A couple of weeks ago I promised an answer to the problem of open-source projects trying to address many libraries' diverse requirements for an integrated library system. What I had in mind was an open set of communication standards that would allow different tools to communicate with each other, but the more I think about it, the less sure I am that it would work.
A good example of my idea is a Unix-type mail system such as the setup I've got under Linux. Fetchmail downloads my messages, procmail filters them into mailboxes, mutt displays my mail, vim edits my outgoing emails, and postfix sends them. Each task has its own specific tool, and each tool is interchangeable with another that performs the same basic functions.
The problem is that email has a very clear, simple set of roles and functions, and library systems don't. There are certain things that have to happen (acquisitions, cataloging, circulation, OPAC), but there are no rules about how each part communicates with another. There's not even any incentive for the development of standards, because this software has been integrated for so long that no one knows how to take it apart any more.
Well, I thought it was a nice idea, but I don't see it going anywhere. Back to the drawing board.
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