Leveraging Open Source Software for Library Websites (WordPress)

Transcript

1. Leveraging Open Source Nicole C. Engard Vice President of Education, ByWater Solutions Author, The Accidental Systems Librarian 2d & Practical Open Source Software for Libraries tasl.web2learning.net & opensource.web2learning.net nengard@bywatersolutions.com Friday, June 28, 13
2. What is Open Source? Friday, June 28, 13
3. What isn’t Open Source? • “Isn’t  that  insecure?” • “I  don’t  want  to  share  my  data!” • “How  can  it  be  any  good  if  it’s  free?” • “We  don’t  have  the  staff  to  handle   open  source.” Common  Open  Source  FUD  (Fear,  Uncertainty  &  Doubt) Comic: Author: Unknown | Year: Unknown | Source: Unknown Friday, June 28, 13
4. What is Open Source? Open  source  soLware  is  soLware  that  users  have  the  ability  to   run,  distribute,  study  and  modify  for  any  purpose. Open  source  is  a  collaboraMve  soLware-­‐development   method  that  harnesses  the  power  of  peer  review  and   transparency  of  process  to  develop  code  that  is  freely   accessible.1   Open  source  draws  on  an  ecosystem  of  thousands  of   developers  and  customers  all  over  the  world  to  drive   innovaMon.2                                                 1,2  h&p://connect.educause.edu/display/47941 Friday, June 28, 13
5. Open Source Community •Open  source  is  about  more  than  free  soLware •Community  is  crucial  to  the  growth  of  open  source •Without  shared  knowledge  and  collaboraMon  the  project  will  not   grow •“CriMquing  the  community  is  a  right  reserved  for  those  who  have   proved  themselves  by  making  valuable  contribuMons”1 •People  who  use  open  source  can  collaborate  and  contribute  in  many   ways  with  the  community 1. Tapscott, Don, and Anthony D. Williams. “Embracing open source culture and strategy.” In Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything, 82-83. Expanded Edition. New York, NY: Penguin USA, 2008. www.wikinomics.com/book/. •Write  code •Write  documentaMon •Debug •Educate  others Friday, June 28, 13
6. Open Source is Easy! “The  hard  drive  on  one  of  our  reference  desk  PCs  died  today.    I  threw  in  a  new  one,  but  I   didn't  feel  like  spending  the  day  siVng  through  Windows  updates,  so  I  loaded  Ubuntu  11.04   on  it  instead.    The  install,  as  I'm  sure  you  know,  only  took  about  15  minutes.    Now,  before  I   add  my  next  point,  keep  in  mind  that  I  manage  a  staff  whose  average  age  is  about  63.    No   joke.    Most  of  them  have  been  working  at  my  facility  longer  than  I've  been  alive.    SMll,  once  I   had  Ubuntu  up  and  running,  they  were  literally  fighMng  over  who  got  to  use  the  new   operaMng  system.    They  loved  it  that  much.     Now  I  agree,  Linux  kicks  bub.    I  use  it  about  80%  of  the  Mme.    Typing  to  you  on  Mint  right   now!    However,  I  never  expected  novice  users  to  take  to  it  so  quickly.    Please,  next  Mme  you   do  an  open  source  webinar,  impress  on  your  abendees  that  libraries  aren't  sacrificing  a  thing   by  switching  over  to  open  source  soLware.    If  anything,  open  source  operaMng  systems  and   applicaMons  can  be  far  more  user  friendly  for  the  novice  user  than  Windows  will  ever  be...” -­‐-­‐  Mark  at  the  The  Rahway  Public  Library Friday, June 28, 13
7. •Reliability  through  Peer  Review •Freedom  to  Innovate •No  Vendor  Lock-­‐in •User-­‐centric  Development •CollaboraLve  Environment •Zero  License  Fees Why so Popular? Friday, June 28, 13
8. Why Should Libraries Care? Friday, June 28, 13
9. Libraries  and  Open  Source  Both... • Believe  that  informaMon  should  be  freely  accessible  to  everyone • Give  away  stuff • Benefit  from  the  generosity  of  others • Are  about  communiMes • Make  the  world  a  beber  place -­‐-­‐  Horton,  G.  h&p://Lnyurl.com/3jvumn Open Source & Libraries Friday, June 28, 13
10. • Is  there  support?  Do  I  have  to  know   how  to  program? • Do  I  have  to  skimp  on  features? • Isn’t  Open  Source  risky? • Can  I  do  it  myself? Common  quesMons  libraries  have: Open Source & Libraries Friday, June 28, 13
11. Is  there  support?  Do  I  have  to  know  how  to  program? •If  you  want  to  contribute  to  the  code  then  yes  you   need  to  know  how  to  program •If  not  you  can  use: •Support  Providers •Local  Students •Freelance  Developers Support for Open Source Friday, June 28, 13
12. • Open  Source  developers  follow  the   rule  of  “Release  early  and  release   oLen” • Users  vote  with  their  dollars  and  Mme • Freedom  to  develop  on  your  own • Developers  love  their  products hbp://www.flickr.com/photos/programwitch/ 2505184887/ Do I have to skimp on features? Friday, June 28, 13
