Public licences, free and open software: from received IT to flexible ILS

"Free" software created and defended for 20 years by its American developers and by a global virtual community is already in use in many libraries for minor applications, frequently without them being aware of it. For integrated library systems such installations are still rare. The main challenge lies not in the dying out of "owner" software which has its place, nor in the reduction of direct costs, but rather through a new type of relationship between librarians, their tools and their suppliers in the best interests of their readers.
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