Any suggestion as to how or if to proceed?

[Andres]

Dear All,
I am new to the mailing list, I have cut out contact details but it involves libraries in the UK.
Let me know if not appropiate.

**********

Dear Andrés

 

Thanks for this.  Basic set up in our libraries is as follows - both staff and public networks are supported by SERCO. They provide:

 

·        hardware and network support

·        infrastructure support for e-mail (Exchange/Outlook)

·        maintenance for the PCs - fix or replace malfunctioning devices.

·        support for the VOIP phone network used by Libraries

·        some support for printers on the public and staff networks

 

The fundamental software setup is based on the same architecture as the council as a whole - PCs currently run Windows XP and Office 2003. The Library management system is provided by Civica.  Beyond the basic Microsoft setup we use software from a variety of sources, and have looked at a whole range of software from the proprietary (e.g. Photoshop Elements) to open source (e.g. The Gimp).

 

The reality is that the ICT resources in libraries and in the Council generally are at full stretch delivering a significant amount of change.  Regrettably therefore I don’t think there is any appetite or capacity to engage at this time in any further consideration of open source software.

 

Thanks for your interest on this though – I hope you enjoyed the opening event as much as I did and that you and others in the community enjoy the fantastic new facilities now that they are properly open.

 

Regards,

 <snip>

 

From: Andrés Muñiz Piniella

 

Dear *****,It was nice meeting you at the ***** event.Could you find out what the name of the company that will service the user side of the IT of *******((Public Libraries?From my conversation with Peter Bazalgette there is an 'Envisioning…' report that says open source in council libraries is the way to go but that it was up to Coucils. There is a general goverment push towards this as well, as you commented when we met.I then spoke to some of the techies in IT support for public service and they say they would love to support free (as in freedom not free beer) software on the public facing side, since background servers are already using free-libre open source software (FLOSS) tools. But they are stuck in the status quo. A particular techie said that talking to council to change was a waste of time, that I should talk directly to the support company. I do not think this is true, since the council is the client and the client is always right (if given a choice).Of course,
general public is not going to request a shift from a particular american closed source company to one of the british FLOSS companies because they do not know there are options, consecuences of being in a sponsored monopoly for so long! That is why I hold workshops where I help neighbours using only FLOSS tech.Let me know if I am taking the wrong approach. And if you can help me contact your support companies.Regards,Andrés
<snip>
-- 
Enviado desde mi teléfono con K-9 Mail.
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