PTFS Europe Evergreen vs. Koha

Jonathan Field – Technical Director

Procuring a LMS in 2009

The Case FOR ...Proprietary Open Source

Tried and tested I can directly influence future development

I can point the finger of blame at the company if anything goes wrong!

I can get my hands on the code and adapt it to my local needs

Functionally very rich (packaged) No licence fees

Vendor professional Services (training, support etc.)

Open standards and security

Easy adoption (although becoming less so all the time)

The software never disappears (even if the vendor does!)

Regularly and easily upgradeable Community code review

Bug fix turnaround

So, what’s out there?

Some facts to start with ...Evergreen Koha

First Deployed 2006 January 2000

First CustomerGeorgia Public Library Service (GPLS)

Horowhenua Library Trust (4-branch library with only about 30-40K records)

Number of Installations>100 (mainly public and academic)

>300 (including academic, public, school, special)

Biggest InstallationGeorgia PINES Consortium (over 270 public libraries)

North East University (2 million records)

Windows Version?via a virtualized Unix-guest OS (e.g. VMware)

Yes, but not version 3.0 yet

Client Standalone staff client 100% web based

Some facts to start with ...Evergreen Koha

Database PostgreSQL MySQL and Zebra

ConsortiaBuilt from the ground up for consortia

•One-level main-branch relationships (branches rely on main for rules) •Independent branches with unique circulation and cataloging rules

Clustering supported? Yes Yes

Internationalisation Version 1.4 Yes

Character encoding UTF-8 UTF-8

Core modulesAcquisitions and serials coming in Version 2.0 (2009)

Yes

EDI Support EdiFACT in Version 2.0 No (but in progress)

So which way to go?

• If you need Acquisitions and Serials TODAY, Koha

• If you have a complex consortia setup – Evergreen

• If you want thin client - Koha• Otherwise, you need to determine which

features and functionality are important to you (and there are some great features!)

• Evergreen could be more complex to manage?

Possibly?

• Public, large academic - Evergreen• Special, government, small academic – Koha• Complex consortia – Evergreen• Multi-lingual – Koha today

• But ..... You need to think about the needs of your own library

• We can advise you on this

Feature List - Koha

• Linux, Unix, Windows and MacOS platform• Web Based (thin client)• Copy cataloguing and z39.50• MARC21 and UNIMARC for professional

cataloguers• Tailored catalogue module for special libraries• RSS feed of new acquisitions

Feature List - Koha• E-mail and/or txt patron's overdues and other

notices• Print your own barcodes• Serials management module• Full catalogue, circulation and acquisitions

system for library stock management• Web 2.0 based OPAC system• Simple, clear search interface for all users• acquisitions options

Feature List - Koha

• Export and Import Records• The public interface (OPAC) conforms with

XHTML1.0 standards: and is compatible with alternate browsers. In particular, the OPAC can be used by people needing special assistive technology (Braille browsers, voice synthesis, text-based browsers, etc.).

• Reservations (holds) management

Feature List - Evergreen

• Google search syntax and spell checking• Book bags and RSS feeds• Patron Self Service• Circulation and patron interface• Cataloguing – Z39.50 client– MARC editor with contextual help– Basic authority support– “bucket” support

Feature List - Evergreen

• Reporting Interface• Offline circulation• “slimpac” supports accessibility and mobile

devices• Powerful permissions control

Evergreen and KohaSide by side

• Evergreen has “real-time” indexing– Koha relies on regularly scheduled cron jobs

• Evergreen has a thick client installation– Koha is thin client

• Evergreen has a “copy editor”

Evergreen and KohaSide by side

• Evergreen has “book-bags” with RSS– Koha has “Lists”

Evergreen and KohaSide by side

• Evergreen’s Offline is part of the staff client– Koha’s Offline is a separate installation

Evergreen and KohaSide by side

• Evergreen has the concept of “buckets”– For working with records

Evergreen and KohaSide by side

• Evergreen has patron groups

Evergreen and KohaSide by side

• Evergreen can “merge” records together

Evergreen and KohaSide by side

• Evergreen has “metarecords” (“FRBRize” search results)

Evergreen and KohaSide by side

• Koha supports internationalisation

Evergreen and KohaSide by side

• Koha supports OAI-PMH

Evergreen and KohaSide by side

• Koha has a label creator

Evergreen and KohaSide by side

• Koha has a “thin” web client

What’s on the Roadmap?• Release 2.0 (2009)

– Acquisitions (including EDI support)– Recalls– Reserves (print and electronic)– Serials – More language sets

• Post 2.0 and higher (2009 and beyond)– Inbound telephony – Outbound telephony – Inventory management – FulfILLment

What’s on the Roadmap?• Release 3.2 (2009)– Improved granular permissions– Ordering workflow improvements– Refining funds and budgets– Search history– Fast add capability– Support for multiple PAC interfaces

PTFS Europe Evergreen vs. Koha

Jonathan Field – Technical Director