THE NEW LITERACIES AND
THE FREE SOFTWARE
Marius Stoica, Arad County Public Library
What involves the new literacies?
● New ways to access knowledge through
the use of Information and Communication
Technologies:
– Using computers
– Using the Internet
– Using all other related technologies
What is the essence of literacy?
● Apart from the social and practical aspect of
literacy...
● "Have courage to use your own
understanding!" - I. Kant
Figuring out computer literacy!
● The ability to use a computer (hardware)
– The ability to use an operating system
● The ability to use application and system
software
– The ability to read and write software code
(programming)
Proprietary software
● Software is a commercial product
● The access to software must respect the rules
applied to any merchandise
Free software
● Software is a community effort
● No proprietary restriction in using it and
distributing it
● You get access to the source code
The UNIX operating system (70's)
● Research OS at Bell Labs made by
employees
● A vehicle of free knowledge among
researches and hackers
● Not a commercial software up until 1983
Free Stoftware Foundation (80's)
● The GNU (Gnu's Not Unix) Operating System
– Free tools to build a Unix like system
– Lack of kernel for a functional OS
● The GNU General Public Licence
– A truly free, non-proprietary license, but anti-
commercial...
The Linux kernel (90's)
● Started by a student, supported by an impatient
community
● The birth of the first complete functional GPL'ed
OS through the proliferation of GNU/Linux
distributions
– Debian
– Red Hat
– Suse
– Slackware
– Etc.
Open Source Initiative
● Open-source vs. free software - the bazaar vs.
the cathedral
● Open Source Initiative and the Open Source
Definition
● Copyleft licenses (commercially restrictive) and
Permissive licenses (less restrictive)
What about libraries?
● Free software as:
1.A strategic IT infrastructure
2.A great way to empower librarians
3.A new library resource and service focusing on
new literacies among library users
IT infrastructure
● Free OS for
– Desktop use
– Intranet network
– Server use
● No monopoles: software as service not as
product
Application software
● Office suite: OpenOffice, Gnome Office etc.
● DTP : GIMP, Inkscape, Scribus
● Multimedia: Audacity, Cinelerra
● WWW:
– Browser, Online communication software etc.
– CMS: Drupal, Wordpress
Library and collection management
● ILS:
– Koha
– Evergreen ILS
● DLS
– Kete
– Greenstone
– Invenio
Reevaluation of library science
● Information is a decentralized resource
● The user is a source of information
Professional support in software
development
● Libraries support for the development of
technologies related to information
management:
– Standards of data communication
– Managements system software
Semantic web technologies
● Integration of all library system requirements
with the semantic web tendencies:
– Machine readable meta-data used for
classifying library resources directly inside the
Web pages
Free software for the public
● Software code and packages as resources for
the public
● Mirroring free software websites on public
library servers
Empowering the user
[Link] freedom to run the program for any
purpose.
[Link] freedom to study how the program works,
and change it to make it do what you wish.
[Link] freedom to redistribute copies so you can
help your neighbor.
[Link] freedom to improve the program, and
release your improvements (and modified
versions in general) to the public, so that the
whole community benefits.
Saper aude!
● Educative, scientific and creative software for
the public. Some distros:
– Debian junior, Skolelinux, Scientific Linux
● Making a customized distribution of the
library :
– Using live distro frameworks: Debian Live,
Linux Live
