When I began my current job at Algoma University as the systems librarian, I really had no idea what I was getting into. Despite a decade in library information technology (IT), I felt nervous over my primary task: to help develop and administer Evergreen, an open source library catalogue system. The problem? My experience was almost totally in the world of Windows.
Initially, I was cautiously optimistic. I had a proven track record of picking up new skills in a hurry, but after about the first three weeks, I realized I was in trouble. How would I make the transition from Windows to Linux system administration? More importantly, how would I do it while on the job? Afterall, I was hired to get work done, not to educate myself on a new operating system. I had my evenings, but being scheduled to take over the project manager role within four months of my arrival, I doubted evenings would get me where I needed to be. In the end, the project survived my tenure as project manager and what follows is what I learned in the process.