Koha is
FreeSoftwareForLibraries. It is a platform providing
CIRC (
CirculationModule) and
OPAC (
OnLinePatronAccess).
It uses the
PerlLanguage and MySQL, and the
MarcRecord module.
http://www.koha.org and
http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/koha
Koha was initially developed in 1999, and was first deployed in
January of 2000. It has been in production since that time. Koha is
currently installed in a number of libraries on at least four
continents. While the initial development work was done by
KatipoCommunications and funded by the
HorowhenuaLibraryTrust (both in
New Zealand), the developer base is now international in scope.
The 1.2.0 release of Koha was made on June 14th, 2000. Work on this
branch is continuing, and a new 1.4.0 release is being planned which
will feature a number of key features including MARC compliance.
The development of Koha is also undergoing a transition. It was first
developed in the
CathedralStyle within
KatipoCommunications.
Gradually,
OutsideDevelopers started to work on the system. Recently,
responsibility for the direction of the project was passed to
PatEyler.
The new development is geared to establish several things: a larger,
more vibrant
KohaCommunity; a better
FreeLibrarySystem; increased
recognition for Koha in the library community; and a move to better
programming methods including
ExtremeProgramming.
Another new development is the investment in Koha by libraries. Nelsonville
Public Library has announced that they will be migrating to the Koha system
and will be releasing a series of three RFPs, the first one is out at
http://pate.eylerfamily.org/geek/MARCRFP.txt, for work they'd like to see
done on Koha.
They've started a collection of links at
http://www.athenscounty.lib.oh.us/koha.html
CategoryProject