Vimal kumar VVimal kumar VAsst. LibrarianAsst. Librarian

Asian School of Business Asian School of Business Technopark,TrivandrumTechnopark,Trivandrum

Need for Open Source software

• Cost of commercial ILMS is very high• Commercial developers do not reveal the source

code• Library have no control over the software• Investing in commercial ILMS is never ending

process

Popular commercial ILMS

Rs. 50,000SOUL

Rs. 3,50,000Alice for WINDOWS

Rs. 4,50,000LibSys

Rs. 4,50,000Libsuite

Appoximate Price

Name

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)

Proprietary cakes can restrict your freedom

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

OSS: Disadvantages

• Inadequate technical supportDocumentation tends to be limited and aimed at

developers. Technical support is usually limited, especially for users of the software.

• CustomizationMany features in ILS are generalist and must be

customised before use.

OSS: Disadvantages

• Unanticipated effortsA library may find that it needs to do a great deal

more work than anticipated to adapt the software to local needs.

• Lack of coordinationThe decentralized development of open sourcesoftware means that progress can be chaotic and

there may be delays in addressing bugs.

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

• Senayan• 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• Frequent software releases

History• Began in 1999 when the Horowhenua Library

Trust (HLT) in New Zealand, was looking for a Y2K compliant replacement for their library system

• Katipo Communications proposed a new system, using open source tools to be released under the GPL

• Koha (the MaoriMaori word for ‘giftgift’ or ‘donation’) wentlive at HLT in January 2000, and was the world’s firstworld’s firstopen source integrated library automation packageopen source integrated library automation package

• Distributed under GNU GPL licence

• It is currently maintained by a dedicated team ofsoftware providers and library technology staff from

around the globe..

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

Technical Requirements

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

CPAN modules

Zebra

Yaz

How Koha Works?

Perl Script

MySQL Database

ServerLibrary

Network

Koha Librarian Interface

Koha Support

Koha documentationDiscussion forumsWikiChatBlogsCommercial support -data migration

-hosting-customization-development

www.koha.org

Koha in India

Koha 3.0 featuresWeb 2.0 features: RSS feed, user tagging, usersuggestion, user/patron login facility, patron reviews and ranking Zebra plugin- relevance ranking, field weighting, truncation,

stemming, language-specific indexing, sorting, etc. Online reservations and renewalsRDBMS- MySQL 5Amazon.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…

What is your commitment?

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

Thank you

http://vimalkumar.oksociety.in

vimal0212@gmail.com