Open Source Software and Librarian Values
Jason Puckett · Georgia Library Quarterly · 2012
Open source softwareThe term "open source software" (OSS) refers to computer programs released under terms allowing users to use, modify, or redistribute the software in any way they see fit, without requiring users to pay the creators a fee (Szczepanska, Bergquist, & Ljungberg, 2005, p. xvii).It is known as "open source" because the source code -the programming code that makes the software work -is made available along with the readyto-use software itself.OSS is also known as "free software.""Free" here is meant in the sense of liberty, not the sense of "without cost," although both meanings are valid.