Open Source Library Automation Software

This work has adopted the Open Business Readiness Rating (OpenBRR) model to evaluate the Open Source Library Automation Software (OSLAS) products against the requirements of the Indian academic libraries. The suitability is presented by mapping the requirements to the performance of OSLAS products using Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA). The products were assessed in 3 levels – Quick Assessment, Detailed Assessment and Quadrant Analysis – to answer their suitability beyond quantitative ranking. During quick assessment 9 OSLAS products were analyzed against 65 basic requirements. The four OSLAS products – Evergreen, Koha, NewGenLib and PMBILS - were considered for detailed assessment and evaluated against 682 features under 6 main evaluation modules. The results were subjected to regression analysis to map the requirements and performance of the products using quadrant analysis. The results are presented as 'Category Map' to present the requirements of Indian libraries and 'Performance Map' for each OSLAS product.

Sunil M.V. is working as Librarian at SDM Institute for Management Development, Mysore, India and leads the web services. N.S. Harinarayana is Associate Professor at Department of Library and Information Science, University of Mysore, Mysore, India.