June 2004 - Koha-devel - lists.koha-community.org

Koha and the Open Archives Initiative Protocol
by Joshua Ferraro 21 Sep '04

21 Sep '04

Benjamin, I think this question is a good one for the whole Koha community. Personally, I would love to see an interface between Koha and the Open Archives Initiative Protocol but I've not heard any discussion along those lines thusfar. What do folks think? > Thanks for your message, which my colleague Peter Pissierssens passed to > me and which I found very interesting. > Sorry to pester you with questions, but I was also wondering if there was > any interface between Koha and the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for > Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). (and consequently Dublin Core). Several of > our colleagues and partner organisations have expressed interest in this > initiative as a way of getting the benefits of a distributed database > without the communication headaches of a fully distributed search. > > I have now subscribed to the mailing lists mentioned, so if you feel that > this question would be better answered by the community please feel free > to forward it on. > > Regards, > Benjamin Sims > Information Services > IOC/UNESCO > http://ioc.unesco.org > 1 rue Miollis > 75732 Paris Cedex 15 > FRANCE > Tel: [33] (1) 45 68 39 92 > Fax: [33] (1) 45 68 58 12 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Joshua Ferraro [mailto:jmf@kados.org] > Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 2:31 PM > To: Pissierssens, Peter > Subject: RE: KOHA > > > Peter, > > Greetings. The Z3950 Server for Koha works fine on a MARC21 system (NPL > has been using it for statewide resource sharing for several months now) > and can be found either as an add-on to Koha 2.0 (on my website at > http://kados.org/LibraryScience/zed-koha-server.pl) or in CVS in the > 2.2 tree. In both cases it is necessary to install the SimpleServer > Perl module from Indexdata (http://www.indexdata.dk/simpleserver/) > > The server can be started by running the zed-koha-server.pl script > in a terminal. Eventually it would be nice to build the server > into a daemon process but for now it is necessary to leave the > terminal open--it also logs all activity to the screen. > > There has been some talk about adding UNIMARC support and I would be > willing to develop that but would need shell access to a Koha system > using a UNIMARC database. If you require customizations for your > holdings data that could be arranged as well. > > If you want to see a Koha catalog in action you can check out Nelsonville > Public Library's at > > http://koha.athenscounty.lib.oh.us > > If you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask. You may also > be interested in checking out the Koha lists. You can subscribe at > > http://www.koha.org/mailing/ > > Regards, > > Joshua Ferraro > > > >> Hello MJ, >> >> Thanks for your quick reply. The reason I mailed you is that I am more >> comfortable writing in English than in French for technical subjects. As >> Z39/50 compliance is a pre-requisite for our use I will contact Joshua >> Ferraro to find out how far he has reached with that task. >> >> Thanks! >> >> Peter >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: MJ Ray [mailto:mjr@ttllp.co.uk] >> Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 6:25 PM >> To: Pissierssens, Peter >> Subject: Re: KOHA >> >> >> Hello Peter, >> >> I'm curious to know why you chose to contact me instead of the French >> developer? I studied in a university department which is active in >> oceanography, so I'm quite happy to help you, but I rarely get >> contacts from France. >> >> On 2004-03-01 13:30:48 +0000 "Pissierssens, Peter" >> <p.pissierssens(a)unesco.org> wrote: >> >>> I found your name on the KPHA web site. We are looking for an open >>> source >>> library management software application and Koha seems to fit that >>> description. However, one important feature I could not find on the >>> KOHA >>> site is Z3950 compliance. Can a KOHA library database be queried by a >>> z3950 >>> server? >> >> In 2.0, koha can query Z39.50 targets but cannot be queried. Joshua >> Ferraro, jmf(a)kados.org, is developing the Z39.50 interface for koha >> 2.2. >> >> By the way, should UNESCO people say "free software"? We are blessed >> with the UNESCO free software portal and directory, after all. >> http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal_freesoftware/ >> >>> Also, can you lead me to a few KOHA based online catalogues? >> >> I suggest looking at the "Test Drive" koha servers on the www.koha.org >> site for now. I can't publish details of many servers. If you are >> looking for a demonstration of a particular feature, I can try to find >> someone using it for you. >> >>> Thanks in advance for your reply >> >> I hope you find this useful. >> >> -- >> MJR mjr(a)ttllp.co.uk www.ttllp.co.uk +44 (0)870 4321 9 10 >> Creative copyleft computing consultancy, code and articles. >> Latest news: Working on ISP control panels and koha.org 2.0 >> >

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koha 2.0.1beta2 uploaded
by MJ Ray 28 Jul '04

