Technical support for open source library systems : a content analysis of Koha and Greenstone email discussion lists

Abstract

Currently, a range of high-quality Open Source software (OSS) applications are available to libraries and information centres. One of the most important issues for libraries and information centres considering adopting an OSS application is the effectiveness of technical support provided via email discussion lists, rather than by a vendor, who would provide this support in the case of proprietary software. This study investigates the use of email discussion lists in providing technical support to users of the Koha Integrated Library System and Greenstone digital library software. According to the findings, the largest categories of users on the lists were those which covered messages posted by software developers. However, the English-language Koha list differed in that the largest user categories were those which covered messages from a group of users based in a single country, the USA. This may indicate that a different community structure is in place in the case of this list, with users, rather than developers, playing a greater role. The usage pattern of the English-language Koha list also differed from that of the other two, in that a significant number of the messages received replies off the discussion lists, in private emails between users. The largest message subject categories on the lists were functionality and error messages. The predominance of messages in these categories points to a concern amongst all list users with issues surrounding the usability of the software, over and above some of the more technical, programming-related subject categories. There seemed to be an even distribution of questions and answers on the lists, and a very low number of messages which could be described as having negative social-emotional content. This may point to effective use of the discussion lists for technical support.