Open Source Software for Open Source Software for implementation of Union implementation of Union Catalogue for KenyaCatalogue for Kenya

Beatrice Adera AmolloBeatrice Adera AmolloHead Librarian, Australian Studies Institute (AUSI), Nairobi, Head Librarian, Australian Studies Institute (AUSI), Nairobi, KenyaKenya

Paper presented at a Workshop on‘Modalities of Establishing a Union Catalogue for Kenya and the Standardized Integration of Local Content into a Union Catalogue

Venue: United Kenya Club, Nairobi, Kenya

Date: 4th – 5th May, 2011

ContentsContents

Union Catalogue - Definition Desirable features of a good library

catalog Prerequisite for a good union catalogue Cataloguing software used in libraries

found in Kenya Open source solutions and their suitability Selecting software for catalogue OSS recommendations

◦ Koha◦ Evergreen

Conclusion References Questions/Disscusion

Union CatalogueUnion Catalogue

A union catalog comprises of listing of information materials, of more than one library accessed online from a single point of access. It aggregates the bibliographic details of the collections of a number of libraries.

Advantages of union Advantages of union cataloguecatalogueFor the LibraryProvides facilities for cataloguing and

improvements in speedQuality recordsMutually acceptable standardsDocument supply serviceJoint collections and shared resourcesLinks to document suppliers and

electronic journalsOngoing discussion, planning and

programming among librariesNational bibliographic network Reduction in acquisition and cataloguing

expenses

Advantages of union Advantages of union cataloguecatalogueFor the usersconfirmation of the existence of an

itemaccurate known locations for an

itemavailability at those known

locationstimeframe for user needlicensing controls and authorization

Desirable features of a Desirable features of a good library cataloggood library catalogSingle point of entry for all library

informationWeb interfaceEnriched contentCategorized searchingRelevancyRecommendations or related

materialsUser contributionRSS feedsIntegration with social network sitesPersistent links

Prerequisite for a good Prerequisite for a good union catalogueunion catalogue

Bibliographic Database Standards◦Patron access to all the libraries’

resources◦Enhanced circulation services to

patrons◦Resource sharing◦Item conversion and maintenance

Cataloguing standardsCommunications formatLanguage and script of cataloguing

Cataloguing software Cataloguing software used in libraries found in used in libraries found in KenyaKenyaInstitution Software

AUSI Koha

Commission of Higher education Koha

Egerton University AMLIB

Gretsa University Koha

ILRI InMagic

Inoorero University Mandarin

Jomo Kenyatta University of

Agriculture and Technology

Koha

Kenya Polytechnic University Custom made by Polytechnic IT

department. This is currently down.

KCA Not online as at 25 March, 2011

KCA Not online as at 25 March, 2011

Kenyatta University Koha

KIM Koha

KNLS Not sure

Moi University In progress

St. Paul’s University Koha

Strathmore Koha

University of Nairobi VUBIS

USIU Symphony

World Agroforestry Centre

(ICRAF)

InMagic

Some of the reasons why Some of the reasons why libraries migrate to open libraries migrate to open source softwaresource software

Disillusionment with current vendorsOpen source is seen as a solution to:

◦Allow libraries to have more flexible systems

◦Lower costsNot be vulnerable to disruptions that

come with mergers and acquisitionsOpen source is beginning to emerge

as a mainstream option.No vendor lock in.

Infrastructural and cost Infrastructural and cost requirements: requirements: Proprietary versus OpenProprietary versus OpenCosts shifted from traditional

software licensing models. There is no initial purchase of license or annual license fees

Hardware costs are the same for both

Vendor support costs. This is optional for open source but almost mandatory for proprietary

Hosting and Conversion services same in both

Local technical support may be higher in the open source option

Selecting software for the Selecting software for the cataloguecatalogue

Recommended software Recommended software for the union cataloguesfor the union catalogues

KohaKoha

It was the first Open Source Library Management System and is widely used all over the world by all types of libraries. It is a fully featured library system with all the common modules you would expect from a modern ILS. It includes Searching, Circulation, Cataloguing, Acquisitions and Serials.

Koha’s features Koha’s features Full-featured ILSDual database designLibrary standards compliantWeb based interfaceNo vendorUsabilityBasic performance

Koha's architectureKoha's architecture

Koha’s key Cataloguing Koha’s key Cataloguing featuresfeatures

Koha's MARC frameworksAuthority Control & Authorized

values

To import the data into Koha, one has to first convert the source MARC File into a Koha-compatible file using MARCEdit—a free MARC editor.

The converted file is then imported using one of Koha's imports tools:◦ bulkmarckimport.pl: A Linux command-line

tool usually used to import large MARC files◦ GUI import tool: A more flexible import tool

available in Koha's staff client

Migrating data to KohaMigrating data to Koha

EvergreenEvergreen

Pines library search page, gateway to 275 libraries

Evergreen's architectureEvergreen's architectureAs an open source ILS, Evergreen has a very unique

system architecture utilizing various open source projects.

Its server-side services - developed in C and PerlMessage core is called open scalable request

framework (OpenSRF) built on Ejabber, an open source real time instant messaging service.

Extended Perl and C modules for the Apache web server - designed for the public interface layer.

All requests from the public interface are formed in the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format

In the database layer, Evergreen utilises the powerful open source database management software, PostgreSQL.

The staff client, built on the XML user interface language (XUL)

Features suitable for Features suitable for localizationlocalizationServer side of Evergreen runs on

LinuxEvergreen fully supports Unicode

Transformation Format 8 (UTF-8)Evergreen leverages the

Tsearch2 for indexing and searching

Evergreen stores records in MARC XML format.

Migrating data to Migrating data to EvergreenEvergreenRequired

◦Advanced ILS Administration experience◦Knowledge of Evergreen data structures◦Knowledge of how to export data from

the current system or access to data export files from the current system is necessary.

Several tools for importing bibliographic records into Evergreen can be found in the Evergreen installation folder

Other reasons for Other reasons for recommending Koha and recommending Koha and EvergreenEvergreen◦Sustainable communities

◦Networking and sharing

For cataloguing and OPAC◦Both have effective utilities for

Authority control record import record creation and record export duplicate checking thesaurus management search capability documentation web-based visibility saved search capability

ConclusionConclusion Adapting open source for a union catalogue in Kenya is not

impossible. Of importance, is the agreement between the participating

libraries. This is the hurdle that must be overcome before any progress is realized in this direction.

There are libraries in Kenya that have implemented open source ILS for long enough to provide the necessary expertise or input to help in the actual implementation.

Koha seems to have gained much mileage in Kenya as observed earlier on. The experiences with it by the different libraries will come in handy when deciding on which software to adapt for the union catalogue.

 Evergreen has blazed a new trail and as a result of its design, its development philosophy, and developments in information technology, it has spread rapidly and others are in the process of emulating it.

That is for the good, because more consortial software and more cooperation among members of the open source communities in the library world will make libraries stronger and give them more choices in available software to run their libraries.

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