28 Jul '04

I have fixed some bugs with 2.0.1beta0 and uploaded a new beta version to http://www.mjr.dsl.pipex.com/ One bug still blocks the release of 2.0.1, please help solve http://bugs.koha.org/cgi-bin/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=791 if you can. Changelog: Fix perldoc C4::Search Fix search parameter display bug 196 Half-fix thesaurus word search bug 791 - thanks to M. Parienti Fix member.pl search bug 789 Fix mysql command syntax in Install.pm (database must be after -e in some v3) Removed FIXMEs from upgradecomplete by moving message inside Install.pm Fixed koha.upgrade mysql password handling Removed duplicate restoremycnf() calls from Install.pm - this is installer.pl's concern Thanks in advance for any help or comments, -- MJR/slef My Opinion Only and not of any group I know http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ for creative copyleft computing "To be English is not to be baneful / To be standing by the flag not feeling shameful / Racist or partial..." (Morrissey)

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Koha@Buffalo continues
by Christopher Brown-Syed 07 Jul '04

07 Jul '04

Greetings one and all. This past January, we began using Koha to catalogue two special collections in the State University of New York at Buffalo. We have run practicums for Master's students in library studies, with the intention of providing access to a unique colledtion of books and archaeological field notes housed in the Classics Department,involving about six volunteers. The students were impressed enough to set up a discussion for their colleagues in April. This project will continue in September. A second project involves the university's teaching and learning collection of materials to support instructors. Chien-Lin Liu, the UB Koha guru, has produced a custom Web interface which allows access to these collections, and provides a feedback bulletin board to collect student experiences and suggestions. We have not finished analyzing these, but will post summaries when available. Our ongoing use of Koha in the classroom continued during the first Summer session here in the University at Buffalo. About 17 students in a course on UNIX/Linux systems administration mounted Koha servers as part of their six-week course. One suggestion which arose from both of these experiences was that a more typical MARC table be included in the generic Koha parameters. A "cheat sheet" of "most frequently used" MARC tags was procured from the campus libraries, and we would be happy to share the specs.For instance, the publisher field designations currently include only the date ($c), not the place and publisher fields of the MARC 260 tag. This is confusing for newbies to MARC. The Library of Congress does publish a compact MARC brochure for about $10, but we think it might help to turn on the most frequently used tags and subfields from the get-go. At any rate, we now have a couple of dozen newly-minted open-source enthusiasts here - about six cataloguers and about seventeen budding sysadmins.I'm allowing for one or two who might not yet be convinced. :) -- Christopher Brown-Syed, PhD, Editor, Library and Archival Security. University at Buffalo School of Informatics <clb24(a)buffalo.edu>

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Limiting number of renewals?
by Kris Boutilier 30 Jun '04

30 Jun '04

Is there a method hiding somewhere in v2.0.0 for defining limits on the number of renewals? If not, is it coming down the pipe for a later version? I had a quick look through the roadmap but didn't see anything. Optimally this would seem to be best served by some sort of Item Type/Borrower Category grid, much like the Charges mechanism. Thanks. Kris Boutilier Information Systems Coordinator Sunshine Coast Regional District

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Limit on size of grid in admin/charges.pl?
by Kris Boutilier 30 Jun '04

30 Jun '04

We've been casually experimenting with Koha v2.0.0 and noted that although the number of definiable Borrower Categories (admin/categorie.pl) seems to be unlimited, and the number of columns shown on admin/charges.pl reflects this, the actual data entry grid on this page stops at 9 columns. Bug, feature or user fault? Thanks. Kris Boutilier Information Systems Coordinator Sunshine Coast Regional District

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Marc to mysql
by Paulino Reyes, MCP 29 Jun '04

29 Jun '04

how do you put marc records into mysql?i am trying to develop (just a hobby) a module for importing marc records into mysql database..thanks __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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From Paul Poulain: Koha 2.1.0 released
by Owen Leonard 29 Jun '04

29 Jun '04

Paul asked me to post this message while he works out problems between his ISP and Sourceforge: Hello, Many people are working hard to provide a VERY good major Koha version. 2.1.0 is the 1st "snapshot" of the future version. You can see the result here : * release notes (long list of new feature & CALL FOR HELP): http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=249591 * download from here : http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=16466 Enjoy ;-) -- Paul

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Re: suggestion module
by nicolas morin 29 Jun '04

29 Jun '04

Hi all, Further thoughts about the suggestion module. About the list of fields. It could be: Requiered: * author * title Other fields: * title * volume * edition * place of publication * publication date * publisher * isbn/issn The suggestions could chnge "status" along the way: suggested, selected, rejected, ordered, received. Rejected suggestions should not be deleted: one could be able to come back to it later on and reverse the rejection. When a suggested book is received by the library, it switches to "requested": set aside for the patron who suggested the book in the first place. The librarian should be able to search through the suggestions: see them by "status" (suggested, selected, etc), by date, by branch, etc. That's it for now. Cheers, Nicolas -- *********************************** Nicolas Morin Bibliothèque universitaire d'Angers 5 rue Le Nôtre 49045 Angers cedex Tél: +33 (0)2 41 22 63 11 Fax: +33 (0)2 41 22 64 05 http://bu.univ-angers.fr <http://bu.univ-angers.fr>

