Free/Open source integrated library management systems: comparative analysis of Koha, PHPMyLibrary and OpenBiblio

摘要

Integrated library management systems can cut costs and enhance the efficiency of library services and therefore are absolutely necessary for the management of house keeping operations. But small and medium- size libraries face a difficult situation due to the high cost of commercial library management systems, foreign or Indian, available in the market. Naturally libraries without much financial resources need a cost effective way to automate their services.Free/Open source software was a revolutionary concept among computer programmers and users. To a certain extent free/ open source solutions could provide an alternative solution to costly commercial application software’s. Free/Open source software is, software that users have the ability to run, copy, distribute, study, change, share and improve for any purpose. About eight free/open source library management systems are available and libraries can consider these alternatives.The comparative study aims to evaluate the functional performance of three steadily improving free/open source softwares, Koha, PhpMylibrary and OpenBiblio. The functional performance was assessed by running the three software’s by entering sample data. A scoring scheme was defined to measure the evaluation of individual functional modules. Combined scores of individual modules were used to measure the total performance of three softwares.On the basis of functional analysis of Koha, PhpMylibrary and OpenBiblio, it was observed that, they can provide the essential functional modules ( cataloguing, circulation and OPAC ) required for the working of small and medium size libraries. Koha satisfies all the functional requirements of a library management system. In addition to the functional modules(acquisition, cataloguing, OPAC, circulation, and serial control), Koha can provide some features that are only available with costly ILS; web OPAC, document status inquiry, reservation and holds of documents through OPAC, customization of user and graphical interface, import and export of MARC data etc. PhpMyLibrary and OpenBiblio are not come up to the level of a comprehensive system. Free/Open source library software’s does not need the initial cost of commercial software and enables libraries to have greater control over their working environment. Library professionals should be aware of the advantages of Free/Open source softwares and should involve in their development.