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Who's using Koha? Public Libraries

From small public libraries to large consortia... Koha is empowering public libraries around the world to steer the direction of their ILS! Here's a look at just a few of the public libraries using Koha. Combined, their stories capture the scalability and flexibility of open-source library automation.

Pennsylvania, USA

public-ccfls.jpgCrawford County Federated Library System

Pennsylvania, USA— Crawford County Federated Library System (CCFLS) in Pennsylvania chose LibLime to support their new Koha ZOOM system in 2006. The nine-library system leveraged its own IT staff to implement and customize Koha, and selected LibLime’s Koha ZOOM Basic package for additional support. CCFLS is set to go live by April 2007.
• 9 library consortia
• Migrated to Koha ZOOM in 2007
• Supported by LibLime

In addition to taking advantage of the rich functionality sponsored by other libraries, CCFLS decided to give back to the open-source community by becoming a major sponsor of Koha’s Zebra integration--an effort lead by LibLime to improve the underlying architecture and scalability of the system.

“Open-source software allows libraries to take control of their technology. You will not necessarily save time or money implementing open source. However, what you gain is priceless: complete control over the user interface.”
-- John Brice, Systems Administrator, CCFLS


CCFLS chose to carefully customize Koha's staff interface based on their own staff's feedback. They plan to contribute their interface design back to the Koha project as a ‘theme’, supporting Koha’s philosophy of collaborative and library-driven development.


See related story: Koha Earns its Stripes

See related story: Driving Koha ZOOM: Crawford County Federated Library System Poised to Go Live



Ohio, USA

public-NPL.jpgNelsonville Public Library System

Ohio, USA-- Located in picturesque southeast Ohio, the Nelsonville Public Library System (NPL) is a true Koha pioneer. NPL made waves in 2002 by becoming the first public library in the U.S. to adopt the open-source ILS, and the first public library in the world to use the MARC version of Koha, which they had sponsored. More recently, in 2006, NPL became the first library to put the new enterprise version of Koha (Koha ZOOM) into production. This was a fitting honor, since NPL played a significant role in making Koha ZOOM a reality.

"Frankly, after experiencing the sensation of having total control over our software, we could probably never go back to a commercial system.” -- Stephen Hedges, Director of OPLIN (Ohio Public Library Information Network); former director of the Nelsonville Public Library System.

• 7 Branches
• 350,000 items
• 620,000 circulation, annually
• 40,000 borrowers

• Migrated to Koha in 2002
• Migrated to Koha ZOOM in 2006
• Supported by LibLime

Though NPL relies on LibLime for migration and support, NPL has continued to devote in-house resources to Koha’s development. NPL webmaster Owen Leonard serves as the official Koha Interface Designer, and worked closely with LibLime developers to redesign the public catalog interface for the new Zebra-based search engine. Feedback from NPL staff played a key role in fine-turning ZOOM’s impressive relevance-ranked free-text queries. NPL also sponsored MARC support for Koha in 2000 and developed the Z39.50 server currently used by Koha.

Their web-based OPAC is online at:
http://search.athenscounty.lib.oh.us

See related story: Koha: A Library Checks Out Open Source

See related story: Koha ZOOM Goes Live, and It Rocks



Ohio, USA

public-stow.jpgStow-Munroe Falls Public Library

Ohio, USA-- Award-winning Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library is the second-largest in Summit County, Ohio. With 38,000 active borrowers and over 150,000 titles, the library continues to expand services, programs and other resources to meet the needs of their growing community.

• 150,000 titles
• 38,000 borrowers
• Migrated to Koha ZOOM in 2007
• Supported by LibLime

Stow-Munroe Falls made the decision to use Koha after being informed that their proprietary ILS would no longer be supported. Stow-Munroe Falls made a significant investment in Koha, sponsoring enhancements to authorities control and a more granular circulation ruleset. They also worked closely with LibLime on enhancing the interface to help staff and patrons with the transition process.

“The ROI speaks for itself. Open source is cost- affordable and technologically-sound choice. It enables libraries to position themselves to be prepared for technology changes in the future.”
-- Doug Dotterer, Director Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library

Stow-Munroe Falls migrated to Koha ZOOM in February 2007.

Their OPAC is available online at:
http://opac.smfpl.org



NEW ZEALAND

public-rangitikei.jpgRangitikei Library

NEW ZEALAND-- Rangitikei Libraries consist of six branches: Taihape, Marton, Bulls, Hunterville, Mangaweka and Kawhatau. The libraries operate as a network, sharing 50,000 books by a rotation system. The second public library to go live with Koha, Rangitikei have been using Koha since the middle of 2005. With several branches spread out over a large area, Rangitikei needed a system that was able to work over all types of connectivity, including rural modems.

• 6 branches
• 50,000 items
• Migrated to Koha in 2005
• Supported by Katipo Communications

Their OPAC can be found online at:
http://www.rangitikeilibrary.org.nz./cgi-bin/koha/opac-main.pl

See related story: LibLime to Acquire Katipo Communications' Koha Division



NEW ZEALAND

public-Horowhenua.jpgHorowhenua Library Trust

NEW ZEALAND-- Horowhenua Library Trust is the library that started it all! When a Y2K bug threatened to make its legacy ILS obsolete, Horowhenua commissioned Katipo Communications to create Koha and release it as open source in 1999.

• 2 branches
• Migrated to Koha in 1999
• Supported by Katipo Communications
The first ILS to be release under the GPL, Koha won both the 3M Innovation in Libraries award and an Interactive New Zealand award the following year. Koha has truly lived up to its name, which means ‘Gift’ in the Maori language of New Zealand. On behalf of the hundreds of libraries around the world using Koha... Thanks Horowhenua!

Their OPAC can be found online at:
http://www.library.org.nz


See related story: LibLime to Acquire Katipo Communications' Koha Division

See related story: Koha Wins Free Software Award

See related story: New Zealand Leads The Way: The Horowhenua Open Source Story


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