Proposal to give summer internship to students for working on Koha
Hi, I am writing this email representing Central Library, National Institute of Technology, India. We migrated to Koha from a propitiatory software over an year ago, and are very happy with Koha. After moving to Koha, various departments have approached us so that they can use our Koha installation to mange their libraries. One obstacle we face is that Circulation Rules can be defined only based on Patron Categories. Our patrons are categorized as UG(Under graduate), PG(Post Graduate), PHD, STAFF, FACULTY etc. Sort1 and Sort2 fields are used to classify patrons into departments (Mechanical, Civil , CS, Electrical etc) and programs (B. Tech, MCA, BCA, MBA etc) respectively. Our patron categories are too broad. We need to define rules based on sort1 and sort2 fields as well. We are planning on taking a CS student as an intern during the summer vacation and get him to work on this feature. I am not a developer, and hence I want to get opinions from the koha developer community before I proceed with this. Some questions I have in mind are: Will the Koha community accept this change? Is it feasible? Can an undergrad student learn and implement this in 4 weeks of time? What is the difficulty level? I also have a high level objective of introducing a student to opensource contributions. If there is some other useful task that the intern can do for the community, please mention them too. Regards,
Hi Dalton, We've played in that area, and as such I'll offer some answers to your questions 1. feasible? Yes, easily. Adding columns in the UI and in the backend should be relatively easy. 2. Most IT undergrad with curiosity, common sense and access to Google for perl/mysql questions should manage. 3. Acceptance is not a given. You start with two strikes against you: 1. Your dev will leave after four weeks. Who will maintain the work, rebase it regularly, promote it, until it gets accepted ? 2. This is very specialized request. Most libraries manage with using branches to differenciate these situations. Getting support MIGHT prove a hurdle. Regards, Philippe Blouin, Responsable du développement informatique Tél. : (888) 604-2627 philippe.blouin@inLibro.com <mailto:philippe.blouin@inLibro.com> inLibro | pour esprit libre | www.inLibro.com <http://www.inLibro.com> On 03/22/2017 06:47 AM, Dalton Fury wrote:
Hi,
I am writing this email representing Central Library, National Institute of Technology, India. We migrated to Koha from a propitiatory software over an year ago, and are very happy with Koha.
After moving to Koha, various departments have approached us so that they can use our Koha installation to mange their libraries. One obstacle we face is that Circulation Rules can be defined only based on Patron Categories.
Our patrons are categorized as UG(Under graduate), PG(Post Graduate), PHD, STAFF, FACULTY etc. Sort1 and Sort2 fields are used to classify patrons into departments (Mechanical, Civil , CS, Electrical etc) and programs (B. Tech, MCA, BCA, MBA etc) respectively.
Our patron categories are too broad. We need to define rules based on sort1 and sort2 fields as well.
We are planning on taking a CS student as an intern during the summer vacation and get him to work on this feature.
I am not a developer, and hence I want to get opinions from the koha developer community before I proceed with this. Some questions I have in mind are:
Will the Koha community accept this change? Is it feasible? Can an undergrad student learn and implement this in 4 weeks of time? What is the difficulty level?
I also have a high level objective of introducing a student to opensource contributions. If there is some other useful task that the intern can do for the community, please mention them too.
Regards,
_______________________________________________ Koha-devel mailing list Koha-devel@lists.koha-community.org http://lists.koha-community.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/koha-devel website : http://www.koha-community.org/ git : http://git.koha-community.org/ bugs : http://bugs.koha-community.org/
Hey, Thanks for the quick reply. 3.1 This won't be an issue, because the student would, after completion of the internship, be appointed as a student administrator at the library. He will be given a stipend and will work with us for 2 years. Our library systems are managed with the help of such a team of student admins. 3.2 We also plan on using branches. Is there a way to make a patron be able to use his account on multiple branches? Also as of now, koha allows patrons from one branch to checkout books from another branch. I don't think there is a system preference to limit this. Will these two features qualify? Regards, On Wed, Mar 22, 2017 at 7:03 PM, Philippe Blouin < philippe.blouin@inlibro.com> wrote:
Hi Dalton,
We've played in that area, and as such I'll offer some answers to your questions
1. feasible? Yes, easily. Adding columns in the UI and in the backend should be relatively easy. 2. Most IT undergrad with curiosity, common sense and access to Google for perl/mysql questions should manage. 3. Acceptance is not a given. You start with two strikes against you: 1. Your dev will leave after four weeks. Who will maintain the work, rebase it regularly, promote it, until it gets accepted ? 2. This is very specialized request. Most libraries manage with using branches to differenciate these situations. Getting support MIGHT prove a hurdle.
Regards, Philippe Blouin, Responsable du développement informatique
Tél. : (888) 604-2627 philippe.blouin@inLibro.com inLibro | pour esprit libre | www.inLibro.com On 03/22/2017 06:47 AM, Dalton Fury wrote:
Hi,
I am writing this email representing Central Library, National Institute of Technology, India. We migrated to Koha from a propitiatory software over an year ago, and are very happy with Koha.
