Contributions from private developers

Hi all,

I just recently discovered FOLIO and I find the project and the whole concept very interesting. I’m a software engineer and I’ve worked in different libraries for over 10 years so I know a thing or two about library management systems and library IT. However, I’m not working in the library sector anymore, but I’d be happy to contribute to FOLIO’s design and development as a private person, because I find its approach very fascinating. Is it possible to get involved even if I’m not representing any organization?

Thanks,
Petteri Kivimäki
https://fi.linkedin.com/in/pkivimaki

Hi Petteri,

And welcome to FOLIO! You certainly don’t have to be affiliated with an organization to take part. The price of entry is just to show up. As with any open source project, how and where you might contribute depends on your skills, interest, and time.

Some thoughts about how to contribute. At the moment, whole big chunks of the system are being built outright, and lots of things don’t exist yet. That can make it daunting to figure out how to get involved. Some good ways to get started:

Sign up for the Slack team and follow the Discuss site (see links here: http://dev.folio.org/community/). Don’t be afraid of asking questions. You’ll start to get to know the people, and figure out what’s being worked on. Following along in the issue tracker can also help.

Follow the webcasts and consider getting on some of the group calls… you’ll see announcements in various places. The regular forum updates are a good way to get snapshots of the ‘big picture’ of where things are and where they’re headed.

Play with the code. Think about what aspects or areas are of particular interest to you. Where might you like to get involved.

Again, don’t be afraid of asking questions. It’s a friendly community, and someone will try to steer you in the right direction. Spend some time at http://dev.folio.org and share your thoughts!

I look forward to getting to know you!

–Sebastian

Hi Sebastian,

Thank you for the information! I signed up for Slack, JIRA and Discuss so I should have access to all the relevant platforms. I also started to play with the code already and as so far it has been surprisingly easy thanks to the good documentation. When I get further down the road with all the material, I will have many question for sure.

Happy Holidays!

Thanks,
Petteri