About us

Welcome to the Oss4pl Community!

Unlike the “Gated” communities of exclusive real estate fame…we’re the opposite.  We’re an open online community offering free membership to all interested Public Libraries who want to take steps toward better public service through software and technology independence.

Our Vision:  We envision an online community where public libraries of all sizes can share stories and software--where we can collaborate on technology projects and share ideas, code, documentation, hopes, dreams, successes, and…well…sad stories are welcome as well.  We all have them.

Our Goal:  We want to help public libraries gain greater control, independence, flexibility, and value from the software that we use to serve our patrons and support the operational work of our library staff.  We hope to provide resources and encouragement to all public libraries that share this goal.

Who We Are:  Well, as of this writing, we are the King County Library System (WA), but that will change the minute any one of you sign up in our “Members” area.  The Membership, like the software, is free.  But we need you to work with us to help make it useful.

Contact Us: info@oss4pl.org