[open-bibliography] Ex Libris forms expert group on open data in Alma

[Peter Murray-Rust]

On Wed, Jun 22, 2011 at 11:39 AM, Adrian Pohl <adrian.pohl at okfn.org> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Ex Libris has formed an "Expert Advisory Group for Open Data in the
> Alma Library Management Service", see http://bit.ly/jfPKDj
>
> Karen, can you provide some more information about this? It doesn't
> seem to be focused on legal openness. Also I find this document quite
> inconsistent. A phrase like the Alma Community zone being "a catalog
> of bibliographic records shared by all libraries that are using the
> Alma library management service" does sound more like an exclusive
> club than an open database to me. Alongside Karen's quote this is a
> bit strange.
>

The word "Open" is often used in  ways that are inconsistent with the OKD. I
remember a vendor presenting their "Open API" at a JISC meeting. I
questioned them and it appeared that the "Open API" was:
* confidential information
* could not be disclosed by purchasers

The best synonym I came up with was "confidential documentation for our
software"

"Open" may simply mean that there is a consortium involved.

This is why the OKD is so important. Without its simple precision we
flounder in meaningless dialogue.

P.



-- 
Peter Murray-Rust
Reader in Molecular Informatics
Unilever Centre, Dep. Of Chemistry
University of Cambridge
CB2 1EW, UK
+44-1223-763069
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