Case Studies
Tikokino School
Tikokino School is a rural primary school with a roll of 50 and a very long history situated in Central Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand.
The library is small and modern but is detached from the main school building which reduces its accessibility and functionality. The legacy library system was only available on the computer in the library. With Koha, the both the OPAC and the admin interface are available on every device, computer, tablet and smart phone, greatly increasing the usability of the catalogue. Koha is also available from outside the school. This means students can browse the catalogue, leave a ‘tag’ for a book they like or place a hold from anywhere on the internet.
- Tikokino School, Est 1866
The next step to making Koha the information hub of the school will be the addition of the teaching resources to the catalogue.
A modern library management system has to deal with an increasing amount and variety of information sources. Online databases, web pages, social media and electronic resources are of greater importance than ever and Koha is able to handle them all.
With the arrival of Android tablets and iPads this year, eBooks are being investigated as an additional learning tool.
The OPAC is available here koha.tikokino.school.nz
Sherwood School
Sherwood School is a small, rural primary school in Central Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. The school was using a manual card system but with a redesign of its library area wanted a computerised system to allow better access and management of its library.
Although the school was offered a library management system with its student management system it did not have the features that the school wanted. The school wanted access to the OPAC from every computer in the school and the ability to access the library system from home. Koha was able to fulfill these requirements. Its simple, intuitive interface and ease of use were welcomed by the students and the volunteer librarian.
The student librarians required very little training and love the new, modern library system. The ability to search the catalogue from their classroom is a bonus.
Sherwood School library
Just because a school is small doesn’t mean it has to settle for second best. Sherwood School now has a world class library management system yet within their modest budget.
