Koha is an open source Integrated Library System (ILS), used world-wide by public, school and special libraries. The name comes from a Māori term for a gift or donation.
Koha is web-based ILS, with a SQL database (MySQL preferred) backend with cataloguing data stored in MARC and accessible via Z39.50 or SRU. The user interface is very configurable and adaptable and has been translated into many languages.[4] Koha has most of the features that would be expected in an ILS, including:
- Union catalog facility
- Customizable search
- Circulation and borrower management
- Full acquisitions system including budgets and pricing information (including supplier and currency conversion)
- Simple acquisitions system for the smaller library
- Ability to cope with any number of branches, patrons, patron categories, item categories, items, currencies and other data
- Serials system for magazines or newspapers
- Reporting
- Reading lists for members
- Off-line Circulation
Koha was created in 1999 by Katipo Communications for the Horowhenua Library Trust in New Zealand, and the first installation went live in January 2000.[5]
From 2000, companies started providing commercial support for Koha, building to more than 20 today.[6]
In 2001, Paul Poulain (of Marseille, France) began adding many new features to Koha, most significantly support for multiple languages.[7] By 2010, Koha has been translated from its original English into French, Chinese, Arabic and several other languages. Support for the cataloguing and search standards MARC and Z39.50was added in 2002 and later sponsored by the Athens County Public Libraries.[8] In France Paul Poulain co-founded BibLibre in 2007.[9]
In 2005, an Ohio-based company, Metavore, Inc., trading as LibLime, was established to support Koha and added many new features, including support for Zebra sponsored by the Crawford County Federated Library System. Zebra support increased the speed of searches as well as improving scalability to support tens of millions of bibliographic records.[citation needed]
In 2007 a group of libraries in Vermont began testing the use of Koha for Vermont libraries. At first a separate implementation was created for each library. Then theVermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries (VOKAL) was organized to create one database to be used by libraries. This database was rolled out in 2011. Fifty-seven libraries have chosen to adopt Koha and moved to the shared production environment hosted and supported by ByWater Solutions.[10] Another consortium of libraries in Vermont, the Catamount Library Network has also adopted Koha (also hosted by ByWater Solutions). Previously automated Vermont libraries used software from Follett, or other commercial software vendors.[11]
In 2011 the Spanish Ministry of Culture maintains KOBLI, a tailored version of Koha[12] based on an earlier report.[13][14]
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