Open Source ILS
Affordability, Democracy, Transparency, Freedom
Rana Muhammad Iqbal
MIT, MLS (Punjab)
Library Specialist
Planning Commission
Islamabad
What is Open Source Software (OSS)?
• Software available FREE with source code under
GPL license to use, change, improve and
redistribute it modified or unmodified.
• Open source software can be used freely without
having to pay license fees to its developers.
• Contrasts with the commercial model of software
distribution in which the source code remains the
developer's closely guarded private property.
Philosophy of OSS
• Why would anybody work on something for free?
• The open source movement is a worldwide effort to promote an
open style of software development more aligned with the
accepted intellectual style of science than the proprietary modes
of invention that have been characteristic of modern business.
• Both open source software & open access to research represent
innovative responses to the particular restrictions placed on the
sharing and exchange of software code & research publications,
respectively, imposed by current intellectual property economics.
• Idea is to keep the SW advances openly available for everyone to
use, understand, and improve, as in 1960-70 engineers did.
• based on innovating, sharing, collaborating, community
involvement, freedom, and winning together.
The Open Source Landscape
Open source software has proved to be a viable alternative
to the proprietary software products offered by Microsoft
and other companies. The leading instance of open source
software is the operating system Linux, which is an option
when ordering IBM and Dell computers, and is used to run the
large server farms maintained by Google and eBay. Linux
alone challenges fortress Microsoft, and is proving to be the
software hope for developing nations. Can be downloaded
without charge, with a large global community of supporters
who gather around Web sites such as SourceForge.org,
which provides ready access to over 60,000 open source
software projects.
The unacknowledged convergence of open source, open access, and open science by John Willinsky, First Monday, volume 10,
number 8 (August 2005), URL: http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_8/willinsky/index.html
The Open Source Web Server
OSS Sustainability
• The Apache Server code, for instance, had 80,000 lines of code
with about 400 people contributing..
• The major role is of its global users' community.
• Support of IDAs (like UN), Govts (all from USA to Pakistan),
Charities (e.g. A. W. Mellon Foundation, Max Bell Foundation)
R&D bodies and Academics (e.g. FAST) to bridge the digital
divide and share the benefits of ICTs with those who can't afford
otherwise.
• Pay-for-Support companies and service providers of OSS are
using all state-of-the-art technologies and processes to keep OSS
products competitive against their commercial competitors.
• Commercial Companies & venders using OSS technologies to
support their off-the-shelf/ proprietary software, for instance
Virtua uses LINUX server and Vital DR leverages the benefits of
open-source solutions such as Apache, MySQL and FEDORA™.
OSS and Libraries
• OSS “model is culturally quite similar to the values embodied
in libraries” Bretthauer, 2001).
• Libraries and open source software are a natural fit. (Frumkin, 2002).
• “OSS is solving problems for libraries of all types and is helping to get
work done for people of all technical abilities” (Bisson, 2007).
• OSS offers cheap alternatives to expensive commercialized
solutions (Altman, 2001; Cervon, 2003; Muir: Wan, 2007).
• Rajni (2003) considered, Free and open Source Software a useful and
significant tool that can be helpful to solve many problems faced by
the people of developing countries. The report identified low cost, antipiracy campaign, security and technological independence as factors behind
the expansion of FLOSS in the developing world.
• “by standing up for open source within our libraries we stand up for
libraries as evolving organizations ready for the challenges of the
future” (Jaffe and Careaga, 2007)
OSS: Weaknesses
• Unanticipated Efforts: A library may find that it needs to
do a great deal more work than anticipated to adapt the
software exactly to the local needs.
• Lack of Coordination:The decentralized development of
open source software means that progress can be chaotic
and there may be delays in addressing bugs.
• Inadequate Technical Support: Documentation tends to
be limited and aimed at developers. There usually is
limited technical support, especially for users of the
software.
• Risk of discontinuation: Development or support may
discontinue. The same risk exists with commercial options.
Pay-for-Support provides solution to most of the problems
OSS Strengths
Ability to fit local needs: Availability of the source code
means that you can modify and enhance the software to
more closely fit your own needs.
No restrictions on use: no restrictions on how the software
is used and no invoices for each user license.
Low cost: no charge for the software itself. If other libraries
share their efforts, each user’s cost is reduced. Pay only for
needed support or any additional products & services if
required. Even then huge savings than commercial SW.
Innovation: with open source code , users keep-up
innovating, improving which means often much faster
development cycle when compared to proprietary software
OSS Strengths..
• User-driven: Traditional vendors focus on providing
functionality meeting needs of the majority of their
customers.In contrast, OSS features emerge from the
community of users.This makes OSS development userdriven: you decide what features are important and
deserve attention rather than a vendor.
• Collaboration:vibrant local, national and global user
groups collaborate in creativity, development and trouble
shooting.
• Transfer of Technical Know-How: Being active member
and part of OSS community, your team members will learn
the minimum required know-how of SW & technologies in
use.
OSS Strengths...
• Reliability: OSS is peer-reviewed software, exposed to extreme
scrutiny, with problems being found and fixed instead of being
kept secret until the wrong person discovers. So the code base is
more reliable than closed, proprietary software. Mature opensource code is as bulletproof as software ever gets. OSS evolves
at astonishing speed. People improve it, people adapt it, people
fix bugs.
