Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager: A Comparison of Their Staff Modules Ten Years of Experience, A Future of PossibilitiesVALE / NJ ACRL/ NJLA CUS Tenth Annual Users' Conference Friday, January 9, 2009

Sharon Yang, Melissa A. Hofmann , and Meghan WeeksRider University Libraries

Overview of the PresentationIntroduction Open source & GNU General Public LicenseOpen source ILSKoha and EvergreenStaff client comparisonComparison of staff functions AcquisitionsCatalogingCirculationSystem administrationBehind-the-scenes technologiesCost analysisConclusion

Introduction: Open Source & GNU GPL GNU General Public LicenseGNU is a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix" Free to run, study, modify, and redistribute the softwareSupport is not free

Other open source licensesMozilla Public LicenseCreative Commons licensesBSD LicenseApache Software LicenseGNU Free Documentation License

Introduction: Why Open Source ILS?Financial considerationsAbility to tailor to fit local needs or customizationNo restrictions on useUser driven vs. profit drivenDissatisfaction with current ILSNo vendor lock-in

Introduction: Open Source ILSAvanti MicroLCS (http://www.avantilibrarysystems.com/)Emilda, Finland (http://www.emilda.org)Evergreen, US (http://evergreen-ils.org/)Koha, New Zealand (http://koha.org)Learning Access ILS, US (www.learningaccess.org)NewGenLib, India (http://www.verussolutions.biz)OpenBiblio (http://obiblio.sourceforge.net/)PhpMyLibrary, Philippines (http://phpmylibrary.com/pml/)PMB (PhpMyBibli), France (http://www.sigb.net)PYTHEAS, US (http://web2.uwindsor.ca/library/leddy/people/art/pytheas/index.html)OPALS, US (http://www.opals-na.org/opals-fac.html)WebLIS, UNESCO & Poland (http://www.unesco.org/isis/)

In conceptual stage: OLE: The Open Library Environment (http://www.oleproject.org)

Introduction: Koha & EvergreenEnglish languageMore mature that other open source ILSsMore complete functions/modulesMore users Available technical support and planned future releases

Comparison of Staff Modules: Koha, Evergreen, and VoyagerA thorough process of evaluating an integrated library system (ILS) today would not be complete without also weighing the open source ILS products against their proprietary counterparts." -Marshall Breeding, Chapter 4, "Open Source Integrated Library Systems"

Comparison: Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager

KohaEvergreenVoyagerFirst developed199920051994First implemented by a US library 200220061994First became a turnkey system with technical support200620061994Number of libraries as of 1/09400305 1179

Comparison: Koha, Evergreen, and VoyagerNote: Evergreen Acquisitions & Serials modules are currently under joint development by Equinox, Georgia Public Library Service, and several Evergreen libraries. No release date yet.

Staff ModulesKohaEvergreenVoyagerAcquisitionsCatalogingOPACCirculationSystem SerialsReports

Staff Client ComparisonKoha-web browser

Evergreen-locally installed client (Windows, Linux, Mac)

CatC

Voyager-locally installed client (Windows)CirculationCatalogingSystem AdminAcquisitionsSystem AdminCirculationCataloging

Acquisitions Comparison

ActivitiesVoyagerKohaSearch parametersVendors, Ledgers, Funds, Rollover Rules, PO #, Line Items, Invoices, EDI Profiles, Routing Lists, Pub. PatternsVendor name or title/vendor name onlyImport MARC recordsYesNo (use existing bib, use suggestion, or create short bib). View/edit MARC recordsYes (cataloging module must also be open and same operator signed in)No, must search in catalog; edit in catalog (takes you away from P.O. screens)Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)YesNo (in planning stage)Fiscal Period Close/RolloverYesNoSelection listsNoNo? Unless requesting through OPACPatrons suggestions via OPAC and notificationNoYes

Acquisitions cont.

ActivitiesVoyagerKohaConnect to university accounting softwareNoNoAdd requestor information to an itemYesNo (Notes field only)Ability to notify requestor of statusNoOnly if from OPAC.Flagging an order (rush, etc.)YesNo (Notes field only)Receiving/marking monographsYesYesSubscription maintenance (patterns)YesYes (Serials module)Serials check-inYesYes (Serials module)

Koha Acquisitions: Issues for Libraries Sample WALDO Requirements for Acquisitions before moving to KohaPrint out P.O. or email as PDFPrint cancellations and claim noticesFlag orders upon receipt (rush, hold, reserve, ILL)Allow budget hierarchies Print out listing of all fund codesStanding order functionalitySerials acquisitions: EBSCO invoice handling, building POs for serial items, mark for automatic renewal)From: WALDO Development Projects Enhancements for Academic Libraries, Core Development Projects, June 2008Issues raised by Arcadia University: Unable to search by order number Unable to view a particular fund and see orders from that fund

Evergreen Acquisitions TimelineEvergreen Acquisitions and Serials Timelines (Beta, Early 2009)Federated Z39.50/Evergreen Bibliographic SearchBasic Fund, Provider, Funding Sources, and Picklist management interfacesSupport for loading vendor order records for creating POsPO creation from selected itemsInitial receiving interfacesRich permissions infrastructureSupport for EDI ordering and acknowledgmentSupport for creating brief bibliographic order records1.0 (Evergreen 2.0), Spring 2009Serials Check-in (prediction)Distribution patternsAutomatic claimingLaterVendor web services for bib discoveryAmazon Discover APIAdvanced shipment notification via EDI From: http://open-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=acq:timeline

Cataloging Comparison

VoyagerKohaEvergreen Import from file (non-Z39.50, e.g. export from OCLC Connexion)Yes. Bibs and authority.Yes* Bibs only.

