Open Source CD Lending For Public Libraries?

phatlipmojo writes "Bob Kerr has taken what might well be an important step in getting open source software to the masses: donating CDs to public libraries for lending. It's a simple idea, but fraught with complications; indeed, at first, he couldn't give the CDs away to the wary libraries. Mr. Kerr dealt with the complications admirably, and has had a great deal of success getting open source CDs into lending libraries around his home country, as Mr. Kerr's howto PDF and this NewsForge article detail. What kinds of suggestions would Slashdotters make in addition to Mr. Kerr's to help make open source software on public library shelves a widespread reality?"

A good plan.

Hmm...

This could do well in association with a local User Group of some sort, methinks.

Getting a bunch of people together to organize the CD labeling, DVD-cases instead of jewel cases, etc could help spread the cost and work around, as well as creating a perfect "next step" for the people checking out the software - a user group basically waiting for them.

I especially like the quote: Forcing anyone to do something they don't want to do just breeds resentment.

Re:A good plan.

OSS, the next AOL. :\

BYOCD

I suggest to Mr. Kerr, that he consider BYOCD (bring your own CD). Users could burn their own cdroms from a plethora of projects that meet a particular library criteria, for quality and safety.

It might be smart for libraries to offer two methods for achieving this:

1) Library burns cds on demand for a small fee.
2) Users burn cds themselves.

Having actual cdroms on a shelf for people to "check out", as it were, is likely a bad idea for a number of reasons. The large volume of cds occupying shelves would be a copy of the old library system, so it would likely be their default method, but it's incorrect, imho; it's a waste of space; it goes against the mighty electronic way. Burning on demand is the way to go because the open source community could ensure that the most recent versions of software are available, and that fresh new content would flow into libraries everywhere, rather than fill up shelves until the place has no more room.

Stop gaps could be issued at the base system, to prevent abuse, and this would be much easier if the product was electronic.

Re:BYOCD

Good idea. Provide a Linux-based machine with CD copying disabled, but with the ability to burn any of a number of on-disk ISO images. Stuff like KNOPPIX and Debian and the Gutenburg project. And anything else organizations feel like providing.

You'd have to disable copying because the music and video industry wouldn't stand for it. They'll still send C&D letters even without copying enabled, but it would be easy to prove their worries groundless.

Re:BYOCD

You'd have to disable copying

Photocopiers are available in most libraries, yet this doesn't seem to have created a huge problem with "piracy" of books.

Sure, there are warning posters above them telling people not to violate copyright; if this suffices for printed books and magazines, then why not for CD and DVD materials as well?

My support of Linux has left me with old distributions that I would love to donate to my local library. Probably I ought to do newbies a favor and only donate the newest releases instead of that old RedHat 4.2.

Re:BYOCD

You can't really be that dense, can you? To photocopy a book, at an average of 250 pages by $0.10 per page and 5 seconds to copy a page, you're looking at $25 and 20 minutes. You could go out and buy your own copy of most books for that price, and even if you choose to still copy the book you'll have a loose pile of paper with a good possibility of some unreadable portions due to the copier, not a bound and printed copy of the book.

You're assuming that the book is available somewhere for a reasonable price. Sure, no one is going to copy a paperback of the latest Danielle Steele novel, but I've copied several scientific texts that were hard to get or out-of-print. It's basically how I got through graduate thermodynamics. For one old, fairly obscure book that my graduate advisor needed, he asked me to check it out of the library for him, "lose" it, and pay the fine so we could have a copy for the lab. This went against my sense of fair play, so I popped down to Kinko's, dupped it, bound it, and now everyone wins.

The problem with the whole digital revolution is that it allows us to do things on a scale simply never possible before. Sure, it was technically illegal to dub tapes and give them to your friends, or to photocopy a recipe and send it to your mother, but it would never be worth prosecuting simply because of the difficulty in finding people, and the cost of prosecution for such a small return.

Re:BYOCD

<USING=CLOAK OF ANONYMITY> Now, as anonymous coward... </USING>

I think your cloak came from the guy who makes clothes for the emperor.

Re:BYOCD

I'd like to see burn-on-demand CDs for free books [gutenberg.net], and sheet music [gutenberg.net] such as those from Project Gutenberg as well.

This could be a great distribution channel for indie bands distributing legal free music as well.

A nice piece of work...

...he even provides a sample CD cover insert (on the next-to-last page of the PDF file).

