Page 81 - DLIS007_LIBRARY AUTOMATION

Library Automation

Notes low computer literacy skills compared to other open source library management Koha in
2007. The Library has a collection of over 15 lakh books. During the initial stages a significant
portion of the records from CDS/ISIS database were exported to Koha.
Granthalaya (www.granthalaya.org) is another prestigious automation project which uses
Koha. This project envisions a union catalogue of public libraries in Konkan region
Maharashtra, India. Central Library and other Departmental libraries in Cochin University
of Science and Technology adopted Koha and became fully functional in 2009. In Tamilnadu,
32 district libraries and Connemara Public Library were automated and networked using
Koha with the help of AU-KBC Research Centre of Anna University Chennai with support
from the NRCFOSS Project (National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software)
funded by the Department of Information Technology, Govt of India. Anna Centenary
Library in Chennai also selected Koha for its automation purpose.
Mysore University successfully migrated to Koha from legacy system in 2010. British
Council Libraries in India and Sri Lanka selected Koha for automation and networking its
libraries. They serve 120,000 members through ten libraries. British Council Library online
catalogue started its service and is available at www.library.britishcouncil.org.in. Koha
has been customized in Bengali script for the purpose of automating academic and public
libraries in West Bengal.
The Government of Kerala has in principle made a decision to make Koha as its official
software for computerization of Government administered libraries. Educational
institutions under Institute of Human Resources Development (IHRD) have adopted Koha
in their libraries by providing in-house training for library professionals. IHRD is an
autonomous body under Government of Kerala which owns around 50 educational
institutions.
Training and awareness can eliminate misconceptions of many library professionals
regarding open source software. Professional organisations, library schools and prestigious
libraries in India have organised Koha workshops. DELNET, NCSI, DRTC, Kerala Library
Association, Cochin University, University of Kerala, University of Burdwan, Mahatma
Gandhi University, NISCAIR and OSS Labs have organised Koha training. Many learning
and installation aids have been developed for Koha training programmes. Koha Live CD
is a helpful tool using which librarians can install Koha easily without the help of a Linux
expert. DRTC, Bangalore developed a live CD suitable for learning purpose and installation.
Koha, DSpace and other applications are also included in the live CD.
Delhi Public Library
Delhi Public Library was established in 1951 by Government of India with the assistance
of UNESCO. The library has a collection of 1.5 million books and 35 library outlets located
in various parts of the Delhi city. The library serves 73,467 users. Average number of
books issued per day is 33789.
Delhi Public Library began to use computers since 1995. In 1997, the library started to use
CDS/ISIS to create the database of books received under the Delivery of Books and
Newspapers Act. Koha was implemented in 2007 and its online catalogue is also available.
About 52,681 records in English and 38,180 records in Hindi were transferred to Koha
from CDS/ISIS and 2,33,304 record details were entered in Koha till 12th January 2012.
Records from all Indian languages are available and regional language searching is also
enabled in Delhi Public Library through the online catalogue.
The library implemented the automation project using Koha with a relatively low cost.
They utilised the maximum in-house manpower for project related works. Library had
sought only the services of an IT company for the installation of a server computer.
Contd...

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