Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager: A Comparison of Their OPACs

Ten Years of Experience, A Future of PossibilitiesVALE / NJ ACRL/ NJLA CUS Tenth Annual Users' Conference Friday, January 9, 2009

Sharon Yang, Melissa A. Hofmann, and Meghan WeeksRider University Libraries

Overview of the Presentation

•Introduction ▫Open Source & GNU GPL▫Open Source ILS▫Koha and Evergreen

•Ten visions for the Next Generation Catalog

•Comparison of the OPACs of Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager based on the ten visions

•Conclusion

Introduction: Open Source & GNU GPL

GNU General Public License▫ GNU is a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix" ▫ Free to run, study, modify, and redistribute the software▫ Support is not free

Other open source licenses▫ Mozilla Public License▫ Creative Commons licenses▫ BSD License▫ Apache Software License▫ GNU Free Documentation License

Introduction: Why Open Source ILS?

• Financial considerations

• Ability to tailor to fit local needs or

customization

• No restrictions on use

• User driven vs. profit driven

• Dissatisfaction with current ILS and vendors

• No vendor lock-in

Introduction: Open Source ILS

• Avanti MicroLCS (http://www.avantilibrarysystems.com/)• Emilda, Finland (http://www.emilda.org)• Evergreen, US (http://evergreen-ils.org/)• Koha, New Zealand (http://koha.org)• Learning Access ILS, US (www.learningaccess.org)• NewGenLib, India (http://www.verussolutions.biz)• OpenBiblio (http://obiblio.sourceforge.net/)• PhpMyLibrary, Philippines (http://phpmylibrary.com/pml/)• PMB (PhpMyBibli), France (http://www.sigb.net)• PYTHEAS, US (

http://web2.uwindsor.ca/library/leddy/people/art/pytheas/index.html)

• OPALS, US (http://www.opals-na.org/opals-fac.html)• WebLIS, UNESCO & Poland (http://www.unesco.org/isis/)

In conceptual stage: • OLE: The Open Library Environment (http://www.oleproject.org)

Introduction: Open Source OPACs

•VuFind: http://www.vufind.org

•Blacklight: http://blacklight.rubyforge.org/

•XC Extensible Catalog: http://www.extensiblecatalog.org

Introduction: Koha & Evergreen

• English language• More mature that other open source ILSs• More complete functions/modules• More users • Available technical support and planned future

releases

Comparison: Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager

Koha

Evergreen

Voyager

First developed 1999 2005 1994

First implemented by a US library

2002 2006 1994

First became a turnkey system with technical support

2006 2006 1994

Number of libraries as of 1/09

400 305 1179

Introduction: Status Quo

• How many libraries?▫ Koha: 400 (9 academic libraries)▫ Evergreen: 305 (1 academic

library)▫ Voyager: 1179

• Who provides support/services?▫ Koha: Liblime and others▫ Evergreen: Equinox and others▫ Voyager: Ex Libris

• Why do libraries hesitate?▫ Hard to install and some parts do

not work▫ Lack of good documentation▫ Lack of functionality

OPAC Comparison: Koha, Evergreen, and Voyager•“A thorough process of

evaluating an integrated library system(ILS) today would not be complete without also weighing the open source ILS products against their proprietary counterparts." ~Marshall Breeding, Chapter 4, "Open

Source Integrated Library Systems"

Ten Visions for the Next Generation Catalog

In addition to all the features of a legacy catalog, the Next Generation Catalog should also include the following (Breeding 2007):

▫ Single point of entry for all library information▫ State-of-the-art web interface▫ Enriched content ▫ Faceted navigation▫ Keyword searching▫ Relevancy▫ Did you mean…?▫ Recommendations/related materials▫ User contribution: ratings, reviews, comments, and

tagging▫ RSS feeds

Comparison: A Single Point of Entry for All Library InformationA single search box that includes all traditional

ILS content and the full text of all the electronic resources to which a library subscribes (Breeding 2007). Article & full text level access.

