Let’s all take a second to celebrate the open-source software movement. As a long-time user of tools like Linux, I have always been a fan. What’s not to love? We all want software tools that are free and available to all. However, over the past month I have discovered a new appreciation for the open-source movement as a teaching tool. In combination with web development I’m doing in library school, I’ve learned the benefits of open-source software far exceeds the product itself; the benefit is in the process of taking the product apart.

Over the past month, I have implemented two open-source software solutions at the Pitts Theology Library. Both products have solved real needs in the library, working as well as commercially-available comparable products, and both cost absolutely nothing (other than my development time). They both, therefore, fit what I previously loved about open-source tools (free and available). What I have found most significant in working with these tools, though, is the learning opportunity that the complex implementation of each presented. Both have required significant modification to fit the library’s needs, and so with both I have had the opportunity to develop new skills during implementation. In working with these tools, I’ve learned that perhaps the best part of open-source software is the learning opportunity available with a tool that allows you to take it apart and put it back together.

The first tool is OpenRoom, room booking software developed by Ball State University Libraries. This application, developed using PHP and and MySQL, is a well-written (though a bit dated) application that allows users to book rooms for specific periods of time. The tool is falling out of support by Ball State, and I’m considering releasing my own version on GitHub (with the blessing of Ball State, of course). The second is Xibo, open-source digital signage software, also developed with PHP and MySQL. At my library, we are using both for important functions at the library. OpenRoom is the application we use to allow students to book small group study rooms in our library. Xibo is driving our digital display, a welcome screen at the front of the library which displays policies, events, and photos.

Not only have these tools filled much-needed functions in my new library (they have). Both have been great teaching tools and allowed me to see how much more “IT fluent” I have become. The beauty of open-source tools is, of course, that they are open source. That is, if i you want to do something, you can figure out a way to do it. This was perfect for our needs at the library, as neither fit our requirements “out of the box.” With a little bit of coding knowledge and a lot of intellectual curiosity, I was able to redevelop each tool to do what we needed it to do. So, for example, when I was underwhelmed by the built-in modules on Xibo, I was able to develop my own clock module, using our display sign to keep time in the library. Likewise, I modified the OpenRoom tool to use Emory’s Shibboleth, single sign on application, so users would not have to remember another username and password. In conjunction with some work I’m doing in library school, I’ve been able to develop new skills in JQuery, AJAX, and CSS, while sharpening previous abilities with SQL and server-side scripting. The products I’ve implemented help the library run more efficiently. But the process of the implementation has been quite the learning experience for me, and it will make me work much more efficiently in the future.

We talk a lot in the library world about “IT fluency.” Typically this phrase is used to indicate some level of gadget wizardry. That is, the IT fluent person is the person who knows how to do the most stuff with the most tools. You could say that through these projects and other work I’m doing in library school, I have become more “fluent” in the sense that I’m better at making asynchronous Javascript calls, or joining two tables in a database, or designing a page with style sheets. Working with open-source software, though, I’d argue I’ve become more “fluent” in the much more important sense of recognizing that you can make software do what you want it to do. No longer am I limited to what the commercially-available products allow me to do. Rather, these projects have given me reassurance that I have the skills (or I can find someone who does) to make software do what I need it to do. This reassurance has become clear to me in another recent implementation I have done, using a commercially-available, closed-source product. I’m not able to change the way the application works, and because I’ve had the experience of doing that, I realize how frustrating it can be. The real “IT Fluency” gained in my work over the last year is not skills, per se, but a recognition that with a little bit of know-how, I can make software do what I need it to do.

So, let me recommend these two tools to anyone working in library-type jobs. Both OpenRoom and Xibo are wonderful products (and again, they’re free). However, let me recommend them also because they allow someone to play, to work with well-written applications, see how they work, and then make the changes that one wants or needs. I get asked quite often how best to learn software development skills. There are great places to do this in a more formal way, like CodeAcademy or the Khan Academy. Personally, though, I’d recommend the “take something apart” model of learning, and open-source software provides a great opportunity. All of us nerds remember how effective this was when we took apart our electronic toys. We learned what a circuit board looked like or how a motor turned by ripping things apart (though they didn’t always go back together). With open-source software, we can do that, but in a far less destructive way. In the last month, I’ve become more “fluent” because I’ve become more emboldened to tear down and build back up (see, there’s some Biblical language).