[Koha] koha features

[Sébastien Hinderer]

Dear all,

Galen Charlton (2009/04/20 07:07 -0500):
> Hi,
> 
> 2009/4/20 Deependra Tandukar <dtandukar at icimod.org>:
> > I am new to this list and KOHA. Does KOHA support document attachment and
> > full text indexing? How about multimedia objects?
> 
> Koha doesn't support these features directly, although Koha can
> certainly be used to link to multimedia objects stored in an external
> content management system.  You may be looking for a digital library
> platform.  There are a number of open source digital library systems
> out there, including Kete (http://kete.net.nz/), Greenstone
> (http://www.greenstone.org/), Fedora (http://www.fedora-commons.org/).

Many thanks for having mentionned these projects on the list.
I just went through all of them and would like to request advices from
all of you.
The organization that employs to me provides a digital library for
visually impaired persons:
http://www.bibliotheque-helene.org
and
http://www.serveur-helene.org
Generally speaking, the books are provided to us by their publishers.
In general the files they provide are in PDF format.
We then convert these files o obtain books in DAISY format, cf.
http://www.daisy.org
The books are then made available to the blind, either directly in daisy
or in other formats which are produced automatically thanks to the files
in daisy. The books are delivered so that the readrs cannot copy them
freely, thanks to a public-key infrastructure.

For the moment, almost all the tools we are using to manage the library
are home-made.
Technically speaking, there are two components involved.
1. A file server where the books are stored and who performs the
necessary conversions between formats, and the encryption of copyrighted
material.

2. A webserver which is used as a gateway between the file server and
the rest of the world.

Now, our project is to build a new version of the library, which would
use as much open-source technology as possible.
One idea we have is to rewrite the web server part based on a Library
Management System such as koha.
Given the projects mentionned above and the short description of our
library, I have several questions.

1. According to you, is koha the best candidate for building a digital
library ?
Can you think of other library management systems which would make it
easier to handle digital ressources and at the same time use standards
such as Marc and Z3950 ?

2. Does the present architecture (web server + file server) look
relevant to you ?
Would you recommend to base the file server on a tool such that Fedora
Commons, or would you rather suggest to use a revision control system or
even another content management system ?

Let me thank you all in advance for any comment, idea, suggestion or
criticism you will share. Everything is welcome so please do not
hesitate to share everything that comes to your mind.

Best wishes,
Sébastien.