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To introduce the Library Hi Tech theme issue on open source software.

At the Hackfest before Access 2004 (a Canadian library technology conference) several people started to code open source software (OSS) solutions.

Some groups estimated they were close to 25 percent done – in just a few days, while attending Access Conference sessions all day.

Developments in the OSS library community should encourage you to experiment with these applications, or maybe even develop your own.

While many libraries do some form of planning, few take the time to identify, review and establish priorities. The lack of a commitment to setting priorities leads libraries to operate in a manner that does not always reflect the needs of the organization and the people it serves. It can also lead to wasted time, energy and financial resources as the organization focuses its efforts on developments of lesser importance. The priority setting process is not easy, but it will allow the library to understand its organizational needs and allocate resources accordingly. This will also create a situation in which the library can justify and explain the decisions it makes and the work that it is working on currently as being that which is most critical to the organization.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a project undertaken at SUNY Cortland to develop a system that would collect electronic resource usage data in a consistent manner and allow SUNY Cortland to assess this data over several years.

The project used data gathered from EZProxy server log files to examine usage of the library's electronic resources.

Through examining the usage data the library discovered that users were utilizing particular types of resources, from specific physical locations, and accessing those resources from specific pages in the library's web site.

By examining usage data for electronic resources, libraries can learn more than which resources are being used. Usage data can give libraries insight into where, when, how, and possibly why their users are accessing electronic resources.

This purpose of this paper is to propose a recommendation approach for information retrieval.

Relevant results are presented on the basis of a novel data structure named FPT‐tree, which is used to get common interests. Then, data is trained by using a partial back‐propagation neural network. The learning is guided by users' click behaviors.

Experimental results have shown the effectiveness of the approach.

The approach attempts to integrate metric of interests (e.g., click behavior, ranking) into the strategy of the recommendation system. Relevant results are first presented on the basis of a novel data structure named FPT‐tree, and then, those results are trained through a partial back‐propagation neural network. The learning is guided by users' click behaviors.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Unalog software system, a free and open source toolkit for social book marking in academic environments.

The history, objectives, features, and technical design of Unalog is presented, along with a discussion of planned enhancements.

The Unalog system has been very useful for information sharing among members of the digital library community and a group of beta testers at Yale University, leading its developers to plan several new features and to capitalize on opportunities for integration with other campus systems.

This paper describes a freely available toolkit, which can be used to provide new services through libraries to academic communities, and how those new services might be enhanced by merging the potential they offer for easier information sharing with long‐standing practices of librarianship.

The purpose of this paper is to present the main features of Archimède, which is the institutional repository system developed by Université Laval to address its specific needs.

These needs include the availability of a multilingual interface, the possibility to simultaneously index metadata and full text, and the compatibility with multiple technological infrastructures. The privileged approach relied on open source softwares and the use of automatic code generation tools in order to lower development costs and time. This led Université Laval's team to the creation of an institutional repository system that is based on Java technology and which is not OS‐specific.

The system offers: documents management functionalities; dissemination mechanisms compatible with OAI‐PMH2 (Open Archive Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting V.2.0); an indexing and searching framework (LIUS) that can index over ten documents formats; and a selective dissemination of information service. Archimède and LIUS are now distributed under a GPL licence. Further developments will extend the metadata formats range supported by Archimède and will include archive management functionalities.

This experience shows that the development of an institutional repository system resting on open source softwares, frameworks and application program interfaces could lead to impressive results, in a short amount of time and with a minimum of investment.

To develop an open‐source remote patron authentication system to replace a problematic, proprietary vendor product.

Functional requirements were developed using the vendor product as a model with additional requirements determined by the libraries planning to use the application. Using PHP on Apache web server with a connection to our ILS database on Sybase, a flexible system that can be configured to the local libraries requirements was created.

Overall, the new system has been welcomed and the most widespread problems we encountered have been resolved. Most importantly though, using an in‐house system empowers libraries to introduce enhancements and bug fixes as soon as possible and not rely on a vendor's schedule for doing so.

A project like this would not be possible if the ILS database was proprietary and inaccessible from other, open‐source technologies like PHP or the data structures were not published.

The remote patron authentication system is only one possible use of these technologies. Other applications using ILS data could be developed.

Using PHP with Apache and a connection to the ILS database, the necessary functionality was retained and added other features that improved reliability, configurability and cross‐browser usage. By embracing this approach, the authors also retained control on its future development and improvement.

The purpose of this article is to describe a new use of technology to improve users' access to electronic resources.

Describes the use of guided searches in a library gateway to shorten the pathway to information for library users.

Guided search forms can be constructed for both databases and catalogs using HTML and JavaScript. They are a useful alternative to vendor‐provided search interfaces, especially for inexperienced users.

This paper focuses on the technical issues involved in creating guided searches. It does not address usability testing and a detailed comparison of effectiveness with vendor‐provided interfaces.

Working with tools already in hand libraries can improve the accessibility of electronic resources by crafting simpler user interfaces.

The paper shows libraries how they can leverage their investment in databases and the catalog not only to make them more useful to their user communities, but to bring them more in tune with the expectations of users who have grown up with the web.

To provide an insider's review of the journal management and publishing software, Open Journal Systems (OJS), from the Public Knowledge Project, which the author directs at the University of British Columbia.

The paper outlines the history, development, and features of OJS, including some of the experimental aspects, as well as early research results and work underway, on which it is based.

OJS (http://pkp.sfu.ca/ojs) is an open source solution to managing and publishing scholarly journals online, which can reduce publishing costs compared to print and other traditional publishing processes. It is a highly flexible editor‐operated journal management and publishing system that can be downloaded for free and installed on a local web server.

OJS has been designed to reduce the time and energy devoted to the clerical and managerial tasks associated with editing a journal, while improving the record keeping and efficiency of editorial processes. It seeks to improve the scholarly and public quality of journal publishing through a number of innovations, from making journal policies more transparent to improving indexing.

The purpose of the article is to gauge reaction to the implementation of a wireless laptop lending program in a university library before it actually became operational and wireless access itself became available.

This online survey consisted of 22 multiple choice questions that all Monmouth University students and employees were invited by e‐mail to answer.

The vast majority of responses came from students, and most of them were ready for wireless access in the library and across campus. Several re‐emphasized in text their desire to log‐on to the network with their own laptops.

The survey ran for only two weeks, and yet, because tabulation was done by hand, a response rate ten times greater would have made our method impracticable.

This kind of survey is comparatively easy and fast to implement. It lends itself to follow‐up surveys to measure the success of a wireless computer program or other technological development, including the possible effects on user attitude.

This study was original in that it took place just before a wireless laptop‐lending program was activated. Tightly focused online surveys with a limited number of questions can help librarians anticipate issues not considered or sufficiently emphasized earlier, or quickly assess the impact wireless access is having.