[Koha] is koha right for our project run by volunteers?

[Bob Birchall]

On 08/03/17 01:29, Rebecca Shtasel wrote:
> Hello
>
> We are a small group of volunteers (one of whom is a retired school
> librarian) who run our synagogue's library in the UK.  We would like to
> produce an online catalogue and are interesting in using Koha for this
> purpose as we haven't much money.
Not having much money is not a good reason to choose Koha.  Wanting 
great software that meets your needs and is easy to use is a much better 
reason.
>   The library has about 4000 books
> covering a variety of classifications (fiction, history etc) all related to
> Judaism.
Koha is suitable for libraries of this size.
> The original accessions book was lost when the library had to be
> moved a year ago and we have a notebook with handwritten entries for the
> accessions we have received since the library moved to its new home.
> Looking at the information to do with koha it appears very technical and we
> are wondering if we will be able to use it for our catalogue.  We would
> literally be taking books off the shelves to input their information,
Koha has the ability to import catalogue records from other libraries.  
I would be surprised if you cannot find existing records for the 
majority of items in your collection. Google 'copy cataloguing' and 
'z39.50' to learn more about this.
>   not
> importing the data from elsewhere and  none of us has anything more than
> basic computing knowledge.
This is the key.  In light of that, you should only use Koha if you can 
arrange to have it externally hosted by an experienced Koha support 
provider.  Find providers here:
https://koha-community.org/support/paid-support/
You may need to do some fundraising or apply for a grant.  But 
unfortunately, running Koha in-house will be very challenging for you 
from a computing perspective.

Once you have a hosted instance of Koha available, your retired school 
librarian will have sufficient knowledge to lead you forward.  She/he 
can get more support on this list.
>
> Given this, do you think koha is too complicated for us to use or amongst
> all the information related to using koha is there a very basic guide that
> would suit beginners like us?
> If you think we would struggle using koha, could you advise us on software
> that you think would be more user-friendly and is not too expensive?
>
> Thanking you all very much in advance for any advice you can give.
>
> Rebecca (on behalf of the group)

Best wishes,
Bob Birchall
Calyx

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