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Koha library system streamlines Commerce Commission’s workflow
Catalyst and the Commerce Commission collaborate with the power of Koha library system.
The Commerce Commission enforces laws to promote competition and protect consumers in Aotearoa New Zealand. Since 2019, they've partnered with Catalyst and used Koha library management system to store their physical and digital resources. In 2021, the Commerce Commission decided it was time to upgrade their Koha to align closely with their branding and streamline their workflows.
Opportunity
The Commerce Commission approached Catalyst to support them with the new additions to their Koha. The agreed outcomes were:
- streamlining the login process: The Commerce Commission staff use ADFS (Active Directory Federation Services) to log in to different systems using a single set of login credentials. The Commission wanted to keep using ADFS to log in to any new library system.
- improving tracking of checkout out items: Due to the small library team and the physical set-up of the library itself, tracking checked out items out of the library was not always easy. Therefore, they required a means of enabling library users to record when they checked an item out themselves.
- reflecting the Commerce Commission's brand in Koha: They wanted to highlight the library's services and collections so they stood out from their other systems.
Solution
Rōpū Kohinga worked closely with the Commerce Commission to ensure the updates aligned with their needs.
Single Sign On (SSO) was implemented between Koha and the Commerce Commission authentication provider. Thus, when the Commerce Commission staff logged in at the start of the day, they would be automatically logged in to Koha too. The time-saving approach to authentication also kept Koha use in line with other Commerce Commission systems.
Adding the self-checkout module
Out-of-the-box Koha enables end-users to check out books themselves from the Koha OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) interface, using the self checkout module. Therefore, Commerce Commission staff members could:
- come into the library,
- pick up an item,
- take it back to their desk,
- and check it out from there.
However, Koha did not pass the details of the currently logged in user to the self checkout module unlike in the rest of Koha. So when clicking the self checkout button, users were prompted to input their card number. Catalyst developer Alex Buckley's solution was to pass the identity of the currently logged in user to the self checkout module. Then the Commerce Commission staff could check out items without manually entering their details.
A new look and feel
Nikita Sharpe, a Catalyst front-end developer, implemented the Commerce Commission branding, including:
- the Commerce Commission's colours,
- imagery,
- and logos.
The branding lent itself to creating a beautiful display while keeping within the low-maintenance standard Koha layout.
The Commerce Commission opted to include a new books slideshow on the OPAC homepage. This highly visual feature can refresh images daily, enabling staff to easily showcase newly received titles and make them immediately visible to library users. Working together, Catalyst and the Commerce Commission Library brought a fantastic custom design to fruition.
Koha support
Koha is a flexible system that you can customise to work for your team and users. Check out Koha tips and tricks below:
If you'd like to further Koha support, Rōpū kohinga is happy to help. Contact us to talk about your library's goals.