Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager: A Comparison of Their Staff Modules

1
Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager A Comparison of
Their Staff Modules

• Ten Years of Experience, A Future of
  Possibilities
• VALE / NJ ACRL/ NJLA CUS Tenth Annual Users'
  Conference Friday, January 9, 2009
• Sharon Yang, Melissa A. Hofmann , and Meghan
  Weeks
• Rider University Libraries

2
Overview of the Presentation

• Introduction
• Open source GNU General Public License
• Open source ILS
• Koha and Evergreen
• Staff client comparison
• Comparison of staff functions
• Acquisitions
• Cataloging
• Circulation
• System administration
• Behind-the-scenes technologies
• Cost analysis
• Conclusion

3
Introduction Open Source GNU GPL

• GNU General Public License
• GNU is a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix"
• Free to run, study, modify, and redistribute the
  software
• Support is not free
• Other open source licenses
• Mozilla Public License
• Creative Commons licenses
• BSD License
• Apache Software License
• GNU Free Documentation License

4
Introduction Why Open Source ILS?

• Financial considerations
• Ability to tailor to fit local needs or
  customization
• No restrictions on use
• User driven vs. profit driven
• Dissatisfaction with current ILS
• No vendor lock-in

5
Introduction Open Source ILS

• Avanti MicroLCS (http//www.avantilibrarysystems.c
  om/)
• 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/isi
  s/)
• In conceptual stage
• OLE The Open Library Environment
  (http//www.oleproject.org)

6
Introduction Koha Evergreen

• English language
• More mature that other open source ILSs
• More complete functions/modules
• More users
• Available technical support and planned future
  releases

7
Comparison of Staff Modules Koha, Evergreen, and
Voyager

• A 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"

8
Comparison Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager
Koha Evergreen Voyager
First developed 1999 2005 1994
First implemented by a US library 2002 2006 1994
First became a turnkey system with technical support 2006 2006 1994
Number of libraries as of 1/09 400 305 1179
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Comparison Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager
Staff Modules Staff Modules Staff Modules Staff Modules
Koha Evergreen Voyager
Acquisitions ? ? ?
Cataloging ? ? ?
OPAC ? ? ?
Circulation ? ? ?
System ? ? ?
Serials ? ? ?
Reports ? ? ?

• Note Evergreen Acquisitions Serials modules
  are currently under joint development by
  Equinox, Georgia Public Library Service, and
  several Evergreen libraries. No release date
  yet.

10
Staff Client Comparison

• Koha-web browser
• Evergreen-locally installed client (Windows,
  Linux, Mac)
• CatC
• Voyager-locally installed client (Windows)

Circulation Cataloging System Admin
Acquisitions
System Admin
Circulation
Cataloging
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Acquisitions Comparison
Activities Voyager Koha
Search parameters Vendors, Ledgers, Funds, Rollover Rules, PO , Line Items, Invoices, EDI Profiles, Routing Lists, Pub. Patterns Vendor name or title/vendor name only
Import MARC records Yes No (use existing bib, use suggestion, or create short bib).
View/edit MARC records Yes (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) Yes No (in planning stage)
Fiscal Period Close/Rollover Yes No
Selection lists No No? Unless requesting through OPAC
Patrons suggestions via OPAC and notification No Yes
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Acquisitions cont.
Activities Voyager Koha
Connect to university accounting software No No
Add requestor information to an item Yes No (Notes field only)
Ability to notify requestor of status No Only if from OPAC.
Flagging an order (rush, etc.) Yes No (Notes field only)
Receiving/marking monographs Yes Yes
Subscription maintenance (patterns) Yes Yes (Serials module)
Serials check-in Yes Yes (Serials module)
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Koha Acquisitions Issues for Libraries

• Sample WALDO Requirements for Acquisitions before
  moving to Koha
• Print out P.O. or email as PDF
• Print cancellations and claim notices
• Flag orders upon receipt (rush, hold, reserve,
  ILL)
• Allow budget hierarchies
• Print out listing of all fund codes
• Standing order functionality
• Serials 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 2008
• Issues raised by Arcadia University
• Unable to search by order number
• Unable to view a particular fund and see orders
  from that fund

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Evergreen Acquisitions Timeline

• Evergreen Acquisitions and Serials Timelines
  (Beta, Early 2009)
• Federated Z39.50/Evergreen Bibliographic Search
• Basic Fund, Provider, Funding Sources, and
  Picklist management interfaces
• Support for loading vendor order records for
  creating POs
• PO creation from selected items
• Initial receiving interfaces
• Rich permissions infrastructure
• Support for EDI ordering and acknowledgment
• Support for creating brief bibliographic order
  records
• 1.0 (Evergreen 2.0), Spring 2009
• Serials Check-in (prediction)
• Distribution patterns
• Automatic claiming
• Later
• Vendor web services for bib discovery
• Amazon Discover API
• Advanced shipment notification via EDI
• From http//open-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?idacq
  timeline

