Romanian public libraries can now use an Open Source library system for managing book loans and reservations, searching catalogues, managing library assets, maintaining a website and general administration.

Adopting an open source library automation system allowed a small group of libraries on Maryland's eastern shore to save money and create a more intuitive, user-friendly catalog system for both librarians and patrons.

A new advocacy group, the Public Software Foundation (PSF), is working to make free and open source software available to local libraries so it can be checked out and used just like a book or video. The premise is simple: hand out one CD and maybe you've taught one person; make it available in a library and perhaps you'll reach hundreds or thousands.

"... «We call upon public libraries around the world to remove the unethical Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technologies currently locking down many of their digital collections. DRM compromises public trust for the sake of providing limited access to popular works to some in the short-term.

"Shell Curses" is a library of script functions that provide the shell programmer the ability to perform text-based cursor movements to specified locations on the screen. This ability permits the creation of menuing and data-entry systems using shell scripts without the need for compiled binaries. These functions are similar to the "C" language "Curses" library.

KDE PIM project has been quietly gaining corporate acceptance as a suitable enterprise suite. Today's feature are the libraries that power the KDE PIM project, and specifically, what changes have taken place since KDE 3.5.x, wherein the KDE PIM project is one of the most successful and stable components of KDE.

Every year or so, there's a new Linux distro darling. Last year's was Ubuntu, and I've lost track of what this year's favorite penguin might be. But a lot of newcomers to Linux seem to get the impression that a new distro is better than an older package because there'll be more attention paid to new technologies and easier user interfaces. In fact, pretty much the opposite is true.

The person who invented the concept of shared libraries should be given a raise… and a bonus. The person who decided that shared library management and naming conventions should be left to the implementation should be flogged.

The virtual learning environment could be where university libraries first encounter open source. An increasing number of content management and portal systems are also open source and many university libraries are involved in setting up open source repositories. As acceptance of open source grows, the next step will be to consider open source solutions for the core integrated library system.