• Security: Proprietary software, with 'closed' source code, support
and future development rely solely on the resources of a single
vendor. If the vendor goes down, so does your product support.
• In contrast, OSS rely on stable code bases developed and
supported by many providers worldwide. As a result, libraries
using OSS have more support options than those using
proprietary software.
OSS Strengths...
• Dramatically reduces the potential of supplier lock–in
which solves "a huge problem of potential opportunism"
and reduces the chances of ending up in "a dependent
relationship."
• Stallman identifies four open source freedoms ………..:
the freedom to run the program for any purpose, to study
how it works, to redistribute copies, to change and improve
the program and redistribute those improvements (Weber,
2004, p. 48)
• Everyone wins: Initiators, Adopters, Contributors,
Govts, Public & Private Institutions, Communities
Open Source Integrated Library Systems
Koha
MicroLCS
Emilda
Evergreen
FireFly
GNUTeca
Avanti
OpenBiblio
PhpMyLibrary
PMB
PYTHEAS
WEBLIS
KOHA: The First Open Source ILS
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300+ libraries worldwide
Horowhenua Library Trust
Nelsonville Public Library – Athens Country, OH
Crawford County Federated Library System, 10 Libs
Howard County, MD:
Service area population: 266300
4.7 m. circulation transactions in 2006
1 million volumes collection
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Central Kansas Library System
Santa CruzPublic Library:
9 branches,
2 million volume
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Near East University Library: 1.5 million volumes
Delhi Public Library: 2.0 million volumes
KOHA VS Commercial ILS
Source: www.naclin.org/KOHA%20PRESENTATION.ppt
KOHA Features
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A full featured modern integrated library software (ILS).
OS independent any operating system. Linux, Unix Mac, Windows
Web based. Web-based Interfaces. We can integrate with website.
Full MARC21 and UNIMARC support for professional cataloguing.
Multilingual and multi-user support
Library-Standards-Compliant. Industrial standards & protocols.
Z39.50 server.
Online reservation.
Full catalogue, circulation, acquisitions, libreary stock management.
Web based OPAC, public to search the catalogue.
Major industry-standard database type (text, RDBMS),SQL, MySQL.
Serial management module.
Print your barcode.
Export and import of Marc records, ISO2709
Turnkey Open Source ILS
Koha has almost all the feature of commercial software and its users
Source: www.naclin.org/
are its owners.
KOHA OPAC Features
Basic and Advance searching
User login and Password
Online Account checking
Self Reserve
Self Renew
Online Purchase Suggestions
Fine Checking
Virtual shelf
Book Bag
Integration with google scholar
Amazon content
Book review
Title image
Multi-branch catalog
Marc record export
Multilingual searching
Reading History
Personal information update
Fresh Arrivals checking
Relevance ranking
Spell-checking
Refining original queries
Support for popular query operators
Flexible default query processing
In-line query limiters
Sort flexibility
Faceting
Advanced search
Easily customized search-result pages
Online suggestions
Search logging and reports
Well-rounded administrative interface
tagging, comments, recommendations
display/hide item status
display record images
wildcard searching: internal and righttruncation
searching using UTF-8 characters
Source: www.wiki.koha.org
Open Source in Pak libraries
Free SW CDS-ISIS: provided the foundation to library automation in Pakistan
Zebra Server, Yaz Client and MarcEdit: Out of 520 only 15 libraries are using
Zebra Server and most of the libraries are using off-the-shelf solutions for their
connection to the LOC gateway. Eleven out of the total fifteen worldwide Zebra
based OPACs are from Pakistan, and the ten OPACs were implemented along
with staff training by PakLAG volunteers with out charging a single penny from
the respective organizations.
Koha ILS: Exploration Initiated UMT, further Explored NRSP, joined IIU and
PakLAG.
PakLAG KOHA: Six Languages Virtual Key Boards, Urdu Marc Export facility,
Printing of multilingual spines, book card, membership cards, catalog cards etc.
PakLAG among Pay-for support Companies. First in south Asia
PakLAG Koha: Adopted by
Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad
HITEC University Wah Cantt.
Health Services Academy Islamabad.
Issues, Challenges, opportunities
Conceptual
Risk Factor
Financial
Social/Cultural … Organizational Culture
Technological/Technical
Level of support available
Documentation
Training
Human resource development
Open source popularity
Trend change/financial constraints/
Dissatisfaction with existing systems
Source: www.naclin.org/KOHA%20PRESENTATION.ppt
ILS user Trends
Koha -- LibLime (241 libraries, 306 facilities in lib-web-cats)
Public libraries: 114
Academic libraries: 36
School libraries: 28
0 libraries have migrated away from this system.
VTLS, Inc. offers the following Integrated Library Systems:
Virtua (151 libraries, 264 facilities in lib-web-cats)
Public libraries: 24
Academic libraries: 74
School libraries: 2
14 libraries have migrated away from this system.
VTLS (8 libraries, 9 facilities in lib-web-cats)
Public libraries: 1
Academic libraries: 7
School libraries: 0
361 libraries have migrated away from this system.
Source: www.librarytechnology.com
Thank you