Open Source Systems for Libraries

Christinger TomerUniversity of Pittsburgh

Library 2.012October 4, 2012

• An alternative to proprietary systems, which creates incentives for proprietary developers to improve products and pricing as well as additional options to library decision-makers

• Participatory design process integral to open source software provides opportunities to adapt and develop software in order to meet specific needs

• Open source, systems, and standards enhance the interoperability of all systems

Why Open Source Systems Are Important for Libraries

Basic Software Architecture

• All of the systems under consideration today are based on the so-called "LAMP" (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP) architecture (or a variant using PostgreSQL instead of MySQL) and employ a design based on scripted interactions with an underlying database management system. Koha is distinguished by its use of PERL, and Evergreen is notable because it employs OpenSRF, a XMPP message routing protocol for internal transactions (as part of a "scale-out" development process).

• Sustainability of the systems depends in significant part on the ongoing development of the underlying database systems (and it should be noted that where MySQL is concerned, there are questions, owing to Oracle's equivocal commitment to its future.

Other Considerations in the Use of Open Source Systems

• Interoperability

• Scalability (Expandability)

• Usability, including Customization Opportunities and User Friendliness

• Environmental Suitability

• Granularity, including Levels of Access and Security

• Quality of Administrative Resources and Tools, including Design of Administrative Workflows

• Availability and Quality of Developer and Third-Party Documentation

• Availability and Cost of Technical Support

• Community InvolvementSee: Manisha Singh, Gareema Sanaman, (2012),"Open Source Integrated Library Management Systems: Comparative Analysis of Koha and NewGenLib", The Electronic Library, Vol. 30 Iss: 6 (Date online 16/10/2012)

Open Source Systems within the ILS Marketplace

ILS Marketshares, 2010

From Marshall Breeding, "Automation Marketplace 2011: The New Frontier," Library Journal 136 (April 1, 2011).

KohaKoha Requirements

To install Koha for immediate use we recommend

• A Linux server – Debian is what most people use

• Apache

• MySQL

• Perl

• Root access to the server

• Ability to work on the command line

• Database administration skills

Koha is free software and is licensed under the GNU General Public License, either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

Koha's HistoryKoha was developed beginning in 1999 by Katipo Communications in New Zealand. There are now versions for both academic and public libraries, and Koha has also been adapted for use in special libraries. It has received a number of awards and is available under the GNU Public License. In 2005, an Ohio-based company, LibLime, was established to support Koha. LibLime added new features, including support for Zebra indexing to increase the speed of searches and improve scalability. In 2009 a dispute arose between LibLime and other members of the Koha community, centering on LibLime's reluctance to be inclusive with the content of the http://koha.org/sites and a failure to contribute software patches back to the community. A number of participants declared that they believed that LibLime had forked the software and the community. A separate web presence, source code repository and community was established at http://koha-community.org/ . The fork continued after March 2010, when LibLime was purchased by PTFS.

Koha Community

Serials Module under Koha Community

This is an area in which all versions of Koha need improvement, particularly where Koha is employed to support academic libraries.

LibLime's Versions of Koha

LibLime's Basic Koha Interface

LibLime's Version of Koha for Academic Libraries: Course Reserves

The distinguishing features of Academic Koha are: (1) enhanced administrative module for acquisitions; (2) support for course reserves; (3) enhanced seaching capabilities; (4) support for mobile devices; and (5) limited availability.

Administrative Tools under LibLime Koha

‡biblios.net

‡biblios.net is a LibLime-sponsored service providing access via Z39.50 to MARC records. Current state of the site suggests that LibLime's commitment to this project and the services it is intended to provide may have lapsed.

ByWater Solutions Version of Koha

ByWater's services includes installation, customization, data migration, training, and hosting.

Which Version of Koha?The division of Koha into multiple development streams creates a complex and controversial situation. However, the ByWater release seems to have gained more acceptance within the Koha community, but this may be as much about politics as it is about functionality, as evidenced by the fact that ByWater Website’s points back to the original Koha community, whereas LibLime’s directs the user to the Koha.org site. In addition, a large-scale survey of libraries in 2010 showed significantly more user satisfaction from libraries using the ByWater release, particularly in the area of customer support (Breeding, 2011). In a related vein, there have been complaints about the maintenance of the LibLime version, as well as unhappiness about the release of the clients-only version of Koha for academic libraries.

Evergreen ILS

• Evergreen was developed by the Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) to support 252 public libraries in the Public Information Network for Electronic Services (PINES) consortium. PINES successfully completed the transition to Evergreen in September 5, 2006. It is being used in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, the Republic of Georgia, the Czech Republic, and Mexico.

• Evergreen employs a client-server architecture. The system itself runs on Linux servers and uses PostgreSQL as its database. The client, which supports all key administrative functions runs on Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, or Linux computers and is built on XULRunner. Reliance on this design and continuing problems with compatibility of versions of the client application are major issues for Evergreen.

Evergreen Search Interface: Results Set

Evergreen Search Interface: Item-Level Result

Item-Level Display (with TOC)

Table of Contents feature is available and may be be added to Evergreen when supported by vendors.

Evergreen Shelf Browser

Refining Searches under Evergreen

Evergreen Client Interface

OpenBiblio

OpenBiblio was created in 2002 by Dave Stevens and is maintained by Hans van der Weij.The catalog's format is based on MARC 21 but records may be imported from other compatible formats. OpenBiblio is designed for small libraries supporting general interests. It provides modules for circulation, cataloging, administration, and reporting and would be suitable for organizations with limited IT infrastructure and/or support

Kuali OLE

Kuali OLE is the first system designed by and for academic and research libraries for managing and delivering intellectual information. It promises to deliver "an enterprise-ready, community-source software package to manage and provide access not only to items in their collections but also to licensed and local digital content," and will feature a governance model in which the entire library community can collaborate to own the resulting intellectual property.

NewGenLib

NewGenLib, which is a Windows-based implementation developed in India, is based Tomcat, PostgreSQL, the Struts and Spring frameworks, JDOM, and the XCQL–CQL parser. The front-end of the system is based on Java and JDOM for XML/JSON messaging.

Running Library Systems in the Cloud

Factors Favoring Running ILSs within a Cloud Configuration:

• Cost-effectiveness

• Flexibility

• Data Safety

• High Availability

• Big Data Capabilities

• Improving VM Management Capabilities

Issues and Problems Related to Cloud Computing

• Data Confidentiality

• Jurisdictional Ambiguities

• Data Transfer Bottlenecks

• Fault Tolerance

See Yan Han, " On the Clouds: A New Way of Computing," Information Technology & Libraries Jun2010, Vol. 29 Issue 2, p87-92,

AWS Managment Console

AWS Management Console, Part 2

Questions