Whiting Library Joins VOKAL and goes Live on Koha and Aspen Discovery with ByWater Solutions Support

by Elise Aiello on Aug 17, 2023

ByWater Solutions, America’s forefront provider of Open Source library technology support, announced that Whiting Library in Vermont has joined VOKAL and is now live on Koha and Aspen Discovery with ByWater support and hosting services.

ByWater Solutions completed the migration of 3,000 bibliographic records and 14,000 item records.

The Aspen Discovery catalog may be seen here: https://whiting.kohavt.org/?br....

Pamela Johnson-Spurlock, Director of the Whiting Public Library, recently commented on the migration:

"We at Whiting Library are so happy to be upgrading our library management system and joining collective forces with Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries (VOKAL). This opportunity will give our patrons a greater library experience and increased access to fulfill their informational, educational, and entertainment needs. Thank you to the ByWater Solutions and VOKAL teams for making this migration experience not only possible but also a pleasure."

About Whiting Public Library

After a bequest was made from the estate of Mrs. Laurin G. Whiting (Abigal Bigelow) in 1888, the Whiting Library opened its doors on October 5, 1892. The Library’s unusual brick building was designed by architect George G. Guernsey and features Queen Anne turrets combined with Romaneque-Revival arches. It was built for $8,000 and situated on land donated by Franklin P. Ball of the nearby town of Rockingham, Vt.

Learn more here: https://www.whitinglibrary.org...

About VOKAL

The Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries (VOKAL) is a project of the Green Mountain Library Consortium dedicated to creating a shared catalog and Integrated Library System.

In late 2007, three Vermont libraries joined with a representative from the Vermont Department of Libraries to explore a replacement ILS for Follett, the system currently used by the three libraries. After exploring many options, the group settled on Koha, an open-source ILS solution originally created in New Zealand.

In May of 2008, the group chose the name VOKAL - the Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries - as a name for the group and the project.

Initially, VOKAL's Koha project was implemented on a stand-alone system. In October of 2010, VOKAL implemented a consortium version of the ILS and began migrating member libraries into the shared system. By January 2011, 4 libraries had been migrated. Read more at https://www.gmlc.org/index.php/vokal

About ByWater Solutions

ByWater Solutions is a full service, high-quality Open Source support and implementation company dedicated to providing libraries with a lower cost, more advanced level of support for their systems than a traditional proprietary solution can offer. ByWater Solutions has a proven track record in the first-rate implementation and support services with library systems of all sizes for the Koha ILS, Aspen Discovery, Folio LSP, Coral ERM, and Libki PC Management.

Our highly ranked, comprehensive support is what sets our company apart from any other vendor in the industry. Partnering with ByWater Solutions not only lowers the cost of implementation and maintenance of OSS but more importantly empowers libraries by giving them the flexibility and freedom they deserve. For more information please visit https://bywatersolutions.com.

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 Aspen Discovery

Aspen is a full-featured Discovery System that integrates with eContent and other third-party providers, giving your patrons comprehensive access to all of your materials in one place. Aspen combines your library catalog with e-content, digital archives, and enrichment from all major third-party providers. It also improves relevancy and ease of use, provides native reading recommendations, displays all formats of titles within one result (record grouping), and much more. With included features like web builder and mobile app (Aspen LiDA), Aspen was created to give users an improved experience over other Discovery systems, with less impact on library budgets.

For more information about Aspen please visit: https://bywatersolutions.com/projects/aspen-discovery

For More Information

Elise Aiello
Partner Engagement Specialist
ByWater Solutions
bywatersolutions.com
Phone:(888)900-8944