Free Demos of Koha 3.10

Nicole Engard of ByWater Solutions sent out this message recently about FREE demos of the latest version of Koha:

It seems like just yesterday I was giving demos of Koha 3.8, but last week Koha 3.10 was released (http://koha-community.org/koha-3-10-0-released/) and so it’s time to start showing you what’s new! I'll be giving free Koha 3.10 demo webinars and you're all welcome to join me. As documentation manager I had the pleasure of trying out every new feature (it's the only way to learn what it does for the manual) and I'd like to share with you all what I learned.

    Date: Monday, December 3, 2012
    Time: 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST
    Register: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/919169414

    Date: Wednesday, December 19, 2012
    Time: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM EST
    Register: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/674224670

    Date: Thursday, January 10, 2013
    Time: 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EST
    Register: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/616892390

    Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2013
    Time: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EST
    Register: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/188146022

Koha Price List Distributed

NH State Librarian Michael York sent this message yesterday:

 

Prices from ByWater for KOHA implementation services 

 

The State Library has asked ByWater Solutions to develop a per-library cost for implementing  KOHA systems in New Hampshire libraries;

the costs are in the attached document, which is also available on the nhaisLOCAL website. The cost driver in the proposed implementations will be the number of records. Eight cents per record, we believe is a fair price for the work that needs to be done. We have been urging libraries for a number years to keep the records they have in their catalogs to those things that truly represent their holdings. Records that do not accurately reflect a library's holding mislead patrons. Records that state you have something you do not,  now will cost you money as well. Again we at the state library urge you to purge your current systems of records that reference material you no longer have in your collection.

 

Please review this information and determine if you are interested in proceeding base on the projected costs. Our next communication will be a survey to determine which libraries are ready to move ahead on this project.

 

You will find the price list on our DOCUMENTS page.

 

An Update from the NH State Librarian

NH State Librarian Michael York sent this message to the nhais-local list serv late last week:

When we distributed the responses from the potential open source support vendors that we received after our April 2012 Request for Information we hoped that the information provided would allow the 70 libraries who had expressed interest in a local open source automation solution to decide whether Koha or Evergreen was the right solution for them and which vendor would best meet their needs. Based on the survey we conducted this summer it did not.
The survey proved inconclusive. Just over half of the libraries who had expressed interest in the project responded and there were only a couple who indicated that they had read the report and had a preference of one system over the other. The few who did indicate a preference chose koha and ByWater solutions as their preferred solution. There were a few follow-up questions sent in, and we have responded to them individually. They were typically questions about the timeline and logistics of the project rather than questions about the material the vendors provided.
State Library staff reviewed the responses, and have spoken with the various vendors about their offerings. Based on the information we have received from libraries still expressing an interest in the open source project and the responses we received from the vendors, our conclusion is that the koha open source system supported by ByWater Solutions is the best option available to us to move forward with implementing the nhaisLOCAL cooperative and putting state of the art automation systems into New Hampshire's small libraries at a reasonable and predictable cost.
We are working with ByWater Solutions to establish a firm price list that we can move forward with and will be distributing that pricing structure through the nhaisLOCAL listserv before the end of November.
After the pricing information has gone out we will be sending a survey, again through this listserv, that will help us to assess the readiness of each individual library to move forward with implementing a nhaisLOCAL koha system in their library. Once we have collected this data, which I expect will be completed by the end of 2012, we will be able to set up an implementation schedule for the libraries who are ready to go. The expectation is that we will be able to set up libraries in groups of six and that each group of libraries will be up and running within 6 months.
I want to thank Mary Russell for all the work she has done on this project to get us to this point; her knowledge and expertise has been invaluable. Both Mary and I feel very positive about ByWater as a partner in this project. We appreciate your support and have every expectation that we can build a system which will provide New Hampshire Libraries with an ILS that meets their needs.

Report on Our Request for Information

In April 2012 the NHSL sent out a request for information to a variety of vendors who had been identified as potentially being able to support an open source solution for local library automation in New Hamsphire. A report, compiling all the responses we recieved, was issued to the nhaisLOCAL community earlier this month. That report is now available on the NHSL website.

A Few Open Source Basics

I will be speaking at th North Country Library Coop Meeting on Monday and in preparation for that have pulled together a few basic information sources.

What is open source?

• The Open Source Initiative (a California based non-profit) has a ten point definition of what open source software is.
• ByWater's FAQ includes a good answer to "What is Open-Source or Free-Software (FLOSS)?"
• Evergreen also has a helpful FAQ on Open Source
• Nicole Engard--who is a fabulous presenter in my opinion--is doing a couple of free webinars (in the next few weeks) on  Open Source in Libraries: Freedom and Community, if the concept is new to you, this would be a great opportunity to get an idea of the ideas behind open source.