Changes

Open source software and cloud computing systems are perceived as enticing technologies for both IT staff and IT/Academic administrators. The ability to implement implementation of open source software or adopt adoption of cloud services is often met with resistance however not because of lack of interest but because of lack of technical expertise in smaller organizations or lack of perceived benefit in larger organizations. Although these technologies are not necessarily related, when combined they offer the combined ability to offer easy deployment of services without significant organization investment or local expertise [http://cloud.lib.wfu.edu/blog/gazette/2010/11/04/finding-ways-to-combine-cloud-computing-and-open-source-software/]. This ability would allow allows organizations to leverage open source systems without the overhead typically associated with "free as in a free kitten."

While there are some large national projects looking at using cloud platforms to deliver new services there is an opportunity for a grassroots effort to deploy develop and support pre-configured application servers that are simple to deploy and maintain. These 'disposable' servers would serve the needs of both small and large libraries by enabling them to adopt open source software without taking on the requirement of local infrastructure, configuration, or detailed support.