OpenDocument discussion veers toward consumers

Five U.S. library associations have voiced their support for Massachusetts' decision to adopt the OpenDocument document format standard.

In a memo sent to Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, who has jurisdiction over public records, the library associations said that the choice of OpenDocument, or ODF, is way to ensure that electronic documents will be accessible hundreds of years from now.

"Requiring all Commonwealth employees to create documents in ODF will make it significantly easier for libraries to ensure that patrons 100 years from now will be able to read these historically important documents," the letter said. It was dated December 12 and signed by the American Association for Law Libraries, the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the Medical Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association.

The endorsement marks one of the first times that consumer-oriented groups, rather than vendors, have weighed in on the discussion of document formats and standards.

Consumer technology advocate Manon Ress, who went to Boston this week to attended a public forum on Massachusetts' policy and brief local journalists, weighed in on the matter as well, saying "the battle of the vendors is not over and it's time consumers weigh in."