Resolving multiple copies problem in unique-titles from biblio-records available through KOHA library management system
| Pages | 12-16 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-08-2019-0052 |
| Date | 07 October 2019 |
| Published date | 07 October 2019 |
| Author | Preeti Mulay,Sangeeta Paliwal,Venkatesh Iyengar,Samaya Pillai,Ashwini Rao |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Library & information services |
Resolving multiple copies problem in unique-titles
from biblio-records available through KOHA
library management system
Preeti Mulay, Sangeeta Paliwal, Venkatesh Iyengar, Samaya Pillai and Ashwini Rao
Introduction
KOHA (a M
aori term for a gift or
donation) is a Web-based, open source
and free integrated library management
system (LMS) widely used by
academic communities for acquisition,
cataloging, circulation, serial control,
patron management, flexible reporting
and automated services. Also included
are tagging, commenting, social
sharing, customizable searches, RSS
feeds, email notifications, online
circulation–reservation renewals, barcode
printing as just examples of library
services for users. KOHA, a full-featured
integrated library system (ILS), is
multilingual, has undergone several
upgrades over the decade, and with the
current version being used worldwide and
with a user-friendly Web OPAC, MARC-
21 as a universal standard format, helps in
the migration of data to any other ILM
software.
Before KOHA’s inception, libraries
were using various other software
systems, such as Libsuite and LIBSYS.
Libsuite was not an integrated LMS built
on single portal system. It was a smooth
transition from Libsuite to KOHA
because of the easy software-to-software
system migration feature. In 2014-2015, a
title-wise report was generated based
on the collection of reading materials
about the issue of redundancy of titles.
The objective and need for such “unique
title report” for the university during the
migration from Libsuite to KOHA, all the
records were separated for each set of
multiple copies. This created a problem
and subsequently lost its unique title
report while executing the migration of
data between these two systems. The
unique title is useful for collection,
development, where faculty members can
see the number of copies available in
library before requesting it, online
services, OPAC, and its efficiency in
terms of cost and time.
Literature review of KOHA papers
According to Karak and Dutta (2017),
many academic institutes use multiple
LMSs including KOHA, Software for
University Libraries (SOUL), LIBSYS,
eGranthalaya. These LMSs are useful
software systems for maintaining the
accession registers related to library
collection, store bibliographic records and
user data and many others. In this paper,
the authors have successfully migrated
all the library details from one excel sheet
to the KOHA database. Recent advances
in computing technologies (e.g. cloud
computing, application programming
interface, service-oriented architecture),
current industry standards such as RFID
and bibliographic standards like Machine-
readable Cataloging in Extensible Markup
Language (MARCXML), resource
description and access (RDA), functional
requirements for bibliographic records
(FRBR), linked data and schema,
bibliographic framework (BIBFRAME);
increased adoption of open source ILS,
changes in the nature of library collections
and continued shift in users’ expectations
have increased the complexity of the
decisions regarding ILS for all types of
libraries across the globe. In a complete re-
envisioning of the previous edition,
Automating Media Centers and Small
Libraries: A Microcomputer-based
Approach,Bilal (2014) reconceptualizes
library automation. The author explains
how next generation discovery services
supported by library integrated systems
would provide a single point access to all
library content in several types and
formats. The author further discusses
methods of analyzing user requirements
and structuring these requirements in
request for proposals (RFPs) and
proprietary and open source integrated
systems for school, public, special and
academic libraries. Various options are
enumerated for software installation and
testing, describing software architecture
such as single- and multi-tenant SaaS,
hardware architecture such as Paas and
IaaS and network architecture such as
Ethernet. Guidelines are included for
negotiating a contract with a cloud service
provider, data migration through
outsourcing and the process of data
extraction and testing, usability assessment
and evaluation methods.
Mahatma Gandhi University Library
in India houses a large repository of
books and includes many students and
faculty. The authors share their learning
experience about migration from SOUL
to KOHA which was found to be a
daunting task. To accomplish this
challenge, it required a good network of
teams and systematic ground work.
Exporting bibliographic details from
SOUL about users and reading material
was quite challenging, as the exported
files were not user-friendly and in easily
readable formats. After successful
migration to KOHA, new features such
as local language support, unique
cataloging, capacity to handle multiple
institutes and many other features were
possible (Kumar and Abdul Majeed,
2019;Vimal Kumar, 2015). An
interesting study by Benahal (2018)
portrays the entire life cycle of printed
books starting from procurement to
tracking. Automation of library system
using KOHA involves multiple factors
starting from an institute’s policies,
vendors, finance, auditors, reports and
tracking of books. The study provides a
complete in-depth analysis of the
KOHA acquisition module, its
12 LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 8 2019, pp. 12-16, V
CEmerald Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/LHTN-08-2019-0052
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