After moving to Koha, various departments have approached us so that they can use our Koha installation to mange their libraries. One obstacle we face is that Circulation Rules can be defined only based on Patron Categories.
Our patrons are categorized as UG(Under graduate), PG(Post Graduate), PHD, STAFF, FACULTY etc. Sort1 and Sort2 fields are used to classify patrons into departments (Mechanical, Civil , CS, Electrical etc) and programs (B. Tech, MCA, BCA, MBA etc) respectively.
Our patron categories are too broad. We need to define rules based on sort1 and sort2 fields as well.
We are planning on taking a CS student as an intern during the summer vacation and get him to work on this feature.
I am not a developer, and hence I want to get opinions from the koha developer community before I proceed with this. Some questions I have in mind are:
Will the Koha community accept this change? Is it feasible? Can an undergrad student learn and implement this in 4 weeks of time? What is the difficulty level?
I also have a high level objective of introducing a student to opensource contributions. If there is some other useful task that the intern can do for the community, please mention them too.
Regards,
_______________________________________________ Koha-devel mailing listKoha-devel@lists.koha-community.orghttp://lists.koha-community.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/koha-devel website : http://www.koha-community.org/ git : http://git.koha-community.org/ bugs : http://bugs.koha-community.org/
As per my knowledge, we can't restrict a patron in one branch from checking out books in another branch. Also, one patron cannot belong to multiple branches. If we work on this feature, will it be accepted into koha? On Wed, Mar 22, 2017 at 9:52 PM, Dalton Fury <daltonfury42@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey,
Thanks for the quick reply.
3.1 This won't be an issue, because the student would, after completion of the internship, be appointed as a student administrator at the library. He will be given a stipend and will work with us for 2 years. Our library systems are managed with the help of such a team of student admins.
3.2 We also plan on using branches. Is there a way to make a patron be able to use his account on multiple branches? Also as of now, koha allows patrons from one branch to checkout books from another branch. I don't think there is a system preference to limit this. Will these two features qualify?
Regards,
On Wed, Mar 22, 2017 at 7:03 PM, Philippe Blouin < philippe.blouin@inlibro.com> wrote:
Hi Dalton,
We've played in that area, and as such I'll offer some answers to your questions
1. feasible? Yes, easily. Adding columns in the UI and in the backend should be relatively easy. 2. Most IT undergrad with curiosity, common sense and access to Google for perl/mysql questions should manage. 3. Acceptance is not a given. You start with two strikes against you: 1. Your dev will leave after four weeks. Who will maintain the work, rebase it regularly, promote it, until it gets accepted ? 2. This is very specialized request. Most libraries manage with using branches to differenciate these situations. Getting support MIGHT prove a hurdle.
Regards, Philippe Blouin, Responsable du développement informatique
Tél. : (888) 604-2627 philippe.blouin@inLibro.com inLibro | pour esprit libre | www.inLibro.com On 03/22/2017 06:47 AM, Dalton Fury wrote:
Hi,
I am writing this email representing Central Library, National Institute of Technology, India. We migrated to Koha from a propitiatory software over an year ago, and are very happy with Koha.
After moving to Koha, various departments have approached us so that they can use our Koha installation to mange their libraries. One obstacle we face is that Circulation Rules can be defined only based on Patron Categories.
Our patrons are categorized as UG(Under graduate), PG(Post Graduate), PHD, STAFF, FACULTY etc. Sort1 and Sort2 fields are used to classify patrons into departments (Mechanical, Civil , CS, Electrical etc) and programs (B. Tech, MCA, BCA, MBA etc) respectively.
Our patron categories are too broad. We need to define rules based on sort1 and sort2 fields as well.
We are planning on taking a CS student as an intern during the summer vacation and get him to work on this feature.
I am not a developer, and hence I want to get opinions from the koha developer community before I proceed with this. Some questions I have in mind are:
Will the Koha community accept this change? Is it feasible? Can an undergrad student learn and implement this in 4 weeks of time? What is the difficulty level?
I also have a high level objective of introducing a student to opensource contributions. If there is some other useful task that the intern can do for the community, please mention them too.
Regards,
_______________________________________________ Koha-devel mailing listKoha-devel@lists.koha-community.orghttp://lists.koha-community.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/koha-devel website : http://www.koha-community.org/ git : http://git.koha-community.org/ bugs : http://bugs.koha-community.org/
Hi Dalton, That sounds not that hard to implement. Not sure how useful it could be, maybe ask on the other mailing list (koha). Regards, Jonathan On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 at 16:19 Dalton Fury <daltonfury42@gmail.com> wrote:
As per my knowledge, we can't restrict a patron in one branch from checking out books in another branch. Also, one patron cannot belong to multiple branches.
If we work on this feature, will it be accepted into koha?
On Wed, Mar 22, 2017 at 9:52 PM, Dalton Fury <daltonfury42@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey,
Thanks for the quick reply.
