Bethesda, MD - August 9, 2010 - The Antonelli College Library, in Cincinnati, OH has successfully launched Koha and the staff are now establishing their first automated workflow processes based around the rich functionality available in Koha.  Koha is the world’s most widely used open source integrated library system (ILS).

Antonelli College is implementing Koha as their first ever integrated library system (ILS). The Antonelli College Library has selected LibLime’s fully-managed Koha implementation package. In this model, the system is installed, operated and maintained at one of the LibLime carrier-class data centers.

LibLime has provided Antonelli College with system installation, configuration, patron record data migration, staff training, and annual maintenance/ hosting. The staff are already using Koha to prepare their catalog for end user access later this school year.

“We are very excited to have migrated to our Koha production server, so that we can now begin the process of cataloging our collection.  We are hoping to have the current collection cataloged by sometime this Fall, so we can start focusing on acquiring new materials and opening the library for use by our students, faculty, and staff,” said College Librarian, Tracey Stivers.

About Antonelli College

Antonelli College, a well-known part of the visual arts community in Cincinnati, Ohio since 1947, has held to the traditions of quality teaching in the fields of visual arts and business, and presenting
students with the opportunity to develop their gifts and talents into professional skills. The primary goal of Antonelli College is to create an environment that prepares each graduate to become a qualified professional and a well-rounded individual. Antonelli College offers the quality training that is essential for students who wish to acquire the skills necessary to gain a competitive edge in the business world today.  The Antonelli College philosophy of teaching is a combination of direct involvement and critical
thinking. Direct involvement means hands-on training and real-world education. Individuals become competent in the use of the many tools and techniques of their chosen careers.  Antonelli College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges.

About LibLime, a division of PTFS

LibLime, a division of PTFS, is the global leader in Koha support.  LibLime provides consulting, implementation, data migration, training, development, and maintenance/hosting services for Koha in libraries of all types and sizes.  PTFS is the developer of the world’s leading digital content management software, ArchivalWare, and also specializes in library staffing requirements, digitization, and systems integration. For more information, see http://liblime.com or http://ptfs.com orhttp://archivalware.net.

Press Contact:

Kelly Sherman

(301) 654 - 8088 Ext. 176

ksherman@liblime.com

Galen Charlton, Koha 3.2 release manager, and Chris Cormack, Koha 3.4 release manager, have established a plan and tracking system for integrating the PTFS developed, Harley features into Koha.

For complete overview visit:
http://koha-community.org/integration-of-ptfs-code-into-mainline-koha/

Bethesda, MD – March 6, 2010 – LibLime, a division of PTFS, has announced that the Antonelli College Library in Cincinnati, OH will be implementing Koha for their first Integrated Library System (ILS).

“Antonelli College is excited to move forward with our implementation of Koha. This will be the first ever ILS for Antonelli College, so we are excited to offer library services to our students, staff, and faculty, “said Tracey Stivers, Antonelli College Librarian.

Antonelli College Library has selected the LibLime fully-managed Koha implementation package. In this model, the system is installed, operated and maintained at one of the LibLime carrier-class data centers. LibLime will provide Antonelli College with system configuration, data migration, staff training, and annual maintenance/ hosting.

“We picked Koha after reviewing multiple proprietary and open source ILS products, because it seemed to offer the most value for the price. Due to our current staff (only one part-time librarian) and resources, we are very pleased with the setup, support, and hosting options that LibLime - PTFS offers,” said Stivers. “Koha offers many great features, including course reserves, serials control, and rich acquisitions functionality, which are integral for an academic library.”

“We’re very happy to welcome the Antonelli College Library into our family of Koha customers,” said PTFS CEO John Yokley. “The costs of automating a library collection for the first time can be very high using commercial ILS applications, and it requires a lot of staff time. With our LibLime Koha implementation, we offer libraries a very cost-effective approach that reduces staff time and completes the process in three months, rather than the traditional six – nine months in the commercial environment. We are very excited to be working with the Antonelli College Library staff to implement Koha and we will be providing a wealth of technical and library experience to insure that their ‘go-live’ is a success.”

About Antonelli College
Antonelli College, a well-known part of the visual arts community in Cincinnati, Ohio since 1947, has held to the traditions of, quality teaching in the fields of visual arts and business, and presenting students with the opportunity to develop their gifts and talents into professional skills. The primary goal of Antonelli College is to create an environment that prepares each graduate to become a qualified professional and a well-rounded individual. Antonelli College offers the quality training that is essential for students who wish to acquire the skills necessary to gain a competitive edge in the business world today. The Antonelli College philosophy of teaching is a combination of direct involvement and critical thinking. Direct involvement means hands-on training and real-world education. Individuals become competent in the use of the many tools and techniques of their chosen careers. Antonelli College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges.

