[Koha-devel] Koha Foundation : Librarians comments

[Irma Birchall]

Hi all, 

 

As promised, here is a short summary of comments received from a few
librarians I spoke with, who have been involved in the evaluation and
selection of a new ILS for their library, in the past 5 years. They all
mention how challenging and time consuming a task it was. Especially for
syndicated libraries.

 

Factors that have been mentioned regarding the adoption of proprietary
software over open source ILS are:

 

*	Not knowing of the existence of any open source, high-quality ILS.
Koha needs marketing!
*	How could they have determined whether the OS ILS is mature and
"business ready" enough for their purposes?  
*	Is there continuum in the quality of the code through all the
functionalities?
*	How can one rate this OS application when no other library in their
district or network uses this OSS. 
*	Longevity: Projects backed by commercials companies are seen to have
more longevity.
*	Support: commercial software vendors have support staff dedicated to
helping customers solve problems with the product.  For busy librarians,
this was the main benefit in using proprietary software.
*	Rapid updates: libraries struggle anyway to keep up with change.
Don't open source projects all follow the "Release Early, Release Often"
paradigm? Some functions might need upgrading but the rest is just fine.
How would that work? 
*	These librarians accept: closed source code, having limited
influence over roadmap, high costs, and limitations in functionality.
*	Traditionally, libraries have depended on proprietary software
despite their limitations.  There was no quality alternative.
*	These libraries or their parent organizations have no clear IT
strategy regarding the use or non-use of open source application software.

 

 

Regarding Koha starting a Foundation or perhaps becoming part of an existing
one: a few of the thoughts expressed

 

*	The response was positive when I mentioned that Koha is now 5!
Multilingual and used in libraries around the globe.
*	They would feel more comfortable adopting an open source product if
it had published books/manuals/documentation this would be seen as a strong
indicator of the software's level of maturity and adoption.  The Foundation
could publish these.
*	How active and lively is the Koha community?  Being part of a
Foundation could add to the expertise to the Koha community.
*	Becoming an independent foundation was viewed as a confirmation of
professionalism and longevity. 

 

Hope that helps, 

 

Irma 

 

 

 

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