Page 80 - DLIS007_LIBRARY AUTOMATION

Unit 4: Problems, Evaluation and Trends in Library Automation Software

Notes

Task Identify the criteria for evaluation of library automation packages.

Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:
11. Unicode support for LMSs is essential in developing countries.

12. ANSI/NISO Z39.50 standard was developed to share the bibliographical information
electronically.
13. FRBR refers to the ability of LMSs to combine multitude of resources and media type in a
single and seamless search mechanism.
14. RFID is the technology that is slated to replace barcodes in library applications.
15. Open Source Software (OSS) is software for which the source code is freely available.

Case Study Adoption and User Perceptions of Koha Library
Management Systems in India

ree software are those which are available free of cost with source code. According
to Free Software Foundation “Free software” means software that respects users’
Ffreedom and community. The users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study,
change and improve the software. With these freedoms, the users (both individually and
collectively) control the program and what it does for them”. The two terms, “free” and
“open source” are used synonymously for free distribution of software. Free and Open
Source software movements are two ideological groups working for free distribution of
software. Both groups strongly believe in community participation and peer review.
Libraries are attracted to open source technology not only due to its free availability, but
due to its attractive philosophy. Open source software suggestions for improvement.
Thereby, the work is continuously edited and refined.
Koha open source library management system is a new entrant into library automation
marketplace in India. The work on Koha started in September 6, 1999 by Catipo
Communications following a request from Horowhenua Library Trust, New Zealand.
Horowhenua Library Trust implemented Koha in January 1, 2000 and the Trust released
Koha under the most popular and flexible GNU General Public License for deriving
support from the global community and ensuring future development of the system. The
same year Koha was deployed in St. Joseph’s College, Devagiri in the Indian state of
Kerala. This is considered to be the first Koha installation in India. Thereafter, there have
been a number of Koha installations in India and the group of active Koha users in India
is growing. The annual conference of Koha developers and users called ‘Kohacon’ held in
Pune, India in 2011 was a recent significant milestone.
Koha in India
Adoption rate of open source library management systems in India is comparatively slow
due to a variety of reasons ranging from lack of awareness among library professionals to
Contd...

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