Something I plan to do a lot this year is spend time experimenting: with FOSS, Ruby on Rails and repository/object management software. These are not things that I often have the opportunity to do at work. But since they interest me, and I think they’re important to keep up with, I’m happy to spend time using and learning about them at home.

But if you are like me, and want do do more than just install something like an empty ePrints, dSpace, or Evergreen on your own computer, what can you do?

• Are you involved with a community group, or could you volunteer with one that needs you? A few years ago, I volunteered with a radio library. Community groups often have small libraries that are in need for someone with skills to organise the collection and get even a basic catalogue together.
• Are you a member of a library association? Currently volunteering on a committee? Perhaps they have archives they need to get in order.
• Got a project in need of software at home? I’m thinking of using Evergreen to catalogue at least some of the thousands of books in my house, many of which are pre-barcode and don’t work well with cataloguing programs that rely on Amazon.com data.
• Start an entirely new service, for yourself or for a public site. It doesn’t have to be related to libraries at all! I’m learning Ruby on Rails to create a travel-related site.
• Can you find a way to do it at work? The latest Working Knowledge column, What Are You Waiting For? makes a really great point about letting people know what you can do, especially if it’s not something related to what you do right now, something I am often poor at.

Experimenting, on its own, is fine. But if you plan to translate the skills you are learning to your CV it’s not enough to have the technical skills alone - there has to be purpose.

That said, I do wish that those developing software sometimes paid more attention to documentation, instead of it being a separate project or afterthought. Last week I downloaded Fedora, Evergreen and dSpace. I figured I had to be able to get at least one up and running quickly to try out.

No luck with any of them. Granted, I am working from an older version of Mac OS X (10.3), old hardware, and it’s not a dedicated box for development. I’m not an expert, but I’m not a total beginner either. I got stuck on point 2 of the dSpace install documentation, where they describe an essential Java prerequisite I couldn’t find on Sun’s site. A good hour later, all I’ve been able to work out is that it’s been upgraded, and is now called something else. Not dSpace’s fault at all, as the instructions are dated 2005 and do warn that they may become out of date. It’s more to do with documentation norms and expectations. For instance, when I wrote about getting Ruby on Rails running, I used all sorts of shortcuts.

However, there has to be some way for those who don’t work on these kinds of things every day to quickly and easily work out:

• Is this software something I need?
• What else will I need to download/install?
• Will it work on my computer?
• Can I install it myself?
• Can I get support if I need it?

I think the Hivelogic Ruby on Rails article I previously linked to is a good example to strive for. It doesn’t make me run all over the internet looking for installation instructions for many different things. It tells me how to do (almost) everything on one page.

It’s not about dumbing down the documentation or requiring that every install document is up-to-the-second accurate, but rather ensuring that these kinds of applications do get used more widely, especially by libraries with limited budgets or that don’t have a lot of IT support. Greenstone plays that role for libraries in developing countries, but what about independent and community libraries, small and rural libraries, or even big libraries that don’t currently use FOSS? Is the documentation a factor?