Major props to him for taking the time to write up his experiences - both the successful moves and not-so-successful ones as well.

CD Checksum when returning...

...just to make sure what went out is what came back in. :-)

(Admittedly I have not yet read the article he may well have covered this.)

This is the way to go

I've borrowed CD's (both audio and data) and DVD's from the local library and about 50% of them have bad scratches on them.

Burning your own at the library would be the way to go.

Love it.

I just love this idea. I can just imagine the thrill I would have had a teenager back in the late 70's to be able to go down to the library and "check out" an operating system, install it, and return it the following day. Perhaps I'm simply nostalgically emoting, but this seems like a nice idea to increase the grass roots of open source generally.

Plans nearly complete

I guess it's time to add some trojans to CD's and give them to the library.

CD Lending?

How about just making a copy for 10 cents and giving it to people instead?

Linux on Demand Kiosk w/ CD burner

A project for your local Linux group: Take an old machine with a burner and donate a Linux kiosk to the library. Install enough hard drive space to hold ISOs of recent versions of the most popular distros. Make an intuitive menu for selecting a distribution to burn and then just have the user insert CDs after that. The library could sell blank CDs or users could bring their own..

Good plan

This is a good idea. Especially if the library has broadband internet access (as many do nowadays). The local LUG could then administer the box by providing updated images to it remotely.

I figure that with just a bit of effort, you could make a small tabletop version of this for under $1000 or so. I mean, all it needs is a cheap system, a burner (preferably without a tray, as they tend to get broken in public places), and a monitor. Form factor could be exceedingly thin with a custom casing for it, esp. if you used an LCD panel for the screen.

Thin and small is good here, because that means it's not taking up space in the library, which would make getting the librarians to agree much easier.

Write some custom software to basically provide a menu of images that the user can pick from (and optionally allow the local LUG to remotely administer the thing), assure the librarian that it's all open source software (which entails explaining OSS to them), get their agreement and assure them that it's no maintainance at all for them (plus let them sell blank CD's/DVD's on a markup, and it'd be done.

Good luck

A project for your local Linux group: Take an old machine with a burner and donate a Linux kiosk to the library.

I tried to get one system into our local town library. The director of the library flatly refused to even consider the proposal to have a linux workstation in the library.

Essentially, even if volunteer-maintained and/or no maintenance required(think Knoppix), she said that they were Windows, and Windows only, and that was because that's what the Minuteman Network supports(the Minuteman Network is a nice little corporation that's making money off the local town libraries.)

Despite being exceptionally polite, she wouldn't even examine the proposal, and complained about issues I had addressed already- in the proposal, if she had bothered to read it.

Bring Your Own PC

Create an Event out of it.

Encourage people to bring their PCs and have them installed/configured with various FOSS stuff like OOorg.

Combine this with a programme to train young people in IT and you have your enthusiastic staff.

Use the library as the place where these two meet.

Turn it into a para-religious experience: "Born Again Penguins", as people dip the parasite-ridden carcinogenic carcasses of their old WinXP boxes into the holy water of Linux and come back home with a brand new box.

Mix it with booze and music.

Move it from the library to a spacious converted warehouse.

Add a coffee bar and wireless hotspot. ... now you're talking!

Not just lending

But updating too.

I was checking around the stacks at my local library and saw that they had a Learn Linux book (Yah!) but the installation CD was for RedHat 6.2 (Uhoh..) I was very tempted to slip a recent install into the book along with a card explaining it.

Need open source and free software? Look here!!

Everybody loves free [sourceforge.net] stuff. Once people find out that opensource software is just as good/better than proprietary software, we are doing good. There needs to be a major push starting with educators and librarians on the benefits of opensource software. If there are any teachers/librarians reading this, please make software like this available to your students! What about mass distributing open source software akin to the mass mailings of AOL CD-ROMS?

Bad idea...

Am I the only one that thinks this is a bad idea? All it takes is one script kiddie or spammer getting the idea to check out a CD, take it home, replace it with their own kernel/binaries/whatever, and voila! Ownage. I think an alternative would be to get behind hosting community Open Source events... after all, anyone who is interested in Open Source Software, probably already has the means to access the large, free, online library known as the Internet from the comfort of their own home.

