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"Koha has it all for Library Management"
Mercy C. - Assistant To The DirectorOctober 11, 2018
STARTING PRICE
Not provided by software provider
EASE OF USE
4.0/5
Based on Capterra user reviews
Koha is the first free software library automation package. In use worldwide, its development is steered by a growing community of users collaborating to achieve their technology goals. Kohais a Full-featured ILS in use worldwide in libraries of all sizes, Koha is a true enterprise-class ILS with comprehensive functionality including basic and advanced options. Koha includes modules for acquisitions, circulation, cataloging, serials, authorities, flexible reporting, label printing and much more.
Provider
ByWater Solutions
Located In
United States
Foundation
2009
Open API
Unverified
Deployment
Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based
Training
In Person, Webinars, Documentation, Live Online
Support
24/7 (Live rep), Chat
ByWater supports libraries of all shapes and sizes including public and academic libraries of all sizes, special academic libraries, law libraries and large consortia.
Content Source: Koha
Green rating bars show the winning product based on the average rating and number of reviews.
Koha Reviews
Pros
The Koha server supports a robust catalog search feature, powerful user management, relatively easy way to scan in new books, and even the ability to print out barcodes for said books.
And with a bit of work, you can customize Koha to display a nice web portal. There is also a robust support community to help you out, something you will most likely need.
Koha has the flexibility we were looking for and is open source for ease of future innovations. ByWater Solutions helped us to migrate and get set-up; their staff was responsive and experienced.
Easy to use, cost effective, advanced features, ability to ask for changes, innovative and changing with times.
Cons
While there is a search feature to find different settings, the settings themselves are labeled in an opaque manner, making it difficult to know what you are searching for.
By far the biggest con is simply how difficult Koha is to use. While the initial setup isn't too difficult, anything beyond that can be extremely complicated.
The tags can be hit or miss. We have glitches that we're often dealing with and never really get solved so it sometimes just looks unprofessional.
We were unhappy with the high annual cost of the system, the lack of adequate technical support and training, poor indexing, etc. We eventually made a financial system to move elsewhere.
"Koha has it all for Library Management"
Pros: The fact that it is a first free automated library software, I am entitled to receive a customer care support 24/7. By being automated, it is easy for students to individually check-in and check-out. This software has got a version that can be installed in Android devices as well as iOS devices to serve the students in case of book search and tracking which in turn reduces overcrowding at computer checkpoints in the library. Just not to forget, the customization options of OPAC is more than excellent.
Cons: If only there was an option of deleting lenders in batch, I would really appreciate but the software is superb.
"Extremely powerful software to host a Library, but difficult to use"
Overall: Once I learned the ins and outs and various quirks of Koha, I like it, and think it is a very powerful and valuable piece of software for libraries. The fact that it is free is a huge plus, as most libraries are non-profit and don't have a huge budget, let alone an IT budget. ByWater solutions, that supports Koha, is fairly responsive, but not always the most helpful.
Pros: Koha is extremely flexible and powerful, allowing you to effectively setup a full features Library website without having to purchase any expensive software. The Koha server supports a robust catalog search feature, powerful user management, relatively easy way to scan in new books, and even the ability to print out barcodes for said books. And with a bit of work, you can customize Koha to display a nice web portal. There is also a robust support community to help you out, something you will most likely need.
Cons: By far the biggest con is simply how difficult Koha is to use. While the initial setup isn't too difficult, anything beyond that can be extremely complicated. The Koha backend is extremely dense and non-intuitive. While there is a search feature to find different settings, the settings themselves are labeled in an opaque manner, making it difficult to know what you are searching for. Furthermore, any kind of editing you would like to on the web portal must be done using CSS, there is absolutely no WYSIWYG editor of any kind.
"I am Not a fan"
Overall: The system is not keeping up with cataloging. I catalog a book and then search for it in system, and it is not there.
Pros: The people. The customer service is great.
Cons: The product itself is not great. I am having trouble with the system keeping up with my cataloging.
"KOHA: AN ONLINE CATALOGUE"
Overall: In combination of Dspace, patrons are able to access and use digitised information resources online. This makes things easy for both librarian and patron
Pros: KOHA is a typically an online software. It works well with many web based applications. With the help of proxy server contents of a particular library can be accessed remotely.
Cons: Deployment of KOHA involves too technical ICT expertise. One basically needs the support of an ICT technician to install the software.
"Good for what it is, wish it was streamlined"
Overall: Easy to learn, easy to use but you get what you (don't) pay for so to speak.
Pros: It's open source so that is a big selling point. It's easy to fiddle with and shift and change things. As someone who is new to library software, it's easy onboarding and easy to figure out without a complicated tutorial.
Cons: The search functionality is an issue for our patrons. Often you can search the exact book title and not get the book. The tags can be hit or miss. We have glitches that we're often dealing with and never really get solved so it sometimes just looks unprofessional. The process to upload images seems overly complicated, having to copy and paste MARC instead of just having the upload process embedded into the record. The UX could be improved and streamlined in several areas to reduce clicks or make it easy to alter multiple entries at once instead of one by one.
