Koha implementation at libraries affiliated to Kerala State Library Council

[V Sriram]

The Kerala State Library Council (KSLC) is an autonomous body under the Higher Education Department of Govt. of Kerala. It is the statutory apex body of public libraries in the state. KSLC is the successor of ‘Kerala Grandhasala Sanghom’ formed by the amalgamation of libraries which were functioning in the erstwhile Travancore, Cochin and Malabar regions in Kerala. KSLC is constituted through a democratic process giving representation to all public libraries in the state and functions as the core of the cultural life of Kerala. The total number of libraries affiliated to the KSLC so far is around 7500.

The KSLC is embarking on a programme of computerizing the affiliated public libraries. An expert committee was constituted by KSLC for this purpose. This automation programme is planned to be rolled out in two phases. In the first phase the Koha Open Source Software will be customized in Malayalam and deployed in selected affiliated libraries on the basis of e-readiness.  In the second phase there will be a statewide rollout, covering all the affiliated libraries.

The vendor for software customization, implementation and training was selected though a two-part national bid process. M/s. Orisys India Consultancy Services (http://orisys.in/) based in Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram came out as the successful bidder. Koha will be customized, installed and maintained in the State Data Centre, and libraries will be able access it through Internet and carry out their day to day activities. This will also ensure that the librarians are free from the burden of server / software maintenance, updation, backup and so on. In the event of Intenet failure, the offline transaction tool will be used to capture the transaction data and will be subsequently transferred to the database once the connection gets restored. Several new features are being provided including interface in Malayalam, option to collect annual (periodical) membership fee subscription etc. After implementation, they will be provided to the Koha Community for the benefit of all Koha users.

The training programme for the librarians of the selected libraries was held during 28-Feb to 01-Mar at Thiruvananthapuram. The participants were given intensive hand-on training in using Koha. Shri. Thomson A. J., Librarian, Devagiri College, Kozhikode, and Shri Prasanth M. P., Librarian, Chinmaya Institute of Technology, Kannur were the Resource Persons.

The inauguration of the automation programme will be held on 20^th March 2015. Renowned poet and activist Smt. Sugathakumari will officially launch the programme at a function to be held at Conference Hall, Govt. Guest House, Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram at 10.00a.m.

The customised web-page of KSLC with catalogue is accessible here http://kslc.in/ To visit the web-page of various libraries please go to the menu ‘Libraries’ and filter using District and then by Taluk.

Feedback and comments are always welcome to improve the service. Kindly email to [e-mail]

Thanks and Regards,

V. Sriram

(Member, Expert Committee on Automation, KSLC)

Chief Librarian

Centre for Development Studies

Thiruvananthapuram

[e-mail]