Problems with lost media

I've checked out books before that had versions of FreeBSD and other OSS apps. The problem is that many of these books were either missing their interactive content, aka someone forgot to return/lost the CD-ROM. The other problem was often times this software was a year if not more out of date.

Someone recommended a burning on demand. Not a bad idea if someone is willing to keep the people there upto date with new images couple months and train people how to burn the CD's. Its sad to see that many don't know the difference between, say, buring a music CD and an ISO.

Opinions on Main Adoption Hurdle

I suppose many people think that installation difficulties are the #1 hurdle for open source. At least that is my opinion. Here are a few others:

I-street: [i-street.com]

The first major obstacle for open source applications to gain ground in the enterprise is that many are much more difficult to use than the typical off the shelf product. Open source applications often include greater flexibility and interoperability between systems, but this comes at the price of more complicated setup and configurations needs.

GovExec.com: [governmentexecutive.com]

The lack of clear points of contact for conducting business with companies in the "open source" software industry has hampered the ability of that industry to grow effectively within the government, a former Pentagon official said on Thursday.

And finally, this paper [opengroup.org] has an overview of open source adoption and resistance.

Donating a PC with Library of Open Source?

I'm surprised that more libraries don't have a library of CDs of various Linux distros and larger open source packages. I also wonder if some chariable OSS-minded soul could donate a pre-configured tighty locked low-end PC and CD-burner to a local library. With used PCs being so cheap, a basic setup (with a 100 GB IDE HD) would be under $200. Either the donor or librarians could make a set of for-checkout CDs or library patrons could make their own CD bundles (paying a nominal fee for media or bringing in their own media).

Do we need an open source project to create a simple locked linux library distro and easy-to-use CD maker?

I work on one.

I live in a small town with ~21.000 peoples in it. We have one public library, and I work there in my spare time (4 hours a weak).
Anyway, I'll see what I can do. What software would you suggest?
I thought about Open Office, but it sucks to set up for danish support (my native language). What else would be appealing?
A full Linux distrubtion like Mandrake?
A live CD?
Some games? :P

This may seem like a stupid question...

While this may make sense in Scotland, does it really make sense in places where broadband is more readily available?

I mean, first off, Linux simply isn't ready for the desktop or the unclued user. I hate to say it guys, but it's true. My dad could install and use Windows, but he could not install use Linux (that would be any distribution you care to name). And I consider him to be an average computer user.

Secondly, it seems that there's a large disparity among audiences here. People who are capable of installing and using Linux simply aren't the kind of people who'd get their copy from a library shelf. Perhaps in areas where there is no broadband, okay... But in areas where there is fast connections (like an ever increasing majority of the US), they'd simply find a fast connection.. Like work, or a friend's cable modem, or DSL, or even the store shelves at Best Buy. Whatever. The library simply isn't where you find software.

For that matter, what library *anywhere* has software on its shelves? I've been in a lot of libraries, in big metro areas and small communities, and many of them are just now starting to carry DVD's, and even then it's hesitantly. And the only reason they carry movies in the first place is to attract a different kind of crowd. I mean, if the idea here is to do the same, by attracting a different kind of crowd, then more power to 'em, but that doesn't seem to be the thrust of the article here.

I guess I'm wondering what exactly the point of putting OSS on the shelves of the local library is.. What's the goal? What does this accomplish? A user wanting to install Linux around here certainly wouldn't check the library. I think the shelf space there is probably more suited to, oh, *books* or some such thing.

Re:This may seem like a stupid question...

Few points:

Broadband is still hard to get in rural parts of the US.

Walking/bikeing/driving for 5-10 minutes to pick up a few 700MB isos is still going to be faster for 90% of the people out there for some time to come.

How do you keep it fresh?

I'd predict that even if all the hurdles of convincing a library to maintain an OSS CD library were jumped, the library itself would suffer the same fate as technical books at most local libraries.

The technical books themselves take so long to procure because of the multiple(albiet not vast) layers of red tape that by the time they end up on the shelves, they're flirting with being out of date (just as new tech books flirt with being out of date before even hitting the store shelves).

I can't think of any open source project that isn't regularly patched, and because of this constant progression, I can't see a CD library being up to date, ever. It would require an individual or group of individuals who would simply cost too much to justify having them in the first place to maintain it.

Excellent!

What a great deed and astounding achievement. My hat is off to this man. I hope he has success with his next project, gettiong Open Source software into the hands of every school child in Scotland. He has an uphill battle (they are so conservative about these things it's unbelievable) but I think he has what it takes to achieve his goal.