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Cataloging Comparison
Voyager Koha Evergreen
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 Z39.50 Yes Yes Yes
Holdings export Yes (MARC) Yes, MARC or XML Yes
Authority control Yes Yes but ease and logistics of loading records Yes but how do you access authority records?
Automatic update of bib records from authority records Yes Global Headings Change option requires a few steps both in Cataloging and Sys Admin. Not truly automatic has limitations in function. No? No
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Cataloging cont.
Voyager Koha Evergreen
Overlay/merge records Yes Yes Preserve MARC fields in target record? Yes Preserve MARC fields in target record?
Suppress bibs Yes No No
Mini/short bib flagging/catalog review Yes No No? Mark for overlay?
Bib templates (where fields are pre-populated with text) Yes No (Framework under Admin., but this defines 008 values form of material) No. (Item templates only.)
Diacritic entry Yes No No
17
Cataloging cont.
Voyager Koha Evergreen
Tracking of changes/operator history Yes. (Update, merge, overlay, un/suppress. Tab in module. Yes Link on screen, uses Tools (Add, delete, modify only.) No (Only last edited by and library I.D.)
Global data change No. Soon (2009, V. 8) No No
Metadata choices (Dublin Core, etc.) No. MARC only. No. Maps MARC to Koha SQL No (Create/import MARC)
Reorder MARC fields Yes No. Reorder subfields only. No
MFHD (MARC for Holdings Data) Yes No No
Supplies ISBD punctuation No No No
Spine Labels No Yes But under Tools, Label Templates Yes
18
Circulation
Voyager Koha Evergreen
Patron image No Yes No
Bulk import of patrons Yes Yes Not easily
Recalls Yes No No
Course Reserves Yes No No
Calendar Yes Yes No
Offline Transactions Yes No Yes
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Circulation Comparison Patron Search
20
Evergreen Circulation Enhancements

• Release candidate 1.4 (October 2008)
• New interface for circulation rules
• Credit card payments
• Pre-overdue (reminder) notices
• Release 2.0 (Winter 2008/2009)
• Recalls
• Reserves (Print and Electronic)
• Release 3.0 and higher (2009 and beyond)
• Netflix-style hold queues
• Web based patron self registration
• From http// evergreen-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?
  idfaqsevergreen_roadmap

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Comparison System Administration
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Behind the Scenes Technologies

• Koha (3.0)
• Server software Linux (Debian), Apache, MySQL,
  Perl
• Client 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) ,PostgreSQL
• Client Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Evergreen
  Client
• Voyager (7.03)
• Server Solaris, Windows, Linux, Oracle
• Client Windows, Voyager client (Acquisitions,
  Cataloging, Circulation, Reporter, System Admin)

23
Behind the Scenes Technologies Installation

• According 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 documentation
• Lack of functionality

24
Behind the Scenes Technologies Labor Costs

• Initial 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) Koha Evergreen Proprietary
gt1,000 lt10,000 1,358 250
gt10,000 lt25,000 3,232 1,350
gt25,000 lt50,000 5958 953 375
gt50,000 lt100,000 9,167 14,600
gt100,000 lt1,000,000 18,023 34,719
25
Initial Cost of ILS
Software, License fee, installation,
configuration, migration of data, documentation,
training (Riewe, 2008)
Collection Size by Items Koha Evergreen Proprietary
gt100 lt500 250
gt500 lt1,000 1,950
gt1,000 lt10,000 1,407 25,125
gt10,000 25,000 3,859 9,700
gt25,000 50,000 5,958 953 8,000
gt50,000 100,000 19,250 78,364
gt100,000 lt1,000,000 21,675 217,609
gt1,000,000 266,719
26
Annual Cost of ILS
Support Contract, Maintenance, License Fees
(Riewe, 2008)
Collection Size by Items Koha Evergreen Proprietary
gt100 lt500 250
gt500 lt1,000 450
gt1,000 lt10,000 664 4,708
gt10,000 25,000 1,429 3,200
gt25,000 50,000 1,917 1698 10,281
gt50,000 100,000 2,550 18,167
gt100,000 lt1,000,000 6,023 38,870
gt1,000,000 69,250
27
Conclusion

• Staff Modules
• Voyager
• Koha
• Evergreen
• OPAC
• Koha
• Voyager
• Evergreen

Libraries need to evaluate resources (budget,
staffing, etc.) vs. needs
28
Questions?
29
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-r
  equirements.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 José State University, 210
  North 4th  Street San Jose, CA 95112 . Retrieved
  January/February, 2009, from  http//users.sfo.c
  om/lmr/ils-survey.html
• The Evergreen Community. (n.d.). Evergreen FQ,
  documentation, download.      Retrieved January
  8, 2009, from http//open-ils.org/
• WALDO Development Projects Enhancements for
  Academic Libraries, Core Development Projects,
  July 2008