3.1 This won't be an issue, because the student would, after completion of the internship, be appointed as a student administrator at the library. He will be given a stipend and will work with us for 2 years. Our library systems are managed with the help of such a team of student admins.
3.2 We also plan on using branches. Is there a way to make a patron be able to use his account on multiple branches? Also as of now, koha allows patrons from one branch to checkout books from another branch. I don't think there is a system preference to limit this. Will these two features qualify?
Regards,
On Wed, Mar 22, 2017 at 7:03 PM, Philippe Blouin < philippe.blouin@inlibro.com> wrote:
Hi Dalton,
We've played in that area, and as such I'll offer some answers to your questions
1. feasible? Yes, easily. Adding columns in the UI and in the backend should be relatively easy. 2. Most IT undergrad with curiosity, common sense and access to Google for perl/mysql questions should manage. 3. Acceptance is not a given. You start with two strikes against you: 1. Your dev will leave after four weeks. Who will maintain the work, rebase it regularly, promote it, until it gets accepted ? 2. This is very specialized request. Most libraries manage with using branches to differenciate these situations. Getting support MIGHT prove a hurdle.
Regards, Philippe Blouin, Responsable du développement informatique
Tél. : (888) 604-2627 philippe.blouin@inLibro.com inLibro | pour esprit libre | www.inLibro.com On 03/22/2017 06:47 AM, Dalton Fury wrote:
Hi,
I am writing this email representing Central Library, National Institute of Technology, India. We migrated to Koha from a propitiatory software over an year ago, and are very happy with Koha.
After moving to Koha, various departments have approached us so that they can use our Koha installation to mange their libraries. One obstacle we face is that Circulation Rules can be defined only based on Patron Categories.
Our patrons are categorized as UG(Under graduate), PG(Post Graduate), PHD, STAFF, FACULTY etc. Sort1 and Sort2 fields are used to classify patrons into departments (Mechanical, Civil , CS, Electrical etc) and programs (B. Tech, MCA, BCA, MBA etc) respectively.
Our patron categories are too broad. We need to define rules based on sort1 and sort2 fields as well.
We are planning on taking a CS student as an intern during the summer vacation and get him to work on this feature.
I am not a developer, and hence I want to get opinions from the koha developer community before I proceed with this. Some questions I have in mind are:
Will the Koha community accept this change? Is it feasible? Can an undergrad student learn and implement this in 4 weeks of time? What is the difficulty level?
I also have a high level objective of introducing a student to opensource contributions. If there is some other useful task that the intern can do for the community, please mention them too.
Regards,
_______________________________________________ Koha-devel mailing listKoha-devel@lists.koha-community.orghttp://lists.koha-community.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/koha-devel website : http://www.koha-community.org/ git : http://git.koha-community.org/ bugs : http://bugs.koha-community.org/
_______________________________________________ Koha-devel mailing list Koha-devel@lists.koha-community.org http://lists.koha-community.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/koha-devel website : http://www.koha-community.org/ git : http://git.koha-community.org/ bugs : http://bugs.koha-community.org/
Hi Dalton, It sounds weird to me to add such specific rules (based on sort1 and/or sort2). Maybe it would be more useful define circ rules per patron? As you may have noticed the UI is pretty bad currently, there is a work in progress (or abandoned?) from ByWater (see bug 15522). It would be good to contact them to know the status of this work before starting anything. Regards, Jonathan On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 at 07:47 Dalton Fury <daltonfury42@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi,
I am writing this email representing Central Library, National Institute of Technology, India. We migrated to Koha from a propitiatory software over an year ago, and are very happy with Koha.
After moving to Koha, various departments have approached us so that they can use our Koha installation to mange their libraries. One obstacle we face is that Circulation Rules can be defined only based on Patron Categories.
Our patrons are categorized as UG(Under graduate), PG(Post Graduate), PHD, STAFF, FACULTY etc. Sort1 and Sort2 fields are used to classify patrons into departments (Mechanical, Civil , CS, Electrical etc) and programs (B. Tech, MCA, BCA, MBA etc) respectively.
Our patron categories are too broad. We need to define rules based on sort1 and sort2 fields as well.
We are planning on taking a CS student as an intern during the summer vacation and get him to work on this feature.
I am not a developer, and hence I want to get opinions from the koha developer community before I proceed with this. Some questions I have in mind are:
Will the Koha community accept this change? Is it feasible? Can an undergrad student learn and implement this in 4 weeks of time? What is the difficulty level?
I also have a high level objective of introducing a student to opensource contributions. If there is some other useful task that the intern can do for the community, please mention them too.
Regards, _______________________________________________ Koha-devel mailing list Koha-devel@lists.koha-community.org http://lists.koha-community.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/koha-devel website : http://www.koha-community.org/ git : http://git.koha-community.org/ bugs : http://bugs.koha-community.org/
participants (3)
-
Dalton Fury -
Jonathan Druart -
Philippe Blouin