12. Is there a benefit to using open source software in digital libraries? What are some of the pros and cons?

     In researching this question, I found a great webpage by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (2005) that lays out the main arguments for and against open source software in a very methodical way. The table below is my take on the arguments presented on the website.

     Ultimately, I believe that there is a benefit to choosing an open source solution for a digital library provided that the choice is based on consideration of the staff, users, and overall computing environment into which it will be deployed.  For example, if there is someone to provide technical support and there are few issues of integration with proprietary formats, then an open source solution is likely to be successful.

Issues	Pros	Cons	Ambiguous
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)	OSS is usually low fee or no fee	Some OSS packages are not compatible with other programs; may limit options for other software choices.	TCO may be lower because of fewer hardware needs, but may be affected by cost and availability of qualified service techs
Features & Quality	Some OSS packages are clones of proprietary ones (e.g., Open Office). OSS may be more reliable (i.e. fewer crashes/bugs) because of large development community. OSS is usually faster, more scalable. OSS is highly customizable, and uses open formats that facilitate file sharing.	Proprietary software is more feature-rich than its OSS counterparts. OSS projects die if development community loses interest in them. Sometimes there is no OSS package for a particular business function. Some OSS packages will not work on proprietary platforms.	Users may not need so many features. Transparency of code may make OSS easier to exploit, but this might be offset by the community of programmers.
Deployment & Maintenance	OSS packages are more modular, allowing users to only use what they need. Managing OSS licenses is much easier because of the reduction of legal risks and anti-piracy measures.	OSS is harder to deploy because of necessary expertise. “The quality and availability of help is proportional to interest and use, especially in open source. The support costs for niche solutions are usually high.”
Users & Migration	Some OSS is very easy to learn.	Switching costs from proprietary software to OSS can be very high. Users may be less inclined to learn a new software package. Achieving integration between OSS and proprietary solutions is often difficult.
Free Markets & Choice	OSS promotes the “commoditization” of software (i.e., makes more software available at lower price). Organization is not locked in to a particular vendor.	Some business processes require proprietary software to run third-party programs.

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (2005). Open options: Arguments about open source.  Retrieved July 30, 2008 from http://www.netc.org/openoptions/pros_cons/comparing.html