About LibLime, a division of PTFS
LibLime is the global leader in open-source solutions for libraries. Rather than sell software licenses for static, hard-to-customize software products, The PTFS LibLime Division educates libraries about the benefits of open source, enabling them to make choices about how best to provide their communities and staff with better technology services. The PTFS LibLime Division then facilitates deployment of Koha in libraries by providing outstanding consulting, development, implementation, and support/hosting for libraries of all types and sizes. PTFS is also the developer of the world’s leading content management software, ArchivalWare, and specializes in meeting library personnel staffing requirements, digitization, and metadata keying services. For more information, see http://liblime.com or http://ptfs.com or http://archivalware.net.

Press Contact:

Kelly Sherman

(301) 654 – 8088 Ext. 176

ksherman@ptfs.com

Through the acquisition PTFS has excitedly brought on a number of LibLime employees adding to the overall dynamic and quality of the organization and has reconnected old friends and former colleagues.

All former LibLime employees, Clay Fouts ; Server/ development, Beverley Church; Project Management, Mary Moules; Project Management , Cookie Wolfrom; Support/ help desk, Susan Buchanan; Sales, Maria Laude; Training, and Michele Maenpaa; Data migration, are the newest members of the PTFS Library Systems team, but are certainly not new to the industry. Be sure to look for individual team bios in the coming weeks.

“I’ve really enjoyed reconnection with old friends from LibLime, and find that our time together in the past has made integration much easier, both technologically and collegially,” said J. David Bavousett, PTFS Software Engineer, a former LibLime employee, who has been with PTFS since early 2009.

Federated Search Expert, Helen Mitchell, will be teaching two Federated Search Seminars during SLA 2010 in New Orleans, LA. As part of these seminars, PTFS will be highlighted as one of the Federated Search implementers and experts. The seminars, topics, and times are as follows:
Federated Search, Part 1: Evaluation and Assessment Methodology for Success
Saturday, 06/12/2010 8:00AM -12:00PM
In this age of “information explosion,” quickly finding the most relevant information is a huge challenge for information professionals (IPs). With a tidal wave of information technologies to choose from, IPs often lack the expertise to select the best solution to increase content findability. Consider a federated search (FS) system or methodology that can quickly search your subscription databases and unstructured content sources.

Federated Search, Part 2: Selecting and Implementing an Effective Solution
Saturday, 06/12/2010 1:00PM - 5:00PM
Current and emerging search technologies can foster information sharing, collaboration, networking and feedback. Finding the most relevant information in a timely manner challenges information professionals due to a lack of enterprise-wide federated search (FS) solutions. If you want a better understanding of what federated search is, how to collect these specialized requirements, develop a “Request for Info” (RFI) and a “Request for Proposal” (RFP) and learn how to evaluate federated search products to meet your organizational needs, this course is for you!

Mrs. Mitchell has over 30 years experience with enterprise search, information management, application systems design and development, metadata management, nomenclature and governance methodologies, program management, and multi-million dollar procurements of IT services, software and hardware during her time with the Department of Health & Human Services.

Each of these sessions are CE courses. To register go to: http://registration.experient-inc.com/ShowSLA101/Default.aspx

NOTE: The course is divided into a morning and an afternoon session. There’s a substantial discount for signing up for both sessions. Space is limited so please register ASAP to ensure your spot!

PTFS’s newly acquired Library Division, Liblime, will be exhibiting at SLA at booth 635.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Helen at hmitchell5@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you there!

“We are most excited about the support structure and the ability to customize the product. We were initially interested in the cost savings and soon discovered that the benefits moved beyond our expectations. As part of the WALDO Koha development group, we look forward to expanding our existing features,” said Librarian and Dean Liz Siecke.

The George T. Potter Library has selected the LibLime – PTFS fully-managed Koha package. In this model, the system is installed, operated and maintained at one of LibLime – PTFS carrier-class data centers. LibLime – PTFS will provide installation, data migration, systems configuration, ongoing maintenance, software development and staff training. Joining the WALDO consortium will enable the library to take advantage of the discounts available to WALDO members for LibLime - PTFS services.

“We are pleased to be serving a new member of WALDO , as we work together to enrich the academic functionality in Koha,” said John Yokley, CEO of PTFS. “We will also provide Dean Siecke and her staff with the high level of customer support for which PTFS is known.”
Koha includes many customer-commissioned development features, including several highly-anticipated academic library requirements, such as course reserves, expanded acquisition tools, and enhanced searching for music collections. The Software as a Service (SaaS) offering on the LibLime - PTFS cloud computing platform will also feature regular releases throughout the year as additional customer-sponsored development is completed.