This man may just have radically altered the course of Scottish society. He is bringing enlightenment to thousands. This could be the best thing to happen to Scotland this century.

Well done!

Other evangelism projects

Stand outside a middleschool or highschool (Do _not_ tresspass!) with Linux CDs, mini-manuals (give lots of URLs for help and support), and a soda all bundled in a bag. Sure, most kids will just snag the soda and ditch the rest... But there will always be the curious kids. Furthermore, the nextgen geeks will be bound to get chummy over an event like this ("I dual boot debian TOO!") -- tell them they should support the community by helping the other interested kids install linux...

No thanks.

I'm the IT manager at a large public library, and I wouldn't touch this with a ten-foot stack of catalog cards.

We have almost completely stopped circulating CD-ROMs of any sort because the patrons have an expectation that the library will help them make it work, and if you mix initially lousy or just plain old software ("this storybook requires you to install quicktime 2.1") with who-knows-what the patron's got at home, it spells customer service disaster. No matter what kind of a disclaimer you put on it, circulating this kind of stuff would incur far more ill will from clueless patrons than it would benefit any unlikely geek who knows what they're doing but doesn't have access to sufficient bandwidth.

However, I would happily offer burners for public use and make blank media (and our bandwidth) available. That way, they get to keep the disc. Or hand them out at intro to OSS classes. Or mirror some trees. But put them on the shelves? No way. On top of everything else, they'd be outdated before they even made it through cataloging.

Nice idea though.

Re:No thanks.

IT gets involved when the circulation staff has a CD-ROM that the patron says is broken, and circ can't figure out what (nothing) is wrong with it, or irate patrons demand help and the call gets passed to us.

While sticking to one's guns is of course possible, it's not good customer service to offer a product with a disclaimer or to turn away a patron in need of assistance. Sure, its par for the course in the commercial world, but we prefer to uphold a higher standard of service.

And bestsellers aren't revised several times per week.

What would be a far, far cooler idea (although not as cheap) would be to develop a kiosk that maintained its own local copies of many high-profile projects and allowed users to select from a menu what they wanted to burn to a blank they supplied. On-demand content, they get to keep it, and the kiosk could keep itself updated. All of the benefit, but none of the risk, unless of course someone manages to burn a disk on a day when a bug was in the tree. If the content is freely reproducible, why should they have to bring it back, or even worse... incur FINES! then it would no longer be free (as in beer).

Notes

0) He says libraries like DVD cases and hate CD jewel cases. Makes sense to me.

1) He says: Going into the future, I see the huge amount of power that magazines with CDs on their covers now have. There is at least one Linux magazine in the United Kingdom that has a DVD case with a CD inside glued to each issue, so I think that's what he's talking about.

2) I'm a raving Debian fan, but I hope he's also providing easy-to-install distros like Mandrake.

3) Once Progeny gets the Red Hat "Anaconda" installer working with Debian, I'd love to see Debian/Anaconda CDs in every library!

steveha

libraries use the software

Most public libraries I know have windows machines which can be used by anyone to hop on the net. Schedule meetings with librarians and convince them to put linux on these boxes instead. They don't get a lot of money in these places, so if you volunteer to set it up for them for free they'll probably accept. The cash they save by not paying for windows licenses is more than enough. Sure, patrons might not know what to do at first, but the library is a place of learning. They'll soon learn to click on the red dinosaur instead of on the blue e.

Re:libraries use the software

The trouble with the idea of putting Linux on the public PCs is that most libraries that have them got them from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with the stipulation that they will not put (much) 3rd party software on them. On the one hand, it really sucks, but on the other hand, nobody else was lining up to give libraries free, new computers.

There is a SourceForge project for this.

http://fossile-project.sourceforge.net/ If I had the money, I'd just buy the latest "Linux (insert version number here) Bible" book and CD set and donate it to my favorite local branch every year.

