Atlanta, Ga., August 4, 2023: Equinox Open Library Initiative, a trusted leader in open technology development and support for libraries, is pleased to announce the migration of the Library Company of Philadelphia to Koha ILS as part of their membership with the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collection Libraries (PACSCL).
Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731, the Library Company of Philadelphia is an independent research library dedicated to American history from the 17th to 19th centuries. Their migration to Koha included 318,504 bibliographic records and included 424 patrons. Equinox provided implementation, hosting, support, and training services as part of the migration process.
"The Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries chose to work with Equinox because of their demonstrated commitment to excellence in open source management," said Arielle Rambo, Head of Cataloging at the Library Company of Philadelphia. "The implementation team has been wonderful, offering prompt support to create customized solutions for our extremely specialized libraries. We look forward to continuing to work with Equinox in the years to come."
The Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collection Libraries was established in 1985 to enhance the visibility and support of member institutions. In the thirty years since its inception, it has doubled in size and continues to support area libraries through its working groups, project support, and the setting of best practices in the field.
"Open source solutions can make special collections more accessible than ever before," said Erica Rohlfs, Senior Implementation Manager at Equinox. "Koha, as a system, shines when utilized in special collections settings and demonstrates that libraries outside of a public or academic library setting can still deploy open source solutions with great success. We are excited to support the ongoing efforts of the Library Company of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collection Libraries."
About Equinox Open Library Initiative
Equinox Open Library Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is the successor to Equinox Software, Inc. Equinox's mission as a nonprofit is to promote and support a thriving ecosystem for open source library communities in order to provide libraries worldwide with innovative, affordable, and sustainable open source solutions. We are devoted to reducing barriers to library technology and services, expanding library access to open source software, and providing high quality technology, consulting, and support services.To learn more, please visit https://www.equinoxOLI.org.
About Koha ILS
Created in 1999 by Katipo Communications for the Horowhenua Library Trust in New Zealand, Koha Integrated Library System is the first open source Integrated Library System to be used worldwide. The software is a full-featured ILS with a dual-database design (search engine and RDBMS) built to be compliant with library standards. Koha's OPAC, staff, and self-checkout interfaces are all web applications. Distributed under the General Public License (GPL), libraries are free to use and install Koha themselves or to purchase support and development services. For more information on Koha, please visit https://www.equinoxoli.org/products/koha/.