Through Tools module (not in Cataloging). Two step process. Records stay in reservoir indefinitely?Yes*

(Coming in version 1.4). Bibs and authority through Vandelay batch MARC import/export Bib import from Z39.50YesYes Yes Holdings exportYes (MARC)Yes, MARC or XMLYesAuthority controlYesYes * but ease and logistics of loading recordsYes * but how do you access authority records?Automatic update of bib records from authority recordsYes* Global Headings Change option requires a few steps both in Cataloging and Sys Admin. Not truly automatic; has limitations in function.No?No

Cataloging cont.

VoyagerKohaEvergreen Overlay/merge recordsYesYes* Preserve MARC fields in target record?Yes* Preserve MARC fields in target record?Suppress bibsYesNoNoMini/short bib flagging/catalog reviewYesNoNo? Mark for overlay?Bib templates (where fields are pre-populated with text)YesNo (Framework under Admin., but this defines 008 values form of material)No. (Item templates only.)Diacritic entryYesNoNo

Cataloging cont.

VoyagerKohaEvergreen Tracking of changes/operator historyYes.(Update, merge, overlay, un/suppress. Tab in module.YesLink on screen, uses Tools (Add, delete, modify only.)No (Only last edited by and library I.D.)Global data changeNo. Soon (2009, V. 8)NoNoMetadata choices (Dublin Core, etc.)No. MARC only.No.Maps MARC to Koha SQLNo (Create/import MARC)Reorder MARC fieldsYesNo. Reorder subfields only.NoMFHD (MARC for Holdings Data)YesNoNoSupplies ISBD punctuationNoNoNoSpine LabelsNoYes* But under Tools, Label TemplatesYes

Circulation

VoyagerKohaEvergreen Patron imageNoYesNoBulk import of patronsYes*Yes Not easilyRecallsYesNoNoCourse ReservesYesNoNoCalendarYesYesNoOffline TransactionsYesNoYes

Circulation Comparison: Patron Search

Evergreen Circulation EnhancementsRelease candidate 1.4 (October 2008)New interface for circulation rulesCredit card paymentsPre-overdue (reminder) notices

Release 2.0 (Winter 2008/2009)RecallsReserves (Print and Electronic)

Release 3.0 and higher (2009 and beyond)Netflix-style hold queuesWeb based patron self registrationFrom: http:// evergreen-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=faqs:evergreen_roadmap

Comparison: System Administration

Behind the Scenes TechnologiesKoha (3.0)Server software: Linux (Debian), Apache, MySQL, PerlClient: web browser Limitation: any amount of data that MySQL can handle

Evergreen (1.2.4.0)Server software: Linux (Debian, Gentoo, and Ubuntu), Windows (via a virtualized Unix-guest OS such as VirtualBox or Vmware) ,PostgreSQLClient: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Evergreen Client

Voyager (7.03)Server: Solaris, Windows, Linux, OracleClient: Windows, Voyager client (Acquisitions, Cataloging, Circulation, Reporter, System Admin)

Behind the Scenes Technologies: InstallationAccording to a 2008 survey of 361 libraries of Koha, Evergreen and proprietary ILS, libraries did not choose Koha or Evergreen for three reasons (Riewe 2008):

Hard to install the system and some parts do not work.Lack of good documentationLack of functionality

Behind the Scenes Technologies: Labor CostsInitial labor cost may be higher than proprietary ILS. The higher initial labor costs of open source ILSs in some categories corroborate the view that OSS requires greater technical sophistication to use than proprietary software (Riewe 2008).

Collection Size (items)KohaEvergreenProprietary>=1,000 & =10,000 & =25,000 & =50,000 & =100,000 &

Initial Cost of ILSSoftware, License fee, installation, configuration, migration of data, documentation, training (Riewe, 2008)

Collection Size by ItemsKohaEvergreenProprietary>=100 & =500 & =1,000 & =10,000 & 25,000 $3,859$9,700>=25,000 & 50,000 $5,958$953$8,000>=50,000 &100,000 $19,250$78,364>=100,000 & =1,000,000$266,719

Annual Cost of ILSSupport Contract, Maintenance, License Fees (Riewe, 2008)

Collection Size by ItemsKohaEvergreenProprietary>=100 & =500 & =1,000 & =10,000 & 25,000 $1,429$3,200>=25,000 & 50,000 $1,917$1698$10,281>=50,000 &100,000 $2,550$18,167>=100,000 & =1,000,000$69,250

ConclusionLibraries need to evaluate resources (budget, staffing, etc.) vs. needs

Questions?

References

Ayre, L. and Kress, L. (2008). Software requirements specification for the acquisitions module of an integrated library system. March 2008. Retrieved Jan. 5, 2009, from http://www.kcls.org/opensource/kcls-acquisitions-requirements.pdf

Breeding, M. 2008. Automation Marketplace 2008: Opportunity Out of Turmoil. Library Journal 133 (6), 32-38.

Breeding, M. 2007. Next-generation library catalogs. Library Technology Reports 43 (4).

Riewe, L. M. (2008). Survey of Open Source Integrated Library Systems. Unpublished master's thesis, San Jos State University, 210 North 4th Street San Jose, CA 95112 . Retrieved January/February, 2009, from http://users.sfo.com/~lmr/ils-survey.html

The Evergreen Community. (n.d.). Evergreen [F&Q, documentation, download]. Retrieved January 8, 2009, from http://open-ils.org/

WALDO Development Projects Enhancements for Academic Libraries, Core Development Projects, July 2008

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