ATHENS, OH -September 18, 2007- LibLime, the leader in open-source solutions for libraries, announced today that the Canada/Manitoba Business Service Centre in Manitoba, Canada has selected LibLime's Koha Classic Hosted solution. Koha is the first and most widely deployed open-source integrated library system (ILS).
Oliver Bernuetz, Head of Library Services at the Centre, says that Canada/Manitoba Business Service Centre (CMBSC) selected Koha to reduce costs and take advantage of the user-centric development model. "Price was certainly a consideration. It would cost thousands more to get all the features of Koha with a proprietary system. More importantly though, are the possibilities with Koha. The idea of being able to get desired changes incorporated without having to persuade an ILS vendor of their need is great," says Bernuetz.
Like many corporate and government libraries, CMBSC opted for LibLime's Koha Classic Hosted solution. "The hosted LibLime option was also a major consideration as it removes the need for our own on-site server." The solution will be hosted at LibLime's Toronto data center.
Since Koha's interfaces are entirely web-based, CMBSC users and staff will now be able to access the reference library catalog from the comfort of their own office or home. Their system will go live in September 2007.
About the Canada/Manitoba Business Service Centre
The Canada/Manitoba Business Service Centre is a partnership between the Government of Canada and the Province of Manitoba. CMBSC delivers a wide range of business related services in Manitoba on behalf of 38 federal government departments and organizations, 13 provincial government departments and five private sector partners. CMBSC Reference Library has one of the Canada's most extensive collections of business, trade and industrial publications. They also offer video and audio tapes, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, CD-ROMs, databases and directories, free of charge.
About Koha
Since it was first put into production in early 2000, Koha has enabled new realities of open access, affordability, and free innovation for hundreds of libraries around the world. Koha has lived up to its name, which means ‘Gift' in the Maori language of New Zealand. From the outset, many libraries understood the power of this gift. They downloaded it, they installed it, they changed it, and they contributed their solutions back to the library community.
To learn more about the Koha project, visit:
http://koha.org
To try out Koha for yourself, visit LibLime's demos:
http://liblime.com/demos
About LibLime
As the leader in open-source solutions for libraries, LibLime offers a refreshing alternative to expensive proprietary software. LibLime's mission is to make open-source software accessible to libraries by offering affordable and customizable open-source library technology solutions, such as Koha and Evergreen. LibLime also provides services on these software products including: migration assistance, staff training, and software maintenance, support, and development.
