The Department of Software Services of the University of Guyana is working to have the library facilities at the university’s two campuses fully automated by the end of this year.
Works have already been undertaken in this regard with the recent unveiling of the library automation system KOHA at the Tain Campus in Berbice. The move would see students accessing the library facilities via the internet which means they would not have to physically check the library for books they require.
The automated system will enable students to access the library at Tain and determine which books are available for use.
The software also places students in a position to institute a ‘hold’ on specific books which they wish to use.
Sekhar Mallampati, a software engineer and head of the Department of Software Services at the University of Guyana has been spearheading projects of this kind at UG; including the 2009 online students’ records management system. He told Stabroek News recently that the automated library software has placed UG in a position to be on par with other university campuses in the Caribbean.
He said the New Zealand open source KOHA software has been used successfully around the world, and the university has successfully installed the system at Tain while works are in train to have it implemented at the Turkeyen Campus.
Sekhar, as he is referred to on campus, noted that the volume of books available at Tain is much smaller than at the Turkeyen facility and as a result extensive works are being undertaken to have it implemented at the latter facility.
According to the university, automation of the Turkeyen Library commenced in the late 1990s with the use of the IME Navigator, commercial software. For various reasons, the main ones being the cost of maintaining updates for the system and the lack of the required technical skills to maintain the system, the project faltered.
According to UG, given the cost of commercial software, the library at the Turkeyen Campus attempted to automate sections of its collection with WINISIS or ISIS for windows, free software distributed by UNESCO.
However, the main limitations of this software had to do with its inability to accommodate large collections and the fact that it was not web-based, which limited access to the catalogues to the physical walls of the library.
When the Tain campus was established in 2000, the library there used the WINISIS software in its first attempt to automate the facility. In June 2007, the Turkeyen Library moved towards exploring the use of Open Source software, after exhausting all possibilities of acquiring commercial software.
KOHA, a New Zealand Maori word for ‘Gift’ was found to be ideally suitable for the following several reasons including;
-It is a full-featured Integrated Library system in use worldwide in libraries of all sizes;
-Importantly, in the local set-up, it is a free Open Source Software distributed under the Open Source General Public License;
-And also of importance, is that there is no vendor lock-in since libraries are free to install and customize it once they have the in-house skills.
Sekhar noted recently that the software services unit at UG has been working earnestly to develop the technological capability of the university.
Giving a background on the Online Students Records Management System (SRMS) features, Sekhar said prospective students can apply online for admission to university programmes and university dorms while current students can register or apply online for leave of absence, exemptions, change of registration, transfers as well as programme withdrawal.
In collaboration with library, he said, the Department of Software Services has produced the automated system at Tain which is first of its kind in the country.
He said UG is one of the first institutions to implement world’s leading Open Source Library Software (KOHA) in the Caribbean, adding that the software is free.
At the launching of the system at Tain last week, Sekhar expressed hope that it will spark an interest and awareness among other libraries including the National Library, the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) library, school and community libraries.
He said he and his team were available to assist in this regard, noting that the software is user friendly and utilizes an easy installation process.
Sekhar said too that the department welcomes any feedback from students and staff to improve the automated applications to make them more effective and user friendly.
Students who wish to access the Tain campus library can log onto http://ugbclibrary.uog.edu.gy.
