The city of Helsinki and Finland’s National Library have made available as open source the code for its new library service, allowing users to locate nearby libraries, see what they offer and find opening hours. The code is published under the AGPL licence. According to developers involved in the project, it is the first complete open source project by a public administration in Finland.
The code is written to accommodate multiple languages. The service is now running in Finnish, Swedish and English, but other implementations could easily add more languages.
The web site and services were launched in late October. The index does not yet contain all libraries in Finland, but those involved in the project trust the remaining information will be added before the end of the year.
The software is written by Seravo, a Finnish open source IT specialist. Introducing the software in an interview published by the Finnish open source resource centre, Seravo's CEO, Otto Kekäläinen, says: "Our library directory does not depend on any IT-vendor. Because it is available as open source, any IT firm can lend support, maintenance and make improvements.
Kekäläinen, a member of the Free Software Foundation Europe, says that using open source allows public administrations to save costs and at the same time increase quality. "The public administrations should bet on open source."
Presenting the project on the company's web site, Seravo explains that the Library Directory is built on top of other open source technologies. The main components include Node.js which provides the directory's core services, and Elastisearch, a Java-based search engine. Geographical information is displayed in combination with maps made available through Openstreetmap.
More information:
Library Directory service
Library Directory on Github
News item by the Finnish open source resource centre
Blog on the library service by IT firm Seravo
Libraries.fi