----- Forwarded message from Willem Scholten <Willem@wfftrc.org> ----- Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2001 09:06:42 -0700 OpenBook, as we say is inspired by Koha. We started out with the KOHA base release and did a number of things we contributed back, some of those include: Multi Lingual user interface and advanced search system. WE would never have consider doing OpenBook or anything like it if there was not KOHA to start from. However because of the main issue of KOHA not supporting MARC nor having an easy way to incorporate Z39.50 (client as well as server) we started from scratch. However we are in constant touch with the KOHA people and are contributing back how we are doing MARC in the backend, how we are doing MARC editing, batch record uploading etc. Further the authority method implemented in KOHA does not accommodate the use of standard authority databases in the subject, name and tile fields. Further in our design effort we needed to consider issue like the ability to add-in XML data sources to accommodate local loaded databases of content and reference information. One of the key issues we are facing and you all to remember is that we are trying to build a ILS for small rural libraries in the US and the rest of the world, which may have multiple locations belong to the same system but no where close to what we all may have come to consider resembling an internet connection or for that matter a connection of some type between there locations. So we are doing much work on low bandwidth / sneaker net type database synchronization, ability to load local databases from multiple sources etc. (think about book mobiles and main library system... I won't draw the picture of possibilities, use your own imagination..) Further is should be understood that we FULLY support KOHA's efforts, but also all of us should understand that KOHA is written with a local important solution in mind, where we are looking at a broader picture. I clearly have no interest to start a KOHA versus OpenBook war, because the library world as it is already to fragmented and to crowded with religious wars (lets just look at meta data and 856 field wars to name a few or MARC21 versus UNIMARC etc....) -Willem. -----Original Message----- From: Daniel Chudnov [mailto:dchud@umich.edu] Sent: Friday, June 22, 2001 8:36 AM To: Dave Bretthauer Cc: oss4lib-discuss@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: RE: [oss4lib-discuss] ala report? On Thu, 21 Jun 2001, Dave Bretthauer wrote:

Now, Dan, prepare to eat your own words that there won't be an open source ILS anytime soon: Willem Scholten gave an amazing demo of an open source ILS called openbook. You can test drive it at http://openbook.trfoundation.org/ and the 0.8 beta source code should be available in a couple of weeks. Linux and Windows installers will complete

This is just a rewrite (or is it a fork) of Koha, right? Did they talk about this issue? The following showed up on the koha list about a month ago: http://lists.katipo.co.nz/public/koha/2001/000252.html I very much hope those in both camps (if I'm reading the winds properly and there are indeed two camps) at least attempt to stay in sync w/r/to core issues such as data models and APIs. It looks like Steve from BC is putting a lot of work into MARC support within Koha, based apparently on Art's efforts with Pytheas, which is great to see. It would not be great to see that work and openbook totally diverge in areas such as this when they came from the same codebase. So for now I'll stand by my words about an ILS, and won't change them until we first see an open source SAP equivalent. Actually if there were an free SAP equivalent we could just build the acquisitions and EDI and circulation pieces out of that, right? :) -Dan _______________________________________________ oss4lib-discuss@lists.sourceforge.net http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/oss4lib-discuss see also http://oss4lib.org _______________________________________________ oss4lib-discuss@lists.sourceforge.net http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/oss4lib-discuss see also http://oss4lib.org ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Chris Cormack Programmer 025 500 789 Katipo Communications Ltd chris@katipo.co.nz www.katipo.co.nz