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Open Source Software, SPEC Kit 340, Published by ARL

spec-kit-340-cover
Open Source Software

ARL has released Open Source Software, SPEC Kit 340, which investigates ARL member libraries’ adoption and/or development of open source software (OSS) for functions such as integrated library system (ILS), discovery layer, electronic resource management, interlibrary loan, digital asset management, institutional repository, course reserve, streaming media, study room scheduler, digital preservation, publishing, floor maps, data warehouse, or other library-related purposes. This SPEC Kit explores research libraries’ policies and practices on open sourcing their code, the frequency with which research libraries contribute to open source projects, whether research libraries are reluctant to make their code openly available, and the most common benefits and challenges encountered when research libraries open source their code.

This SPEC Kit includes examples of OSS contributor agreements, licenses, copyright notices, job descriptions, and organization charts.

Ordering Information

SPEC Kit 340, Open Source Software
J. Curtis Thacker, Charles D. Knutson, and Mark Dehmlow
July 2014 • 184 pp.

Online Edition

SPEC Kit 340
ISBN 1-59407-922-6 • $50 • Password or IP access

The SPEC Kit Collection provides online access to all titles published from 2006 to the present (SPEC Kit 292– ). Password access is $400. IP access is $300 ARL members/$400 all others.

Print Edition

ISBN 1-59407-921-8 • $40 ARL members/$50 all others

Shipping and Handling

US: UPS Ground, $10/publication
Canada: UPS Ground, $15/per publication
International and Rush Orders: Call (301) 362-8196 or e-mail arl@brightkey.net for quote.

2014 subscription, six issues (340–345), shipping included (additional postage may apply outside North America) • ISSN 0160-3582 • $225 ARL members/$300 all others.

Order online IP access and print from:

ARL Publications Distribution Center
PO Box 531
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0531
Phone: (301) 362-8196
Fax: (240) 396-2479
E- mail: arl@brightkey.net

Payment by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa is accepted. Make check or money order payable in US funds to the Association of Research Libraries, Federal ID #52-0784198-N.


The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 research libraries in the US and Canada. ARL’s mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at https://www.arl.org/.

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