Hello :) I've spent a few hours searching sourceforge.com and Google for open source library systems for Linux and managed to testdrive some biblio projects via their online PHP demos. I was looking for some of the same standard and functionality found in most council/state library catalog systems.
It seems that most ILS (Integrated Library Systems) are web-based nowadays - and found OpenBiblio, Emilda, and Koha. Emilda seems premature and requires more testing. OpenBiblio seems nice, with membership ID card support, MARC support (a standard created for cataloging books or other documents used in a library eg. ISBN, Title/Author/Subject) etc, membership database, circulation, fines/penalty, due dates etc. Koha seems more extensive than OpenBiblio with aquisition support ((re)order, receive, budgeting), member search & borrow history information which is accessible by members via a member access plugin. I need an application to inventory, track member loans and borrowings mainly for paper material types (because most of our property is paper based) eg. books, magazines, cds, and anything you could probably detail using biblio cataloging standards like MARC, Z39.50 etc for a chess club. Our club also stocks non-biblio material like computer equipment, chess sets and pieces, and demonstration kits that require inventory - mainly to track missing stuff and keep a list of what we have, where it is, who currently is/isn't responsible/ownership etc. At this stage, due to the slightly different nature and purpose of the type of things (1. books, 2. equipment), and method, and possibly insufficent awareness of the full capabilities of existing software mentioned above (et al), I was conceiving tracking books with a biblio system, and using an Excel spreadsheet to track equipment. I'm thinking about proposing OpenBiblio as our solution. Does anybody suggest a good library system ? Maybe an all-in-one biblio & stock inventory system ? -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
