[Koha-devel] [Willem at wfftrc.org: RE: [oss4lib-discuss] ala report?]

[Chris Cormack]

----- Forwarded message from Willem Scholten <Willem at 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 at umich.edu]
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2001 8:36 AM
To: Dave Bretthauer
Cc: oss4lib-discuss at 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 at lists.sourceforge.net
http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/oss4lib-discuss
see also http://oss4lib.org

_______________________________________________
oss4lib-discuss at 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 at katipo.co.nz                                          www.katipo.co.nz