11/3/2016
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Marywood University Library and Learning Commons Goes Live on ByWater Solutions Koha Support

ByWater Solutions, an open source community contributor and America's forefront provider of Koha support, announced today that the Library and Learning Commons at Marywood University in Scranton, PA. is now live on their Koha open source integrated library system.

ByWater Solutions completed the migration of the Libraries' more than 260,000 titles and is providing ongoing hosting and support services to the library. As part of their implementation, ByWater assisted in the configuration of Koha to work with Marywood's automated storage and retrieval system which houses 98% of their physical collection.  The Library's customized online catalog can be viewed at: https://libcat.marywood.edu/

Lee Jamison, Automated Library Technician for the University, commented on the results of their switch to Koha:

"Since having Koha live for just one semester, we are already seeing positive effects. Although it took some time for our patrons to adjust to the new system, their response and reaction has been positive. We have transformed our online system to one we are proud of and it is a relief to not have to explain tedious “workarounds” or glitches to patrons and they report much better success in finding what they need. Instead of “let me explain” we can now say “let me show you what else the catalog can do!” Our staff and Librarians are also pleased by the level of flexibility and problem-solving that the system provides. If a patron mentions a feature that isn't currently available, we can say “we’ll look into adding that feature” knowing that our ideas and suggestions are real possibilities and we will get help with implementation from ByWater Solutions or the Koha community."

He continues: "Overall, Koha is a total 180 degree change from our former ILS in the best way possible. Staff and patrons remark on greater ease of use, and faculty (some for the first time in years) are actively integrating library resources into their classes, using public lists, reserves, comments, tags and more to get more of our resources in the hands of students. With ByWater’s help we enabled the Koha EDS plugin so that patrons have access to not only our physical collection but also our subscribed databases in a one-stop-shop fashion. The feedback so far has been overwhelming and we hope usage continues to grow at such a rapid pace."

Brendan Gallagher, CEO of ByWater commented on this new partnership:

"We are thrilled to partner with the team at the Learning Commons at Marywood. Working with Lee has been fantastic and his enthusiasm and skills have already proven to be an invaluable addition to the global Koha community. We look forward to many years of partnership and working together to make Koha even better for Academic libraries worldwide!"

About the Library and Learning Commons

As the Intellectual and Social Heart of campus, the Marywood University Learning Commons puts knowledge creation at the forefront of the educational experience. Students develop patterns of discovery and achievement that last a lifetime, with abundant opportunities to discern what learning styles and environments work best for them.

The use of flexible and more open physical spaces, new ways of using technology for accessing resources, and the expertise of skilled specialists, such as technologists and digital media professionals, turn what was once the familiar library into an environment infused with creative energy and engaged learning. The impressive physical design of the Learning Commons also ensures adaptability to future advances in teaching and learning. For more information please visit: http://www.marywood.edu/library/

About Koha:
Koha is the first open-source Integrated Library System (ILS). In use worldwide, its development is steered by a growing community of libraries collaborating to achieve their technology goals. Koha's impressive feature set continues to evolve and expand to meet the needs of its user base. It includes modules for circulation, cataloging, acquisitions, serials, reserves, patron management, branch relationships, and more.

Koha's OPAC, circulation, management and self-checkout interfaces are all based on standards-compliant World Wide Web technologies,HTML5, CSS and Javascript,making Koha a truly platform-independent solution. Koha is distributed under the open-source General Public License (GPL). For more information about Koha, please visit: http://koha-community.org/

About ByWater Solutions:
ByWater Solutions is a full service, high quality support and implementation company dedicated to providing libraries with a lower cost, more advanced level of support for their ILS than a traditional proprietary solution can offer. ByWater Solutions has a proven track record in first rate Koha implementation and support with library systems of all sizes. Our highly ranked, comprehensive support is what sets our company apart from any other vendor in the industry. Partnering with ByWater Solutions for Koha support not only lowers the cost of implementing and maintaining an ILS, but more importantly empowers libraries by giving them the flexibility and freedom they deserve. For more information please visit: http://bywatersolutions.com/

Dallas, TX – Amigos Library Services is pleased to announce its partnership with eBooksAreForever (EAF), San Antonio, TX. This partnership allows the subscribers of Amigos eShelf Service, an e-book distribution platform, access to the comprehensive catalog of independent e-book titles offered by EAF.

“EAF has been working directly with Amigos throughout the build-out and testing of the Amigos eShelf Service platform, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to see our two services integrated in such a seamless way,” said August Wainwright, cofounder of eBooksAreForever. “Libraries want titles from indie authors – this is something we’ve heard over and over – but many feel overwhelmed with the process of selecting titles. Now, any library who has access to the Amigos eShelf Service can easily purchase a collection of curated indie titles and have those titles available to their patrons with little to no additional effort.”

Amigos has worked closely with EAF in support of EAF’s application program interfaces, or APIs, to facilitate the integration process between the two services. As a result, a library can now visit the EAF website and purchase individual titles or the entire collection using its Amigos eShelf Service identification number. The purchase is automatically synchronized with the library’s eShelf Service account, making the purchases immediately available to the library’s patrons through the eShelf Service. The seamless process takes only minutes and eliminates the need for invoicing or purchase orders.

“We’re very excited to see this come together,” said Amigos eShelf Service Manager, Christine Peterson. “This partnership opens up the EAF collection to Amigos member and nonmember libraries who use our service. It significantly expands our available titles as we continue to grow this exciting new program.”

Wainwright noted that the independent titles EAF represents are popular in the consumer marketplace, but may have never been made available to library patrons. “This opens up patrons to an entire segment of the market that is vastly underserved,” he said. “We’re confident readers will love our titles, so it’s great to make them so easily accessible through the eShelf Service platform.”

The Amigos eShelf Service e-book platform, designed by libraries for libraries, offers an affordable and flexible option for libraries seeking to capitalize on their patrons’ growing use of electronic books and readers. Amigos is actively enrolling libraries in the new service that debuted late in 2015.

About Amigos Library Services
Amigos is one of the largest consortia of libraries and cultural heritage institutions in the United States. For more than 40 years, Amigos members have collaborated to obtain affordable services and shared library resources and knowledge. Through membership in Amigos, libraries collectively gain access to the latest innovations and services in the library community; pursue opportunities for continuing professional education; and leverage their buying power. This collaboration strengthens each member’s ability to serve and lead its community in the creative and effective use of information resources. www.amigos.org