SPEC Kit 340: Open Source Software · 23
CUSTOMIZING PROPRIETARY SYSTEMS
6. Does your library develop plugins, extensions, or customizations for any proprietary or vended
systems? N=77
Yes 60 78%
No 17 22%
If yes, do those vendors allow the code you developed to be openly distributed with OSS licensing?
N=57
Yes 31 54%
No 26 46%
Comments N=16
Customizations are specific to our institution’s unique requirements and would not be generally useful to others. Some
customizations would not be supported by organization for security and support reasons.
Ex Libris allows/encourages development and customization of their systems, but sharing is limited to other Ex Libris
user institutions via CodeShare on the password-protected Ex Libris EL Commons web site.
In some cases, we are not sure, because we have not specifically asked the vendor. In the case of our ILS vendor, their
willingness to have our code openly distributed depends upon how much proprietary information about the system
would be divulged by the new software, i.e., the nature of the software and how it interacts with the proprietary
system.
Most do allow for this. Or, they at least have an established community of their customers where code can be shared.
We attempt to write code that is mostly generalizable to any like system, in order to allow ourselves the flexibility to
changes systems later on with fewer dependencies on custom development.
Not all our vendors allow this. Some applications would reveal proprietary information about the data model used in
vendor product.
Not sure if it’s allowed (haven’t asked).
Some allow this, some do not.
Some vendors allow it, others do not. Ability to redistribute is not a major factor in determining whether we develop
plugins, extensions, or customizations.
Some vendors do, some vendors don’t.
The library has developed plugins for use with its proprietary ILS software (Voyager) and has shared the plugins with
other libraries. They are considered a federal employee product, therefore public domain.
The library IT staff has plans to develop plugins, extensions, or customization for the ILS. The ILS vendor does allow APIs
to be openly distributed.
Unsure [whether vendor allows this].
We do provide the extensions without a license but we include a disclaimer.
CUSTOMIZING PROPRIETARY SYSTEMS
6. Does your library develop plugins, extensions, or customizations for any proprietary or vended
systems? N=77
Yes 60 78%
No 17 22%
If yes, do those vendors allow the code you developed to be openly distributed with OSS licensing?
N=57
Yes 31 54%
No 26 46%
Comments N=16
Customizations are specific to our institution’s unique requirements and would not be generally useful to others. Some
customizations would not be supported by organization for security and support reasons.
Ex Libris allows/encourages development and customization of their systems, but sharing is limited to other Ex Libris
user institutions via CodeShare on the password-protected Ex Libris EL Commons web site.
In some cases, we are not sure, because we have not specifically asked the vendor. In the case of our ILS vendor, their
willingness to have our code openly distributed depends upon how much proprietary information about the system
would be divulged by the new software, i.e., the nature of the software and how it interacts with the proprietary
system.
Most do allow for this. Or, they at least have an established community of their customers where code can be shared.
We attempt to write code that is mostly generalizable to any like system, in order to allow ourselves the flexibility to
changes systems later on with fewer dependencies on custom development.
Not all our vendors allow this. Some applications would reveal proprietary information about the data model used in
vendor product.
Not sure if it’s allowed (haven’t asked).
Some allow this, some do not.
Some vendors allow it, others do not. Ability to redistribute is not a major factor in determining whether we develop
plugins, extensions, or customizations.
Some vendors do, some vendors don’t.
The library has developed plugins for use with its proprietary ILS software (Voyager) and has shared the plugins with
other libraries. They are considered a federal employee product, therefore public domain.
The library IT staff has plans to develop plugins, extensions, or customization for the ILS. The ILS vendor does allow APIs
to be openly distributed.
Unsure [whether vendor allows this].
We do provide the extensions without a license but we include a disclaimer.