13. • Casey  Coleman,  chief  informaMon  officer  for  the   GSA  (U.S.  General  Services  AdministraMon),  said   in  a  speech  ...  that  the  GSA  heavily  relies  on   open  source  to  drive  down  costs,  increase   flexibility  of  IT  dollars,  and  reduce  risk.  ‘You  get   much  more  transparency  and  interoperability,   and  that  reduces  your  risk,’  she  said. • h&p://news.cnet.com/ 8301-­‐13505_3-­‐9921115-­‐16.html Isn’t Open Source Risky? • US  Department  of  Defense  memo   encourages  the  use  of  open  source  with   many  reasons  “including  cost  advantages,   reduced  risk  of  vendor  lock-­‐in,  beber   security,  and  increased  flexibility.  It  says   that  the  posiMve  aspects  of  open  source   soLware  should  be  given  consideraMon   during  procurement  research. • h&p://arstechnica.com/open-­‐source/news/ 2009/10/dod-­‐military-­‐needs-­‐to-­‐think-­‐harder-­‐ about-­‐using-­‐open-­‐source.ars   Friday, June 28, 13
14. Risk of Proprietary Software • “Closed-­‐source  efforts  oLen  suffer  from  flaws   and  problems  which  the  original  development   team  never  anMcipated.    Lack  of  inspecMon  of   the  code  by  other  programmers  can  mean  that   inappropriate  design  constraints  and  other   errors  might  not  be  discovered  unMl  the  code  is   already  in  use.” Pavlicek,  Russell.  Embracing   insanity  :  open  source  soZware   development.  Indianapolis    IN:   SAMS,  2000.  p.  33. Friday, June 28, 13
15. •Absolutely,  with  the  right  in-­‐house  skills •Systems  knowledge •Linux  server  management •Web  programming •Perl  /  PHP  /  MySQL Can I do it Myself? Friday, June 28, 13
16. Wordpress for Library Websites Friday, June 28, 13
17. What is Wordpress? • Open  Source • Free  of  Cost • A  content  management  system  (CMS) • A  blogging  plarorm • Easy  to  Learn Friday, June 28, 13
18. Who’s using Wordpress? CMS used by the top million most visited websites trends.builtwith.com/ cms Friday, June 28, 13
19. Why Wordpress? • Easy  to  navigate,  learn  and  manage • Built  in  search  engine • Thousands  of  plugins/extensions • Thousands  of  pre-­‐made  themes • Tons  of  online  documentaMon  &  help Friday, June 28, 13
20. Wordpress Varieties • Wordpress.com • Free  hosted  version  of  Wordpress • Wordpress.org • Free  downloadable  version  of  Wordpress • BuddyPress  (hbp://buddypress.org) • Social  networking  site  built  on  Wordpress Friday, June 28, 13
21. Wordpress Terms • Widget • Bits  of  content  you  can  add  to  your  sidebars  and  menus   without  knowing  any  coding • Menu • NavigaLonal  menus  found  at  the  top  and/or  side  of  your  site • Plugin • A  package  of  code  that  adds  addiLonal  funcLonality  to  your   site Friday, June 28, 13
22. Installing Wordpress • Instructions: • codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress • wpsites.net/video/how-to-install-wordpress-manually/ • Famous Five Minute Install • Less if you have a server with one click installation of WordPress Friday, June 28, 13
23. Must Have Plugins • Events  Calendar • wordpress.org/extend/plugins/the-­‐events-­‐calendar/   • Contact  Form   • wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-­‐form-­‐7/ • Wordpress  SEO • wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-­‐seo/ • Jetpack • wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/   Friday, June 28, 13
24. Premium Themes • WooThemes:  www.woothemes.com   • StudioPress:  www.studiopress.com   • ElegantThemes:  www.eleganbhemes.com     • Official  LisMng:  www.wordpress.org/extend/themes/ commercial/   • Comparison:  www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/04/20/ detailed-­‐comparison-­‐of-­‐premium-­‐wordpress-­‐theme-­‐clubs/   Friday, June 28, 13
25. What You Need • Web  server  with  MySQL  and  PHP  installed  &  a  domain  name • I  use  Hostgator.com  (hosMng)  and  GoDaddy.com  (domain) • Dreamhost  offers  free  hosMng  to  non  profits  &  LISHost   hosMng  for  libraries • Access  to  (or  someone  who  can)  alter  the  MySQL  database   interface  or  a  host  with  single  click  install  of  Wordpress • FTP  SoLware • I  use  Filezilla  (hbp://filezilla-­‐project.org)   Friday, June 28, 13
26. Learn More Friday, June 28, 13
27. Follow on Slideshare • People  to  follow  on  SlideShare: • Stephanie  Leary   www.slideshare.net/stephanieleary • Syed  Balkhi www.slideshare.net/wpbeginner   • Andrea  Rennick   www.slideshare.net/AndreaRennick   Friday, June 28, 13
28. Books • Leary,  Stephanie.  WordPress  for  Web  Developers.  2nd  ed.   Apress,  2013. • Jones,  Kyle  M.  L,  and  Polly-­‐Alida  Farrington.  Learning  from   libraries  that  use  WordPress :  content-­‐management  system  best   prac<ces  and  case  studies.  Chicago:  American  Library   AssociaMon,  2013. • Tomasi,  Chuck,  and  Kreg  Steppe.  Sams  Teach  Yourself  WordPress   3  in  10  Minutes.  1st  ed.  Sams,  2010. • Beck,  Jessica  Neuman,  and  Mab  Beck.  2009.  WordPress:  Visual   QuickStart  Guide.  [S.l.]:  Peachpit  Press.   Friday, June 28, 13
29. Thank You! Nicole C. Engard Vice President of Education, ByWater Solutions Author, The Accidental Systems Librarian 2d & Practical Open Source Software for Libraries tasl.web2learning.net & opensource.web2learning.net nengard@bywatersolutions.com Friday, June 28, 13