VALA Travel Scholarship
*squee* Happy Dance…
Kieran Hixon and Judy van Acker are my new heroes. They are in John C Fremont Library, a small rural library in Colorado. They downloaded the Koha Open Source Library Management System and then sang about it last November, Open Source ILS Song.
*squee* Happy Dance…
I’m biased about Open Source Library management systems. I think we should look at them first if we are thinking of replacing our ILMS. I think that if we are not looking at replacing our ILMS soon, we should be restructuring our library staffing so that we have people who can download, tweak and customise OSS products to best suit our users’ needs.
I do not think this is the same as twenty years ago when we created our own in-house library management systems. Now it is about community created product, customised by us for our specific user groups. If we don’t like what it does, we can change it. But then – and this is the big difference – we can feed that change back into the community and harvest the effort of others who are doing the same. Yes, it depends on having the expertise . Get over it – it is a new skillset we need to add to our staff, just like a Systems Librarian or a Web Librarian.
*squee* Happy Dance…
That is why I am totally over the moon and doing happy dances all over my house at the moment. I have been awarded a travel scholarship to go to the United States and Canada next year to look at alternative discovery layers and open source library management systems. I am extremely grateful to VALA: Libraries Technologies and the Future for providing the scholarship.
*squee* Happy Dance…
Briefly, the aims of the travel are:
- To visit relatively mature “model” installation of alternative discovery layers and Open Source Library Management Systems in the United States.
- To discuss the implementation and maintenance of the system with people who either maintain, install, wrote or manage the Alternative Discovery Layer or Open Source Library Management System.
- To find out more about how these systems work technically.
- To find out whether there are common factors among these organisations that make them early adopters of new technologies
*squee* Happy Dance…
I plan on travelling between March and April next year starting in Kansas City and finishing in Atlanta – in between looking at the OLE project, Koha, Evergreen, SOPAC2, Scriblio, VuFind and Project Blacklight. I also get to go to Library Camp East and the Computers in Libraries conference
*squee* Happy Dance…
Pinching self. Wow!!!! I only get to do this because I have a very supportive family and workplace – so a big thank you to them, particularly my husband Stewart and my boss, Margaret Jones.
Congratulations Kathryn. This will be a fantastic experience.
SO excited for your travel opportunity and for the chance to meet you at CIL. You aren’t coming to Colorado, though to see the Fremont Library? Kieran Hixon talking about setting up Koha with a 14 year-old assistant was one of the many highlights of Library Camp of the West for me.
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PingbackCongratulations, Kathryn! That’s great news, and I’ll look forward to seeing the results of your trip.
I hate you
/bonks snail on head
No, we love you Kathryn
Good on you!
Congrats! I know you’ll make the most of it!
Well done Kathryn
If anyone tells you that blogging is a waste of time, point them to this post as proof its worth it
Fabulous news and well deserved.
Congrats Kathryn.
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PingbackCongratulations, what a great opportunity! Can’t wait to read your findings…
Congratulations Kathryn! That’s great news.
Couldn’t got to anyone more deserving. You probably won’t be coming to Boston, but hope we cross paths somewhere.
Thanks everyone. I’m *still* excited. Spending lots of time looking at googlemaps and realising my US geography is shocking – New Hampshire isn’t in the middle of the US – who knew?? I tried to work a visit to Fremont into my schedule, but it’s a bit too far out of my way, I’m mostly on the Eastern seaboard.
Congrats! What a great research topic and travel opportunity. Look forward to meeting you at CIL or somewhere else in your east coast travels. Hate to admit, there are US states that I still get mixed up.
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PingbackHi Kathryn,
That is so cool!! Well done. What an amazing opportunity. Lok forward to reading about your findings.
cheers Jo.
Well, guess what, I was at the event in Melbourne where your scholarship was announced — how cool is that?! I was doing the happy dance myself and I can’t wait to see you here this side of the world! Couldn’t have happened to a better person!
How lucky are you?!! Actually, its terrific news Kathryn and I can’t think of anyone better to go! Will you be doing live streaming?
*squee* Happy Dance indeed!
Good on you Kathryn – go gettem girl!
What fantastic news! And I’ll get to meet you at CIL!
[...] Last line:I only get to do this because I have a very supportive family and workplace – so a big thank you to them, particularly my husband Stewart and my boss, Margaret Jones. [...]
PingbackWell done Kathryn, you really deserve this after all the effort and fun you have put into your work.
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