[Koha] online libraries

[Howell, Lynda]

Aman,

Thanks, that's helpful.  I hadn't thought about the idea of using digital repository  software.

Our records all start out in MARC - we've got about 90000 books, 6000 dissertations/theses, and a handful of other stuff, but definitely bibliographic records to resources hosted elsewhere (ebrary, ProQuest, EBSCO, etc.) rather than locally hosted content.  We do original cataloging and host the undergraduate- and masters- level theses, but that's a small percentage.

But I do think it might be helpful for us to look outside the ILS box.  Thanks for the suggestion!

Lynda.

From: amandeep.kapila at aol.in [mailto:amandeep.kapila at aol.in]
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2012 1:52 PM
To: Howell, Lynda
Subject: Re: [Koha] online libraries

Hello,

         I think you don't want to manage a collection of bibliographic records (for which ILSs specialize) but want to create a digital repository of electronic/digital content. You have two options,

        1. You can use a ILS like KOHA with MARC21 field 856 to provide a link to the electronic content so that when a user clicks it the electronic document will open. I managed managed a big project (9.5 hundard thousand press clippings for JNU, New Delhi) on VTLS product Virtua when I worked for the company. I have checked it on KOHA also and it works the same way and works fine. The drawback is you have to catalogue every document/resource in MARC21(which is a tedious job compared to DC) and have to upload each file to the server (for which you may need the help from either the Administrator or a developer who will have to create a system for you to upload files) and then input the link to the file at field 856. The plus point is KOHA will meet more or less your advanced search requirements.

         2. The second option is you can use a repository management software like dspace, greenstone or fedora etc. These specialize in creating and managing digital repositories. They use DC for metadata. They allow you to upload the electronic files in many different formats directly without any help from the administrator or developers. We have a repository running on Dspace available at http://www.egyankosh.ac.in.

          Another option can be using some CMS but that will take a lots of customization and hard work and won't be required if you are not intending to create some fancy stuff.

          Keep in mind your budget, the volume of your collection and the kind of user you are expecting before making any decision.

          Best of Luck.

Cheers
------------------------
Aman,
(Amandeep kapila),
MA(Eng.), MLIS, PGDLAN, DBM,
New Delhi-110065.
INDIA

-----Original Message-----
From: Howell, Lynda <Lynda.Howell at myunion.edu>
To: 'koha at lists.katipo.co.nz' <koha at lists.katipo.co.nz>
Sent: Thu, Feb 23, 2012 11:35 pm
Subject: [Koha] online libraries

I'm interested in hearing from anyone using Koha in an online (only) library.

The whole concept of circulation (patrons, # of copies, due dates, holds,

availability, fines, etc.) isn't relevant to us, and 1-click access to full text

from the search results page is essential.  Being able to limit searches to

particular subsets (or to exclude particular subsets) is also important to us.

We're starting to explore open-source options for replacing our current ILS.



Is anyone using Koha in this kind of environment?  What kinds of customization

did you do initially, and how much on-going work are you finding it takes to

keep up with upgrades?  What other ILS/OPACs did you consider before choosing

Koha , and what made you go with Koha ?



Thanks for any insights you can give.



Lynda Howell



--------------------------------

Lynda Howell

Systems Librarian

Union Institute & University

62 Ridge Street, Suite 2

Montpelier, Vermont 05602

(802) 828-8618

lynda.howell at myunion.edu





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