Friday, October 15, 2010

An open source library

Widnes Library
It was interesting to hear that one library in the UK has fully embraced the online nature of much information, education and entertainment these days.

Halton libraries use Facebook and Twitter, and they have a blog for current news.

The Koha Library Management System comes from PTFS Europe

From the Press Release:

Koha Library Management System

With Koha, library staff access is completely web-based; acquisitions, circulation, cataloguing, serials and reports are all done through a web browser. As well as an excellent search engine the OPAC offers a range of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 facilities such as tagging, reviewing, public and private lists as well as integrating with services such as RSS, Twitter and Facebook.

Working with PTFS Europe provides the freedom and functionality of open source software together with the benefits of receiving high quality customer support.

Paula Reilly-Cooper, Library Services Manager at Halton said "This open source solution is the natural choice for Halton Libraries at a time of public service cuts and the need to justify our presence. The innate flexibility of the software and service from PTFS Europe will allow us to do so much more for less, enabling us to provide an enhanced, adaptable library and information service that meets changing customer expectation."

Nick Dimant, Managing Director at PTFS Europe said "We would like to thank the team at Halton for showing the vision and initiative to make this decision. The challenging economic climate is proving to be a catalyst. It is encouraging libraries to realise that by moving to Koha they can benefit from this combination of good functionality and modern technologies at a reduced cost."

No comments:

Related Posts with Thumbnails