“We appreciate the added support network and the opportunity to contribute to the development of the system,” said Dean Siecke, “We have a small staff with a range of expertise. Although we would not be able to support a solution on our own, we are able to provide expertise for specific projects. We believe the WALDO/LibLime - PTFS partnership provides a strong support system with the flexibility to include community participation.”

About Ramapo College
Established in 1969, Ramapo College is a public liberal arts college located on the New Jersey/New York border. Programs offered include bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include nursing, social work, and teaching. Graduate degree programs include educational technology, nursing, and liberal arts.

About WALDO
Westchester Academic Library Directors Organization (WALDO) is a membership organization supporting the procurement & administration of electronic information services for libraries since 1982. Supporting over 900 member libraries, WALDO offers consortial discounts for over 5,000 products and services.
For more information, please visit the WALDO Website located at http://www.waldolib.org or contact Robert Karen at (800) 326-6495 ext. 1 or rob@waldolib.org.

Other advantages of choosing a LibLime solution through the WALDO consortium include volume discounts, standard contracts, consolidated renewals and invoicing and centralized billing. Participation in the LibLime discounts through WALDO is available to all WALDO full, associate and limited members.

About LibLime - PTFS
LibLime – PTFS is the global leader in open-source solutions for libraries. Rather than sell software licenses for static, hard-to-customize software products, The PTFS LibLime Division educates libraries about the benefits of open source, enabling them to make choices about how best to provide their communities and staff with better technology services. The PTFS LibLime Division then facilitates deployment of Koha in libraries by providing outstanding consulting, development, implementation, and support/hosting for libraries of all types and sizes. PTFS is also the developer of the world’s leading content management software, ArchivalWare, and specializes in meeting library personnel staffing requirements, digitization, and metadata keying services. For more information, see http://liblime.com or http://ptfs.com or http://archivalware.net.

Press Contact:
Kelly Sherman
(301) 654 – 8088 Ext. 176
ksherman@ptfs.com

David Schuster has been working hard to get the videos from KohaCon up on the Internet Archive site. For now you can see two videos there:
MySQL with Joe Atzberger and Using MarcEdit with Koha - David Schuster.

Keep an eye out for more down the road.

Technorati Tags: kohacon09

I received this message today about a series of 6 case studies of libraries making the switch to open source systems:

For the past year, 6 libraries from Malawi to Nepal have been learning a great deal about free and open source software (FOSS) integrated library systems (ILS). Case studies of their investigations, successes, and learning points are now available. The participating pilot sites in this project range from the relatively small (50,000 to 70,000 volumes) to the very large (more than 4 million volumes). They also stretch from libraries with a single systems librarian to libraries with an entire IT team. This project was not merely about installing and using a FOSS ILS; it was about learning to engage with FOSS development and support communities. It’s all about participation. We are delighted to report that the technical leads from each pilot site (and the teams they managed, where those existed) have taken engagement seriously. So much so that eIFL.net libraries are now regular contributors to the Koha http://www.koha.org/ and Evergreen http://www.open-ils.org/ ILS development and support communities. With the publication of these case studies we hope many more libraries within the eIFL.net community will take up the challenges and opportunities that come with FOSS in libraries.

This is a project that somehow stayed out of my radar, but I’m very happy to hear about it now and get to explore the 6 case studies.

• Fundamental Scientific Library of the National Academy of Sciences, Armenia (Evergreen);
• Mzuzu University, Malawi (Koha);
• Library of the Faculty of Medicine Pharmacy and Dentistry, University of Bamako, Mali (Koha);
• Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya, Nepal (Evergreen);
• Midlands State University Library, Zimbabwe (Evergreen)

I vaguely remember seeing mention of Firefox adding collections a while back, but I didn’t pay it much notice. Today I was doing my research on Firefox and saw what a collection really is!

Firefox collections are lists of add-ons put together by Firefox users! I did a search for library to see what librarians were recommending as Firefox add-ons and found a bunch I hadn’t heard of before. What a great way for us to share our knowledge with each other!

A few collections that I took note of were:

• Law Librarian Recommended Add-ons

• Library & EdTech Add-ons
• Reference Desk

Don’t see a collection that meets your needs? Add one!! I love open source

Found via Library Web Chic:

Packt Publishing which publishes some wonderful books on open source software. In addition, the sponsor awards for open source CMSs. Nominations are now for their open source CMS awards. There are several different categories in which CMSs can be nominated. For more information check out the award page on Packt’s website.

We have until September 11, 2009 to place our votes for our favorite CMS.