We've long known that Koha[1] needs solid support for serials[2], but up to this point haven't been willing to commit the resources to work on it for fear of gettin it wrong. We're ready to change that. Koha now sports a group of nearly 30 developers, many of whom are quite active. There's also a large group of libraries around the world who are using Koha, along with many others who are looking seriously at it. We'd like to combine the strengths of these groups to develop between two and five serials modules for Koha. These modules should provide serials support ranging from very simple for small libraries (public schools and the like) up to very complete solutions for large libraries. My plan at this point is as follows: through 31 Jan 2003 -- hold an open discussion at koha2010@kohalabs.com[3] about the functional needs of a serials module. This discussion can (should) include dividing functionality among the various modules, but should not be a technical discussion about how to implement the functionality 1 Feb 2003 through 28 Feb 2003 -- create a series of design specs for the modules. This discussion will occur (mostly) on the koha-devel@lists.sourceforge.net[4] mailing list. Periodic drafts will be posted to the koha@mail.katipo.co.nz[5] and koha2010@kohalabs.com mailing list for feedback. 1 Mar 2003 on -- work on developing the modules. The simplest module will be the first target, with others folowing based on interest from the developer and user communities. If one or more libraries would like to sponsor the development of a specific module out of sequence, or a developer or company would like to develop one of the modules, that would be fine -- we'd ask that any development be done 'in the open' with CVS access provided to the other Koha developers. -pate ps Please feel free to redistribute this ... I'd like to get as broad a discussion as possible. If you're not interested in Koha, but are interested in serials, please feel free to join the discussion and implement the ideas in your own ILS of choice. Pat Eyler Kaitiaki/manager migrant Linux sys admin the Koha project ruby, shell, and perl geek http://www.koha.org http://pate.eylerfamily.org [1] Koha is a free ILS produced by the Koha project. For more information, please visit http://www.koha.org [2] Serials are items published periodically (in serial), like magazines, newspapers, etc. [3] To subscribe, send an email to koha2010-subscribe@kohalabs.com and follow the directions in the response you recieve. [4] To subscribe, please go to http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/koha-devel and fill out the form. [5] To subscribe, please go to http://koha.org/mailing/ and fill out the form provided.