Librarians’ perceptions about adoption and uses of the Koha integrated library software in Punjab, Pakistan
| Published date | 05 August 2019 |
| Date | 05 August 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-11-2018-0224 |
| Pages | 624-635 |
| Author | Muhammad Asim,Muhammad Ijaz Mairaj |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
Librarians’perceptions about
adoption and uses of the Koha
integrated library software in
Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Asim
Department of Libraries, National History and Literary Heritage Division,
Islamabad, Pakistan, and
Muhammad Ijaz Mairaj
University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore Pakistan,
Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to find out the reasonsof adopting Koha integrated library software, discovers
the problems faced by librarians duringits implementation, and gets the perceptions of librarians about the
performancesof Koha in Punjab, a province of Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach –Survey method was used to collect the data through questionnaire
from the purposefullyselected sample (N = 66)of university librarians of Punjab, a province of Pakistan.
Findings –The librariansadopted Koha due to the availability of Web onlinepublic access catalog (OPAC),
provision ofMARC21 standards for cataloging and itsfree availability. During implementation,the librarians
were faced with the problemsof lack of technical skills, lack of knowledge aboutthe Linux operating system,
shortage of skilled manpower,slow internet speeds and approval from their organization.They highly rated
the performanceof the cataloguing, circulation, patron and OPAC modules of Koha.
Originality/value –This research provides a brief pictureof librarians’perceptions about Koha adoption
and satisfaction levels.The findings highlighted the issues and problems faced during the implementation of
Koha. This study will be helpful for librarians in the selection, implementation and usage of the Koha
softwarein their libraries.
Keywords Koha, Integrated library software, Library open source software,
Library management systems, Library automation software
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
We are living in the information age and information has become indispensable to perform
all day-to-day activities in ourdaily lives. Nowadays, information is a need as air is needed
for our survival.Information technology (IT) has changed the worldinto a global village and
has seemingly permeated every facet of life. IT helps us in managing information and has
made it possible to access informationconstantly. Libraries adopted IT in the early stages of
its development. Software is the one of the most important items in the library automation
process. A computer without software is like a library with neither books nor librarians
(Mahmood, 1999;Mairajand El-Hadi, 2012).
The Koha integrated librarysystem (ILS) is a fully featured open source software (OSS).
The word Koha derived from the Mãori language of New Zealand and means “gift”or
EL
37,4
624
Received15 November 2018
Revised12 March 2019
25April 2019
Accepted18 May 2019
TheElectronic Library
Vol.37 No. 4, 2019
pp. 624-635
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/EL-11-2018-0224
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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