What to and How to distribute via libraries

Hello all, Firstly I think this is a magnificent idea with some possible drawbacks. It would be simple to distribute with a donation of a CD Writer or 2 per library with a OSS catalogs on DVD distributed out to each library through the existing library resource network already in place, for instance here in Michigan a larger library organization is the lakeland Org., gathering a representative from each org (which already exists) they in turn contact the OSS distribution org for access to the DVD listing, DVD get delivered and then are listed in the software dewey decimal system for access too. Then as joe/jane user comes in, looks through the available list and selects a desired program/OS to try at home, he/she asks the librarian for the disk with *** software on it. for a fee of the CD and small recoup for library time and equipment (1$ US perhaps)the software is cooked to CD and presented to joe/jane at that time. With this said, the first time joe or jane asks for software, they are presented with a form stating quite explicatly that NO support comes from the library system for this software at all. seek a technician (perhaps even have a local Tech listed as someone to contact) The software is free, the overhead of electrical and the librarian, the CD and the access DVD's is covered via the fee. local techs gain business, libraries become cool places for geeks and non-geeks to hang again, ice cream tastes better, your clothes fit and look better, your teeth are whiter, etc etc etc

Negative rights only, please

From the article:

On the CD I donated, I also included the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It states, in Article 26, "Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free at least in the elementary and fundamental stages ..."

I'm a libertarian, so I don't agree with this, at least as worded.

A "right" is something that you must always be granted, no matter what. If you look at the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution, you will find they are rights to be left alone: the right to free speech (no one can silence you), the right to not have to testify against yourself, etc. These are "negative" rights, your right to be left alone. (You will notice a right to own and carry weapons, but no mention of where you will get them; no one has any obligation to provide them to you.)

If you have a "right" to education, where does it come from? Do you have a right to grab a teacher and make that teacher teach you? How does your "right" to education compare with a teacher's right to decide what he or she wants to do? What happens if not enough people choose to be teachers -- do we need to force some people to be teachers to guarantee that there are enough teachers for everyone?

I would agree with wording that says "Education is important, and society should make education a priority." I'd even agree with a right to own educational materials. But I don't see how you can make a "right" to education really work, unless the word "right" doesn't mean what I think it does.

Here's a good essay about this:

http://libertarian.typepad.com/independent/2003/11 /rights_and_enti.html [typepad.com]

steveha

Library CD problems

While some libraries have figured out that more things are published than just books, and I hear that there are indeed libraries someplace where I'm not that lend out CD's and even VHS tapes and DVDs, my local library can't even manage it's books which include a CD well. Often I'll check out a book and find an empty CD jacket pasted in the back, no CD. The library does try to keep the CD's with the books, but more than half of the CD's have been stolen at some point and are simply listed as "lost" by the library.

Quite frankly, with open source material and high speed connections at many libraries, I doubt that trying to convince them to find a way to catalog and loan out open source software is the way to go. Some better steps would be to get rid of, or at least repair, the annoying software they install on their systems so that you could at least download files to a pen drive or hard drive attached to the USB port. Another nice addition would be a CD writer or two in the library (these things are so cheap now they are often "free after rebate" items, certainly a public library could afford a couple). They might even make a modest profit if they also offered blank media at a small cost. This could encourage people to get the open source sofware right for them, not old copies of dated stuff on the shelfs or worse stuck away in a drawer somewhere or "lost".

Of course, I'm not sure that very many people who would use the public library as a source of open source software would not have the high speed access already, but if the original claim is that open source software should be available through the library I think there are better ways to go than to convince them to put a few CD's in their collection.

Don't check them out, give 'em away

Similar concept: Project Gutenberg [gutenberg.net] has several CD images and a DVD image for free download. We encourage people to make copies and give them away.

We just dropped off about 300 free CDs at the Berkeley Public Library last week (stop by the Info Desk for a copy), during some recent events [pglaf.org]. As others have pointed out, libraries don't really want to catalog and manage stuff, nor do they want to worry about broken and scratched CDs. So, give 'em a spindle of 100 burned CDs or DVDs and let these discs walk out the door!

There are a lot of challenges to making this work truly smoothly (like the cost of putting a nice label on the CD, and troubles with competing DVD formats that don't always read correctly, and who's willing to burn them), but if the goal is to get content "out there," why bother with lending when it only costs a few cents to just give away a CD?

At Gutenberg, we're trying to start a volunteer-based effort that will let anyone request one of our CDs or DVDs via a Web form, then we'll send it to them by postal mail -- free! For a few hours of volunteers' time per month, and minimal costs (donated or reimbursed), why not!

