This new section on HELibTech will offer thought pieces on issues pertinent to the use of technology within Higher Education libraries. These are not intended to be authoritative sources of information or academic papers. Rather these opinion pieces are there to encourage debate and discussion from within and across the community - both librarians / information professionals and suppliers.
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Open library platforms - a pragmatic approach. Can a proprietary library system/platform be more open that an open source one?
In the first of our HELibTech Viewpoints, library technology consultant Ken Chad argues that when it comes to choices about library systems, notions about open source versus proprietary software are outdated and unhelpful. Libraries increasingly deploy cloud-based Library Services Platforms (LSPs)s, which are a mix of open source and proprietary elements. Therefore the key considerations for pragmatic librarians will be sustainability and development, interoperability and community.