georgia Public Library System. It is currently being used by approximately 800 libraries. C/W Mars is making the switch to avoid paying to update proprietary software, and also to improve user experience, according to Northborough Public Library Director Jean Langley."  BTW, 'C/W' stands for Central/Western Mass libraries, which is quite a large network spanning communities in several Mass. counties. It's really encouraging to see that local public governments and services see the benefit and opportunities in FOSS since it frees up funds for other items that are more valuable to the end-user. And also good to see that the federal government sees FOSS benefits as well, since this initiative is funded "thanks to a $412,000 federal grant, of which a large part was meant for software development. Two other library networks—the North of Boston Library Exchange (NOBLE) and the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium (MVLC) - also received grant money for similar upgrades. MVLC made the switch in May 2011, while NOBLE is expected to change sometime around Memorial Day this year". -Nilanjan