Vimal kumar VAsst. Librarian

Asian School of Business Technopark,Trivandrum

Workshop on Koha

November 17, 2008

Mahatma Gandhi University Library, Kottayam

Presentation will cover

• Need for Free/Open Source software.• What is Free/Open Source software?• Features of free software• Integrated Library Management System (ILMS)• Free/Open Source ILMS• Koha

Need for Free/Open Source software

• Cost of commercial software's is very high• Commercial developers do not reveal the source

code

Popular commercial ILMS

Name Appoximate Price

Libsuite Rs. 4,50,000

LibSys Rs. 4,50,000

SOUL Rs. 50,000

Alice for WINDOWS Rs. 3,50,000

What is Free/Open Source Software?

Free/Open Source software is a computer software whose source code is available under a license that permits users to use, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified form. It is often developed in a public, collaborative manner.

(Wikipedia)

Features of Free Software

• the freedom to run the program, for any purpose

• the freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to local needs

• the freedom to redistribute copies so others can benefit from the software

• the freedom to improve the program, and release the improved version to the public,

so that the community can benefit (The Free Software Foundation)

Open Licenses

• GNU General Public License (GPL)• Mozilla Public License• Creative Commons• BSD License• Apache Software License• GNU Free Documentation License

History of Free/Open Source Software

• 1984 Richard Stallman formed Free Software Foundation (FSF).

• 1991 Linus Torvalds developed Linux • 1994 Red Hat (commercial Linux) company

founded. • 1998 “Open Source Initiative” was formed

Integrated Library Management System(ILMS)

“an automated library system that is capable of managing the operations of more than one basic library functions”

-UNESCO

Modules of library processes in an ILMS

• Acquisition• Cataloguing

• Serial Management• Circulation

• OPAC

Free/Open Source ILMS

• Avanthi Circulation System

• Emilda• FireFly• Koha• PhpMylibrary• OpenBiblio

• WEBLIS• OpenILS• PhpMyBibli• GNUTECA• PMB• Learning Access ILS• NewGenLib

Why Koha?

• Full-featured ILS• Library standards compliant• Web based interfaces• Free software• No Vendor Lock in• Active development process• Community decides what they

want

History

• Horowhenua Library Trust• Katipo Communications • first deployed in January of

2000 • LibLime

License: The GNU General Public License

Developer: Horowhenua Library Trust, New Zealand

Operating System: Linux, Windows, Mac

Functional Modules: Acquisition

Cataloguing, Circulation, Serial Control, OPAC.

Home Page: www.koha.org

Koha features

web-based OPAC,

circulation and management interfaces,

MARC21 and UNIMARC support,

Z39.50 server,

Online

Reservations& Renewals,

E-mail Overdue Notifications.

Virtual Shelves

Barcode Generator

Technical Requirements

• OS- Linux, Windows, Mac OS • Programming Language- Perl• Database- MySQL • Webserver- Apache

How Koha Works?

Perl Script

MySQL Database

ServerLibrary

Network

Koha Support

Koha documentationDiscussion forumsWikiChatBlogsCommercial support -data migration

-hosting-customization-development

What is your commitment?

Find bugsFind usability problemsSuggest new featuresReview and inspect source codeSubmit source codeWriting Documentation responding to other users’ questions

Future of KOHA

• Koha 3.0 featuresZebra plugin- relevance ranking, field weighting, truncation,

stemming, language-specific indexing, sorting, etc. RDBMS- MySQL 5.0Amazon.com integration spellchecking queries based on database entries patron reviews and ranking highlight search terms in results pages search historyReserves : send a mail or a SMS when a reserve is available Serials Enhancements RFID and self check outOverdue Notices and more…

Thank you