Open source and libraries
It has been suggested that libraries are almost ethically required to use, develop and support open source software.1 The parallels between the rules of librarianship and open source are easy to spot just by comparing the open source definition (and/or the free software definition) to the rules set forth by nearly all library associations. Both organizations center their rules on freedom of use and free access to information, a fact that even non-librarians notice:
Librarians espouse many of the same ideals that drive the free software community. They collaborate and communicate; they work hard to share the results of their work with one another. They understand freedom and feel that it’s an important value. That ...
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