6 ways libraries shape technology around their communities

We are often asked by the GLAMR (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums, and Records) community: What are other libraries doing? How do they catalogue their collection? How are they using Koha? What tricks do they know? In this blog post, Rōpū kohinga shares ways their partner libraries use open source technology to serve their communities.

6 ways libraries meet patrons where they’re at

1. Creating an equitable library experience for students

Pictured: John Kinder Theological Library Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) with the carousel display of books.

John Kinder Theological Library wanted its distance learners to have the same experience as in-person visitors, especially when it came to discovering new books. In Koha, the library could make changes itself, transforming how books are displayed on the OPAC, making the content larger and within a carousel. Now, students can see what’s new immediately. 

Jing Shen, Digital Services Librarian at the library, shares that the change has been "a game-changer for us because it not only looks appealing but also makes our collection of new books, including eBooks, more discoverable."

Key takeaway: You can customise your catalogue for your users.

Where to start: Watch a tutorial and use the Catalyst Koha demo site to test out your ideas.

2. Improving access and visibility of resources to diverse audiences

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) believes research should be free to access. When working on Tuwhera Showcases, AUT’s research repository, everything was built to share, reuse, and easily maintain for the future.  

Now, the library team can support research groups with a customised display and visual identity for their research outputs in DSpace with minimal technical support. Research groups get branded showcases that reflect their research area and celebrate their work.

Key takeaway: Using open source tools enables staff to continually improve, share, and scale solutions to reach a wider audience.

Where to start: Explore DSpace repositories or discuss custom displays with your open source library vendor.

3. Working together for a shared goal

When manual uploads to Te Puna Search from Koha weren’t working, five libraries gathered together with Rōpū kohinga to problem-solve. Since the current process required regular maintenance and technical support from Koha vendors for changes, the new process flipped that. Now, Koha libraries can upload records without vendor support and maintenance whenever they need. Shared solutions like this enable more self-sufficient libraries to deliver cost-effective service. This change was upstreamed in Koha 24.11.

Key takeaway: You can collaborate, share resources, and speed up processes by working with the open source community.

Where to start: Join Koha community groups and connect with other library users through mailing lists, online community chat, and meetups.

4. Managing unique collections

Pictured: A selection of Australian badges from Jessie Street's collection.

Jessie Street National Women's Library has a physical collection that tells the stories of women and Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander people. The library holds unique artefacts, so they need to create their own records rather than importing them from a catalogue. Using Koha, librarians can easily create catalogue records for unique artifacts and upload images to make them searchable in the catalogue. 

Key takeaway: You can create and adapt catalogue records to reflect your collection. There is no limit to what your collection can contain.

Where to start: Check out Jessie Street’s unique collection.

5. Cataloguing collections for communities

Kolovai Public Library in the Kingdom of Tonga uses Koha to create a Paskifia collection and a Tongan collection, moving away from the Dewey Decimal system to organise their collection in a way that suits their communities.

Koha interfaces are fully translatable and have over 40 translations, as well as plugins that further expand the translation library. Therefore, librarians can catalogue and display collections in the relevant language for their audience.

Key takeaway: You can organise collections using systems that reflect the relevant cultural context.

Where to start: Check out what languages Koha is translated into and the Australian Indigenous languages plugin. 

6. Prioritising data sovereignty

When Te Kotahitanga o te Atiawa Trust was searching for a library system, they were also considering how the hosting could ensure the sovereignty of the collection. Since the library holds records that belong to Te Ātiawa, the Trust wanted to ensure that the records were at a minimum protected under NZ law. As their Koha is hosted on Catalyst Cloud, a 100% New Zealand-owned cloud provider, data sovereignty is assured.

In recent years, the conversation about data sovereignty has become central to decision-making by organisations that are planning for the long-term protection of their collections and data. Across many of our partner libraries and at conferences, there has been growing interest in data sovereignty and choosing cloud providers that enable this. 

Key takeaway: Where your data is hosted determines who has access to your collection and what laws it's protected under.

Where to start: Read about data sovereignty in a GLAMR context.

Bonus tips:

Libraries have discovered countless ways to automate routine tasks and reduce manual work. Here are some ways you can automate or reduce how often a task is repeated:

• Create automated messages for your library users: Set up notifications, overdue reminders, and welcome emails that send automatically.
• Bulk issue items: Check out class sets or course reserves in seconds rather than scanning each item individually.
• Upload multiple patrons at once: Import student or member lists at the start of the term instead of entering them one by one.
• Streamline self-checkout: Configure self-service options that work for your space and your users.