How Open Source Engenders Community: The Resonance Test 91

Open source powers the internet as we know it, but is it influencing the analog world as well? We invited two open source experts from EBSCO Information Services to talk about their experiences with Folio, an open source library services platform. Christopher Spalding, EBSCO’s Vice President of Product, and Rachel Fadlon, EBSCO’s Vice President of SaaS Marketing and National Conferences & Events, described a culture of community and transparency that originated from open source but has now permeated workplace culture. The pair engaged with Chris Howard, Open Source Lead at EPAM, in a brisk conversation about their experience scaling open source. 

Spalding says even workplace language has changed as a result of the transparent culture of open source. “The focus is on, ‘Well, why would that be closed? Let’s make that open. Why wouldn’t we talk about that?’ Let’s put it all on the table because we get feedback instantly, and then we know the direction that we go as a partnership with the larger community.”

Fadlon adds that open source has had a positive effect on client relations. “The way that you approach someone in the library as a community member to a community member is very different than the way we were approaching our customers before,” she says. “We’ve made a lot more things more transparent and open.”

Press play to better understand the culture of open source.