OSS diffusion in Italian libraries: The case of Koha by the Consorzio Interuniversitario Lombardo per l'Elaborazione Automatica (CILEA)

摘要

Purpose - Koha is an open-source Integrated Library System (ILS) developed in New Zealand and deployed for the first time in January 2000 for the Horowhenua Library Trust. Koha is a fully-fledged software with basic and advanced features. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a case study of integration of a big Italian consortium specializing in ITC support for libraries and public administration, in the development community of an integrated library system, and to describe the characteristics of CILEA support for this programme. Design/methodology/approach - The paper describes the main Koha features and functions and what CILEA did in the development community in Italy. Findings - Koha is a very simple but complete ILS, to be used by libraries of every dimension and kind of specialization. CILEA worked to adapt Koha to Italian libraries and now it is a part of the library community. Originality/value - This paper shows how Koha has a strong and wide community of librarians and developers. In particular, it is shown to be suitable for all institutions wanting to automate their libraries using a system that allows complete control over data and over the software itself. The authors of this paper are interested in maximizing the diffusion of Koha.