Open Source ILS
One of the libraries where I volunteer is looking for a new OPAC to replace its current DOS ‘un, which is nearly as old as I am. Although our current system has been quite a workhorse, we’d like something nice and shiny enough to allow folks to search the catalog through our website. (And to let us print spine labels using something other than a dot-matrix printer.)
Someone suggested Readerware but I’m curious about the open-source ILS options out there. Namely Koha or Evergreen or maybe even Librarything. Does anyone have any experience with any of these, or recommendations of other systems to look at?
The small library I work at (serving a population of about 20-30,000 between two libraries) just switched over to Evergreen. We changed not by choice, but because our old Horizon system was no longer being supported by the company. I thought it would be great for a number of reasons. One being that it was open source, and another because other libraries were using it and we could all therefore be on the same system, share cataloguing records, etc. Well, we are about a month into having it up and running and unfortunately I have to say I strongly dislike it. I like the concept of an open-source library catalogue, but there are just too many aspects where it falls short. For one, when placing a hold, a patron cannot find out what number in line they are in. Another problem is with spelling, if you search for an author and the last name has two tt’s for example (ie. Brett) and you typed in only one t, you get no hits. There are just little things that really make it frustrating. I am sure as we get more comfortable with the system the issues will smooth themselves out, but in the mean time we get to take a lot of flack from angry, frustrated customers, who could not care less about the advantages of open source software. I would be interested to know how the other OS programs perform.
Roen Janyk
21 Sep 09 at 10:00 pm
I heard a presentation about the expansion of Evergreen in BC last year, so it’s interesting to hear how it’s going. Has there been any public announcements or instruction about the benefits of this system? Keep me updated on how it settles out in your library!
KM
22 Sep 09 at 6:54 am