• Greg

Speaking as a library tech person

I think there are a lot of misconceptions about how libraries work and the capabilities of the average public library here. Most libraries are underfunded, staffed by persons without extensive technical skills, initimidated by "community opinion" and beholden to the Gates Foundation (this is not a bad thing . . . the Gates Foundation is A Good Thing that has done wonders for public libraries in our digitially divided society.)
You want to make a positive contribution -- volunteer your tech skills at your local library. Build relationships with your librarians and your community and then start influencing folks. Don't just throw software and rhetoric at your local public library and expect them to handle it.
(I've been working as a technical person in libraries and consulting with libraries since 1986.)

This is not specifying LINUX!!! READ the article!!

I have seen MANY comments in this thread discussing the concept of donating Linux CDs to libraries.

In the cited articles, the products listed included Freeduc, OpenOffice, Gimp, and others. It was also stated that the software packages were installed and tested on a variety of systems, including Mac OSX, Win9x, Win2k, and WinXP.

OpenOffice, for one, is available for Windows as well as Linux.

This entire article is about OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE. There are OSS products available for non-Linux platforms.

That's all, carry on.

Try University Libraries and LOC

Public libraries are frequently the most parochial in the USA.

OS/GPL software has an initial general target audience "The Desktop".

I suggest, in the USA, obtain a LOC ISSN [http://www.loc.gov/issn] listing as an annual "Open Source" software reference on CD/DVD media with an abstract description of a desktop OS Linux distribution with appropriate supporting GPL desktop software for YYYY. Then again a different path may be more appropriate (like a periodical) check under the LOC Cataloging Programs and services [http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir].

Donations of OS/GPL software references (listed in the LOC catalog) to university and community college libraries, in the USA, may be accepted as a gift to the library and checked out by students, professors, ... for the purpose of study, use, install, .... Students/community may one day habitually and freely install and upgrade the most current OS/GPL software for personal use.

University students are more likely (I think) to discover value in OS/GPL software, and maybe even request the university library obtain the most up to date releases of the Linux kernel and other OS/GPL applications. Well, where would educational institution libraries obtain free (or media cost) OS products for their shelves and loaning to students?

OldHawk777

Reality is a self-induced hallucination.

Authentic People prefer dominion over the moment, a place, and self.
Authentic People plant seeds of human evolution, destiny, and envy.
Primitives will always enviously try to raze the dream and ideal.
_ Plutocrat Tyrants prefer judicial jeopardy to honorable death.
_ Plutocrat Megalomaniacs prefer death before public recognition.
_ Plutocrat Capitalist prefer a debased public to civilization.
_ Trivial Denizens prefer a sullied public to honorable endeavor.

Not Just Software...

Not everyone would want/need software, as many of us at Slashdot might think they do. But most people like music. Of course, a lot of music is not distributable, but there are some bands that do not mind distribution, and many that would welcome the publicity. If many of these are installed around the world, some up and coming bands might want to show their stuff to people. With the demise of mp3.com and the RIAA dictatorship, this could be quite a market. Anyone else think so? Greg

Library? Ha! Supermarket shelves!

What kinds of suggestions would Slashdotters make in addition to Mr. Kerr's to help make open source software on public library shelves a widespread reality?

Here is my idea, and I hearby place it the public domain for all to steal... er... implement.

Put OSS on breakfast food boxes. Seriously. I've seen breakfast cereal boxes with CDs bound to them... games and so forth, so why not OSS? Think about the Wheaties(tm) box, with pictures of athletes on it. Only we put famous OSS programmers on it. Linus, of course, and Larry Wall, and Guido, and... well, grep the sources. Then we include the source disk for their stuff. I propose a modified version of Cheerios(tm) for food content. Only instead of just 0's, we have 1's, too. "Bits" breakfast food.

why didnt he use The Open CD?

http://theopencd.sunsite.dk/ Seems like an appropriate 'distribution' for libraries

Linux CDs in Public Libraries

I am planning to have the public library where I work to put a copy in the CD-ROM collection. Does anyone have an idea about any other open source software that would be good to go in a library, besides OpenOffice and Linux?

Who wants it?

I hate to break it to you, and will probably get modded down for saying so, but normal (i.e. non-geek) people do not want this.

Most people don't even know what an operating system -- hell, don't even know what "Windows" is.

A service like this would be of very little appeal and I would imagine the machine hosting this service would start gathering dust and would be used only once every few months.

Basically, it's a waste of time -- the effort would be better spent getting Linux into schools and such.

Windows

GnuWin [gnuwin.org] springs to mind.

