Integrated library system
An integrated library system (ILS), also known as a library management system (LMS), is an enterprise
resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned, orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have
borrowed.
An ILS usually comprises a relational database, software to interact with that database, and two graphical user
interfaces (one for patrons, one for staff). Most ILSes separate software functions into discrete programs called
modules, each of them integrated with a unified interface. Examples of modules might include:
acquisitions (ordering, receiving, and invoicing materials)
cataloging (classifying and indexing materials)
circulation (lending materials to patrons and receiving them back)
serials (tracking magazine, journals, and newspaper holdings)
the OPAC (public interface for users)
Each patron and item has a unique ID in the database that allows the ILS to track its activity. Larger libraries use an
ILS to order and acquire, receive and invoice, catalog, circulate, track and shelve materials. Smaller libraries, such
as those in private homes or non-profit organizations (like churches or synagogues, for instance), often forgo the
expense and maintenance required to run an ILS, and instead use a library computer system
Koha (software)
Koha is an open source Integrated Library System (ILS), used world-wide by public, school and special libraries.
The name comes from a Māori term for a gift or donation.
Features
Koha is a web-based ILS, with a SQL database (MySQL preferred) backend with cataloguing data stored
in MARC and accessible via Z39.50 or SRU. The user interface is very configurable and adaptable and has been
translated into many languages.[4] Koha has most of the features that would be expected in an ILS, including:
Various Web 2.0 facilities like tagging, comment, Social sharing and RSS feeds
Union catalog facility
Customizable search
Circulation and borrower management
Full acquisitions system including budgets and pricing information (including supplier and currency conversion)
Simple acquisitions system for the smaller library
Ability to cope with any number of branches, patrons, patron categories, item categories, items, currencies and
other data
Serials system for magazines or newspapers
Reporting
Reading lists for members
Off-line Circulation
On- line Circulation
Segmentation of the line
History
Koha was created in 1999 by Katipo Communications for the Horowhenua Library Trust in New Zealand, and the
first installation went live in January 2000.[5]
From 2000, companies started providing commercial support for Koha, building to more than 20 today.[6]
In 2001, Paul Poulain (of Marseille, France) began adding many new features to Koha, most significantly support
for multiple languages.[7] By 2010, Koha has been translated from its original English into French, Chinese, Arabic
and several other languages. Support for the cataloguing and search standards MARC and Z39.50 was added in
2002 and later sponsored by the Athens County Public Libraries.[8] In France Paul Poulain co-founded BibLibre in
2007.[9]
In 2005, an Ohio-based company, Metavore, Inc., trading as LibLime, was established to support Koha and added
many new features, including support for Zebra sponsored by the Crawford County Federated Library System.
Zebra support increased the speed of searches as well as improving scalability to support tens of millions of
bibliographic records.[citation needed]
In 2007 a group of libraries in Vermont began testing the use of Koha for Vermont libraries. At first a separate
implementation was created for each library. Then the Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries (VOKAL)
was organized to create one database to be used by libraries. This database was rolled out in 2011. Fifty-seven
libraries have chosen to adopt Koha and moved to the shared production environment hosted and supported
by ByWater Solutions.[10] Another consortium of libraries in Vermont, the Catamount Library Network has also
adopted Koha (also hosted by ByWater Solutions). Previously automated Vermont libraries used software from
Follett, or other commercial software vendors.[11]
In 2011 the Spanish Ministry of Culture maintains KOBLI, a tailored version of Koha[12] based on an earlier
report.[13][14]
In 2014 the Ministry of Culture (Turkey) started to use Koha -- Devinim [15] version in 1,136 public libraries with more
than 15,000,000 items and app. 1,800,000 active users. This is the biggest Koha installation for the moment.
Increasingly, specialized libraries such as music libraries, adopt Koha, as its open-source nature offers easier
pathways to customization for their particular usecases.
Other open source integrated library systems (ILS)
Evergreen
Invenio
Liblime KOHA[45]
NewGenLib
OPALS[46]
OpenBiblio
PMB
Senayan