•Demonstration▫Koha ▫Evergreen ▫Voyager

Comparison: State-of-the-Art Web Interface

Library catalogs should be “intuitive interfaces” and “visually appealing sites” that compare well with other Internet search engines (Breeding 2007).

•Demonstration▫Koha ▫Evergreen ▫Voyager

Comparison: Enriched Content

In addition to printed materials, enriched content includes images of book jackets, movie cases, table of contents, summaries, reviews, etc.

•Demonstration▫Koha ▫Evergreen ▫Voyager

Comparison: Faceted Navigation

Use of facets to narrow the search results. It allows users to interact with an information resource by discovering the information held within rather than having to guess in advance.

•Demonstration▫Koha ▫Evergreen ▫Voyager

Comparison: Keyword Searching

A simple keyword search box with a link to advanced search for libraries.

•Demonstration▫Koha ▫Evergreen ▫Voyager

Comparison: Relevancy

In addition to relevancy based on the frequency and positions of a keyword, a library catalog should also consider other factors such as the number of times an item has been checked out, the number of copies in a library, the number of times an item has been cited, etc.

• Demonstration▫Koha ▫Evergreen ▫Voyager

Comparison: Did you mean…?

A technique to detect common spelling errors in a query and suggest possible search terms. Goes beyond a simple spell-check.

•Demonstration▫Koha ▫Evergreen ▫Voyager

Comparison: Recommendations

A library catalog will recommend materials when it does not hold an item a user is looking for.

•Demonstration▫Koha ▫Evergreen ▫Voyager

Comparison: User Contributions

“A resource isn’t just a one-way presentation of information, but rather invites user participation and involvement” such as reviews, comments, summaries, tag clouds. (Breeding 2007)

•Demonstration▫Koha ▫Evergreen ▫Voyager

Comparison: RSS Feed

RSS stands for really simple syndication or rich site summary. When incorporated into a library’s catalog, it can broadcast new additions or other information to users.

•Demonstration▫Koha ▫Evergreen ▫Voyager

Koha Evergreen VoyagerSingle point of entry for all library information

State-of-the-art WebInterface

Enriched Content Faceted Navigation

Keyword Searching Relevancy

Did you mean…?

Recommendations

User Contributions RSS Feed

Features that need work

•Navigation▫Koha (must use Internet browser)

•Subject heading browse▫Voyager (both a “starts with” and keyword

in heading browse) vs. Koha (poor) and Evergreen (none)

•Advanced search ▫AND, OR, NOT options available/explicit?

•Highlighting of search terms

Conclusion: Who Is Closer to Next Generation Catalog?

1. Koha (6/7 out of 10)2. Voyager (4 out of 10)3. Evergreen (3 out of 10)

Questions & Answers

The next presentation will cover: ▫A comparison of staff modules of Koha,

Evergreen, and Voyager▫Technologies behind the scene▫Cost analysis▫Recommendations

References• Anderson, J.D. and Hofmann, M.A. 2006. “A fully faceted syntax for Library of

Congress Subject Headings.” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 43(1), 7-38.

• Boss, R.W. 2008. “Open source” integrated library system software [PDF document]. Retrieved December 26, 2008 from Public Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/pla/plapublications/platechnotes

• Breeding, M. 2008. Automation Marketplace 2008: Opportunity Out of Turmoil. Library Journal 133 (6), 32-38.

• Breeding, M. 2007. Next-generation library catalogs. Library Technology Reports 43 (4).

• Riewe, L. M. (2008). Survey of Open Source Integrated Library Systems. Unpublished master's thesis, San José State University, 210 North 4th  Street San Jose, CA 95112 . Retrieved January/February, 2009, from  http://users.sfo.com/~lmr/ils-survey.html

• Wikipedia: the Free encyclopedia. 2008. Integrated Library System. Retrieved December 29, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki