Kete hops the ditch! EESI is the first Australian Kete customer.

February 10, 2010 – 11:46 pm

CALYX, in partnership with Katipo Communications, are putting together an integrated Kete and Koha solution for Environmental Earth Sciences (EESI).
We are excited to announce that EESI, headquartered in Sydney Australia, with employees working in offices across Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the Middle East will be using the Kete digital repository and collaboration system in conjunction with the Koha ILS to manage their entire paper based and electronic resources.
CALYX information essentials will manage the project from Sydney and give Koha support while Katipo Communications will provide Kete technical support and training.
Both Kete and Koha are Free and Open Source Software and integrate through the use of Open Standards.

If you have questions about Kete, contact Walter McGinnis from Katipo (walter -at- katipo dot co dot nz) or CALYX (irma -at- calyx dot net dot au). We will be happy to answer any queries you have.

By irma | Posted in News | Comments (0)

Release of Koha 3.2 Alpha Announced

February 8, 2010 – 3:08 am

The release of Koha 3.2-alpha was announced on 3 February 2010 by Galen Charlton, Release Manager. The announcement demonstrates further the strength and vibrancy of the world wide Koha community. As with any alpha release, 3.2-alpha is not recommended for use in a production environment. This release will be followed by a beta release prior to the release of a stable version later in 2010. You can download koha 3.2-alpha from koha-community.org

New features in Koha 3.2 include but are not limited to:

* A revamped acquisitions module

* An improved system preference editor

* Improved patron card and item label creator

* email checkout slips

* branch transfer limits

* support for Syndetics, LibraryThing, and Babeltheque enhanced content

* bulk item editing

* cart ported to staff interface

* CSV profiles and cart CSV export

* inventory/stocktaking rewritten

* improvements in Koha’s ability to express circulation policies

* fines in days (in France it’s very common -much much much more common

than fines in €- : if you’re late X days, you’re debarred X days)

* Detailed circulation policies improvements :

- hold policies are now on the branch/itemtype/categorycode level : “a student can reserve 3 books at Aix. A teacher can reserve 5 serials at Marseille”

- renewal policies are now on the branch/itemtype/categorycode level : “a student can renew once books issued at Aix. A teacher can renew 3 times books issued at Marseille” (Some of these enhancements have been sponsored by Aix Marseilles University.)

RFCs for Koha 3.4 are now open at http://wiki.koha.org/doku.php?id=en:development:rfcs3.4

By irma | Posted in News | Comments (0)

KohaCon 2010 coming in October

February 8, 2010 – 2:47 am

KohaCon 2010, the international conference of users and developers of the Koha library management system, is to be held in Wellington New Zealand from 25 October to 2 November 2010. This three day conference will be followed by a hackfest. The conference, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Koha, will be held at the Wellington Convention Centre. Previous KohaCon conferences have been held in Paris (France) and Plano, Texas (USA).

More information about the conference is available from the KohaCon website: http://kohacon.appspot.com/

Information about Wellington is available from: http://www.wellingtonnz.com/

Come and meet the CALYX team at KohaCon 2010!

By bob | Posted in News | Comments (0)

The launch of koha-community.org is a sure sign of the strength and vibrancy of the world wide Koha community.

February 8, 2010 – 2:31 am

On February 3,  the world wide community of Koha users and developers launched a temporary website to provide improved access to project knowledge and to facilitate the sharing of information about project developments. The new web site is at http://koha-community.org. The launch was announced by Galen Charlton, Release Manager for Koha 3.2. The domain is held by the Horowhenua Library Trust and the base WordPress MU installation was kindly set up and is hosted by Liz Rea from the Northeast Kansas Library System.

For some time there has been community concern about lack of access to koha.org . That domain is controlled and managed by Liblime, a US company that was a significant contributor to Koha, but which last year closed access to its (software as a service only) version of Koha and ceased to maintain koha.org as an up-to-date repository of project information. Liblime has announced it is to be purchased by PTFS, another US company that has been a contributor to Koha for the last year or so. If this transaction proceeds to completion, PTFS will gain control of the koha.org domain. Koha community members hope that full access to koha.org will be restored. In the meantime, koha-community.org will provide a temporary home for Koha information.

Already available on koha-community.org are links for downloading the koha software and accessing documentation and information about community forums as well as companies providing commercial support. Links exist to the Koha wiki, Koha gitweb and to bugzilla (where Koha bugs are reported and managed and as well as enhancements). The Koha Newsletter and event information is also available, including information about KohaCon 2010, to be held in Wellington NZ in October this year.

The launch of koha-community.org is a sure sign of the strength and vibrancy of the world wide Koha community.

Bob Birchall

By bob | Posted in News | Comments (0)

Alliance Française Australia chooses Calyx to Upgrade its Koha ILMS

December 7, 2009 – 7:25 am

The Fédération des Alliances Françaises d’Australie has chosen CALYX information essentials to upgrade its Koha integrated library management system. Alliance Française has used Koha version 2.2 on an in-house server since 2005. The new Koha 3.0 system will be hosted off site at Calyx’ state of the art data centre.

Alliance Française is the highly respected global network for the teaching of French language and promotion of French culture throughout the world. The Fédération des Alliances Françaises d’Australie counts 31 associations operating under the name ”Alliance Française”.  The network spans from Perth and Esperance to Sydney, Eurobodalla, Brisbane, Hobart and Darwin. The head office of the Fédération des Alliance Françaises d’Australie is based in Canberra. The Koha system hosts the libraries in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth and contains 22,000 items.

According to John Anderson, Executive Assistant at Alliance Française Brisbane, the Koha system has met the libraries’ needs for compliance with library standards and stable operations, as well as providing a bi-lingual French/English OPAC, however the Alliance is looking forward to the advanced searching facilities, attractive user interface and other improvements provided in Koha 3.0. John stated: “With internal resources heavily committed to our core objectives of language instruction and conduct of cultural events, we required a partner with deep knowledge of Koha whom we could trust to deliver the upgrade effectively and on time. We are aware of Calyx’ long standing association with the international Koha project. It was a simple choice and we are very pleased with the result they have delivered.”

The Software as a Service (SaaS) model offered by Calyx will free the Alliance from the concerns of housing and maintaining the computer server and software as well as saving some expenses of hardware acquisition and maintenance. After a period of testing, the new system went live on 7 December 2009.

By irma | Posted in News | Comments Off

Langri Tangpa Centre chooses Koha hosted by Calyx

October 20, 2009 – 8:35 pm

Langri Tangpa Centre, a non-profit centre for Tibetan Buddhist meditation and teaching in Brisbane, Australia, has chosen a hosted Koha solution for the automation of its library collection.

The Koha installation will be hosted off site at the state of the art data centre of CALYX information essentials. Langri Tangpa Centre has also contracted with Calyx for bibliographic data migration, training and support services.

Langri Tangpa Centre is an affiliate of the FPMT (the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition), an organization devoted to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service. It provides integrated education through which people’s minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility. Founded over 25 years ago, the FPMT has grown to include a world-wide network of over 140 centres for meditation, study, retreat and healing, as well as monasteries, publishing houses and hospices.

“The library is a major adjunct to our teaching role at Langri Tangpa Centre,” said LTC representative Bruce Monley. “As we are entirely a voluntary organisation we needed an intuitive, easy to use system that nonetheless provides the full functionality of a modern library system with web 2.0 features. We plan to integrate the library system with the member’s area of our website as an important service for our members.  Koha provides us with a cost-effective, adaptable solution.”

The Software as a Service (SaaS) model offered by Calyx will free the Centre from the concerns of housing and maintaining the computer server and network as well as saving the expenses of hardware acquisition and maintenance. Calyx is delighted to be able to assist Langri Tangpa Centre to further its mission of teaching and healing.

By bob | Posted in News | Comments Off

The new “International Free and Open Source Law Review”

July 16, 2009 – 1:36 am
ISSN: 1877-6922
London, 13 July 2009.
Today sees the launch of a prestigious new legal Journal which aims to bring the highest standards to bear in analysis and comment on all aspects of Free and Open Source software.
The ‘International Free and Open Source Software Law Review’ (IFOSSLR) is a peer reviewed biannual journal for high-level analysis and debate about Free and Open Source Software legal issues and is published by an independent Editorial Committee.
Free and Open Source Software has increasingly come to challenge traditional concepts of intellectual property and collaboration by allowing every user to use, study, share and and improve code, facilitating the creation of elegant and effective software that now lies at the heart of the mainstream technology industry.  IFOSSLR aims to foster increased understanding and promote best practice for all parties engaging with this approach to licensing.
Welcoming this initiative, Karen Copenhaver, Partner Choate Hall & Stewart LLP and counsel to the Linux Foundation commented: “There are many reasons why The International Free and Open Source Software Law Review will be warmly received in legal circles, in the free and open source community and in the wider software industry.  For many years the focus in the legal community has been on raising questions about free and open source software licenses and development models.  With this journal we have turned the page and begun to focus on the answers.  It is rewarding to see lawyers adopting collaborative models to share knowledge and work product, arrive at common understandings, and further the development of the necessary legal ecosystem around free and open source software.  It is also significant that this international journal reflects the global community that has formed around these models.  My congratulations and thanks go to the editorial board that worked so well together to create this valuable resource.”
Expanding on this theme, Keith Bergelt, chief executive officer of the Open Invention Network, said “the intersection of open source and the law yields unique opportunities for new insights to be drawn and leadership to be exhibited as we move inexorably toward an era of unrivaled collaborative development.   It is only fitting that this journal focus on Legal issues in open source that relate to patents and beyond as we need a forum to discuss and debate critical legal issues so that the full benefit of open source as a modality of invention and innovation can be realized.”
In concord with the aims of the Free and Open Source Software movement, IFOSSLR will be available printed and on-line under a licence allowing it to be freely reproduced by individuals and organisations, commercial and non-commercial alike, provided that the content and authorship of the articles is respected.
The first issue is now available on the Internet to be read and downloaded without charge at www.ifosslr.org. Paper copies can also be ordered via the website.
Background Information:
The Editorial Committee
The Editorial Committee of IFOSSLR is made up of members of the European Legal Network, a group founded by Free Software Foundation Europe in 2007 to connect legal experts engaging with FOSS.  Today the network is the world’s largest community of lawyers and licensing specialists in the field, containing over 200 specialists from Europe, North America, Asia and in Australasia: Brendan Scott http://www.opensourcelaw.biz. well known to the Australian Open Source community.
Financing and support:
The Editorial Committee of  IFOSSLR thanks the NLnet Foundation for administrative support, the Mozilla foundation for financial support, and the Free Software Foundation Europe for establishing the European Legal Network.  While none of these organisations has any editorial control over IFOSSLR, their contribution is highly appreciated.
By irma | Posted in Blog Posts | Tagged | Comments Off

Four Freedoms of Free and Open Source Software

May 25, 2009 – 10:44 pm

Recently on an ALIA list there was discussion about open source software and whether it was really ‘free’. It is a confusion we frequently encounter. CALYX does not sell software, but we do sell services to support the deployment of free and open source software (FOSS). Generally using FOSS will save costs over closed source alternatives, but this is not necessarily so, depending on the circumstances.

In a blog to the school community in the UK, Miles Berry http://milesberry.net provides clarification. He writes: “free is about freedom at least as much as it’s about price: Liberté rather than gratuite as the French would have it.” Miles goes on to discuss four freedoms of open source software in the context of schools. Let us provide a library perspective. Open source offers:

0. The freedom to run the program for any purpose.

With open source software there are no licence fees, up front or ever. There is no restriction to run the software on a given number of terminals or for a specified number of users. Says Miles: “That’s not to say that it’s without any costs, but training, support, maintenance and, for web-based applications, hosting, are costs which apply to all software, whether open source or proprietary”.

1. The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs.

Whilst there are going to be relatively few librarians with the skills, time or inclination to study the source code, you are able to invite anyone with the relevant skills to study it for you. Miles again: “More importantly, access to the source code allows [library] techies to tailor the software to the specific needs of the [library]; it’s this adaptability of open source software which is its unique, er, selling point. For me, this is at the core of why open source software matters for [libraries].”

2. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbour.

This is a critical advantage for schools, perhaps less so in the library world. For example, Koha is a fully featured ILMS. It is a very large and sophisticated piece of software. Whilst community members, particularly in Asia, are working to simplify the installation process, as of today inexperienced users will require support at installation. For the brave this is available from the email lists, but those not interested in the underlying technology or in a hurry to get started might prefer to call on the services of a support company. Either way, the call is yours.

3. The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.

If you enhance the software, you can contribute your changes back to the project for inclusion in a future release. For the non-technical, ways to contribute to the community abound, by providing advice to new users, writing documentation or suggesting new features. Koha means ‘gift’ in the Maori language of New Zealand, where the system originated. If you appreciate the gift, you will want to give something back.

Though software that is open source is often not free of cost, it emanates from a superior model of software development. More on that in a future post.

By bob | Posted in Blog Posts | Comments (0)

SCIS bibliographic records seamlessly imported to Koha

March 17, 2009 – 2:57 pm

In a boon to Australian and New Zealand schools considering the Koha open source integrated library management system, CALYX information essentials recently demonstrated the seamless upload of bibliographic records from SCIS to Koha 3.00.01.

The Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS) is a national cataloguing service for Australian, New Zealand and international schools. SCIS customers may access the catalogue records over the Internet via SCISWeb, a product that is used by a large number of schools in Australia and nearly 50% of New Zealand schools.

SCIS provides MARC21 catalogue records in a .dat file. SCIS is a subscription service however a sample file of catalogue records is obtainable from the SCIS website. The file can be saved to the client’s desktop for upload to Koha. In Koha a user chooses the Tools menu to stage MARC records for import. The file location is entered (or the ‘browse’ function enables the file to be located with a couple of mouse clicks) and the file uploaded. After reviewing some decision rules (for example choosing whether records in the import file that match records already in the Koha system should be ignored or used to overwrite the existing records) the user imports the file with another mouse click. Holdings data (bar code, library branch and location information, for example) can be added simply after import.

Koha is a fully featured open source library management system, SCIS compliant and suitable for schools of all sizes.

By irma | Posted in News | Comments Off

Alzheimer’s Australia WA chooses Koha

March 17, 2009 – 2:51 pm

CALYX information essentials has completed the installation of Koha 3.00.01 for the Western Australia division of Alzheimer’s Australia (AAWA).

Alzheimer’s Australia provides information, support and advocacy to Australians living with dementia, their families and carers. Early and effective provision of information to families and carers has a significant beneficial impact on outcomes for people living with dementia. AAWA maintains a specialised Library and Resource Centre. As well as individuals and families with an interest in dementia, health care professionals are frequent users of the collection.

Having no in-house IT personnel, AAWA chose a hosted solution from CALYX for the convenience, security and economy it provides. AAWA personnel are free of the worries associated with owning and maintaining the computer server and ensuring the data are backed up daily. These tasks are undertaken by CALYX as part of the service of hosting the Koha installation whilst library personnel can focus on meeting the needs of library users.

For lower annual costs than just the license fee of the previous solution, AAWA staff now enjoy full ILMS functionality, whilst users of the Library and Resource Centre access the collection from a web based OPAC.

By irma | Posted in News | Comments Off

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