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Using Koha from the CVS tree
by Nathan Gray 24 Jun '04

24 Jun '04

Well, I got Koha up and running! I wrote a script to help me link up all the CVS directories to the installed locations. I had to steal a few files from a Koha installed from the tarball, and update my database, so I added checks for those in the script. Here is my script (link_cvskoha.pl): #!/usr/bin/perl # See http://www.saas.nsw.edu.au/koha_wiki/index.php?page=CVSSymLinkInstallation # for more information about running Koha using symlinks to CVS use Getopt::Long; my %param = (); GetOptions(\%param, 'cvs=s', 'opac=s', 'intranet=s'); sub usage { print qq{Usage: link_cvskoha.pl --cvs SOURCE_DIR --intranet DIR --opac DIR --cvs Directory where Koha CVS is (like sandbox/koha) --intranet Directory where webserver looks for intranet files (defaults to /usr/local/koha/intranet) --opac Directory where webserver looks for opac files (defaults to /usr/local/koha/opac)\n\n}; exit; } my $cvs = $param{cvs} || usage(); my $opac = $param{opac} || '/usr/local/koha/opac'; my $intranet = $param{intranet} || '/usr/local/koha/intranet'; my %map = ( # CVS module => installed location '' => $intranet . '/cgi-bin', 'koha-tmpl/intranet-tmpl' => $intranet . '/htdocs/intranet-tmpl', 'C4' => $intranet . '/modules/C4', 'opac' => $opac . '/cgi-bin', 'koha-tmpl/opac-tmpl' => $opac . '/htdocs/opac-tmpl', 'koha-tmpl/opac.html' => $opac . '/htdocs/index.html', 'koha-tmpl/intranet.html' => $intranet . '/htdocs/index.html', 'z3950' => $intranet . '/scripts/z3950daemon', 'updater' => $intranet . '/scripts/updater', 'misc' => $intranet . '/scripts/misc', 'marc' => $intranet . '/scripts/marc', ); my %necessary_files = ( # filename => description '/etc/koha.conf' => 'Koha configuration file', '/etc/koha-httpd.conf' => 'Koha webserver configuration', $map{z3950} . '/z3950-daemon-options' => 'Z39.50 daemon configuration', ); # make sure opac and intranet directories exist foreach my $dir ($opac, $intranet) { (my $subdir = $dir) =~ s|\/[^/]*$||; unless (-d $subdir) { system("mkdir $subdir"); chmod(0755, $subdir); } unless (-d $dir) { system("mkdir $dir"); chmod(0755, $dir); } } # loop through CVS module names and create links foreach my $dir (keys %map) { my $source = $cvs . '/' . $dir; my $dest = $map{$dir}; # remove previous links if (-e $dest) { local $| = 1; print "$dest already exists. Overwrite? [y/N]: "; my $response = <STDIN>; chomp($response); if (uc($response) eq 'Y') { if (system("rm -rf $dest")) { print " FAILED to remove $dest: $!\n"; } } else { next; } } # ensure directory for storing links exists (my $subdir = $dest) =~ s|\/[^/]*$||; unless (-d $subdir) { system("mkdir $subdir"); chmod(0755, $subdir); } # link from CVS to installed location print "ln -s $source $dest\n"; if (system("ln -s $source $dest")) { print " FAILED to create link: $!\n"; } } # alert user if necessary files are missing foreach my $file (keys %necessary_files) { unless (-e $file) { print "Cannot find $necessary_files{$file}: $file\n"; } } print "Make sure to run " . $map{updater} . "/updatedatabase\n";

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DB design (MARC structure)
by Paul POULAIN 23 Jun '04

23 Jun '04

Hello all, Nelsonville & me are trying to optimize queries. I'm concluding we should modify a little the DB : * marc_word has "tag", "subfield" and "word" fields. * we are querying on /tag+subfield in ('200a','245f') and word like 'tower%'/ . Such a query CANNOT be optimised by mySQL. * so, an index on /(tag, subfield,word)/ is not used. * I think we could highly optimize the search with a field called 'tagsubfield', an index on /(tagsubfield,word)/. The search being /tagsubfield in ('200a','245f') and word like 'tower%'/. Other searches (a search on "keyword", that does is done only on word, not on tag+subfield) will still be working fast, with index on (word) Does this make sense ? Any comment ? if yes, i'll do it (for friday). -- Paul POULAIN Consultant indépendant en logiciels libres responsable francophone de koha (SIGB libre http://www.koha-fr.org)

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