Not software per se, but...

...what about the Baen books' CDROMs, which have a similar license to copy and share noncommercially?

Print "May Be Loaned By Libraries" on CD's Label

In South Australia, we once got
a local library to buy one of the
low-priced, multi-CD-ROM BERKS sets.

('can't find a URL for the UK-based
guy who published those CD-ROM's)

First, there was the question of
whether the disk-set could even
be housed in a library, where
others might use, borrow them.

They apparently have a central
purchasing department to decide
that, based on the license of the
items under consideration.

It took quite a while to decide
to buy a set or two (for several
library branches); it likely cost
more to make the decision than to
buy & ship the sets they eventually
ordered.

Upon receipt, the CD-ROM were placed into
the (no-loan) Reference section.

It took getting them to eMail the
publishers to get the CD-ROM's
shifted into the Loanables section,
but they were not at all quick or
interested in doing that, or even
accepting the publisher's reply eMail
as a definitive answer to their question:
ie would it be consistent with the IP
owner's license to loan these disks.

At least, now that the smoke has cleared,
we can look back & think that
this library has had a chance to
discover & learn a bit about
Open Source materials.

Errr, Big Fat Hairy Deal?

I dunno for you, but my local library, which I visit from time to time, has a set of non-current SuSE Books, CDs and DVDs from me. The revisor took them gladly as a donation. I consider this an obvious way to empty my bloated bookshelves and do a good deed at the same time. Is this idea so special? What's the big deal?
If you have old distros that are still in good shape and complete, go to your local library and ask if they'd like it for their collection. If they say 'no', sell them at the next garage sale. If thesy say yes and it's a large donation, maybe you can get a year's membership in exchange. People actually do that with books too. It's not that difficult to come up with that idea.

Libraries as "proxy servers"

What if libraries housed open source software on servers and a person could bring in a device such as a laptop or a storage device that can connect to the local network to download files? This could potentially alleviate some bandwidth for people who develop open source software and mirrors (1 download to server, many downloads off the local network). It would also make for faster downloads. There are many ways you could expand on this idea... including, new jobs for experienced sys admins at libraries to monitor downloads to the servers. ;b

volunteer and interest groups

In some cases these (award winning) sites might be useful. volunteermatch [volunteermatch.org] and meetup [meetup.com] Good Luck.

Many moons ago the we had a shareware copier

The VPL (Yay, Vancouver!) used to have one machine at the central library with two 5.25inch drives and a big stack of shareware for folks to copy and keep. I think I used it once or twice. At the time all I would have cared about were games (maybe BBS's?) so it wasn't all that interesting to me. In hindsight, it might have been a little ahead of the game! FWIW, I think it was a semi-standardized collection of shareware, I might recognize the name of the ... distribution... if I saw it.

Libraries in the Information Society

Providing free and open source software to the public via libraries would be one way to help libraries remain relevant and integrated into the Information Society. Libraries in the US are clearly looking for ways to re-claim their space as a public commons and a knowledge repository, after decades of budget cuts and cutthroat competition from Barnes and Noble.

Having a FOSS section in the library, staffed by local volunteers, would seem like a no-brainer to me, something that regular stores are not going to provide, except the commercial releases.

I grew up spending much of my youth in my local library, always in danger of exceeding my borrowing limit. If I wasn't there I was home programming on my Commodore 64. I wonder how many of today's young people visit their local library?

Open Source CD Lending For Public Libraries?

I work for a public library and have recently started a group called "Linux In Libraries" to offer public access computers that have more than just MS Windows. I think this "Open Source CD Lending For Public Libraries" concept could do well.

If you're interested in my group and want to share ideas, please visit http://www.ohio.lib.in.us/staff/atate/lil [lib.in.us] for details.

Re:Why?

A lot of software are large downloads, which people without broadband connections for whatever reason (for example, living in the middle of nowhere, like me) can't reasonably download. It would be much easier and faster to get software from somewhere, already downloaded.

Re:Schools and Open Source

I can't see why the parent was modded down; it's true. I've volunteered my time, as well as offered free equipment (I've got a ton of old hardware), and I still can't get local schools or libraries to take me up on the offer for a linux-run computer lab, because I'm not on the approved vendor list.

I'd be willing to take the required time to teach C programming and such to the kids who want to really learn about computers, but the schools just won't allow it; it's sad, really.