Promoting Koha the Open Source Way: the Koha Gruppo Italiano

Stefano Bargioni - Deputy Director of the Library of the Pontificia Universita della Santa Croce, Rome, Italy and co-founder of Koha Gruppo Italiano, Italy

Franziska Wallner, senior librarian at The American University of Rome, Rome, Italy

Sebastian Hierl, Director of the Library of the American Academy of Rome, Rome, Italy

Juan Diego RamĪ½rez, Director of the Library of the Pontificia Universita della Santa Croce, Rome, Italy

Abstract

Embracing Koha has represented for me a huge improvement of my experience in library management, including important activities such as the promotion of Koha. Initially, many people were interested in it. This led me, together with my colleagues, to found a group that would organize events related to Koha and open source in libraries. Our initiative attracted sponsors and we discovered that they could be interested not only in events, but also in helping the Koha development itself.

This presentation lists actions performed, events organized, and grants obtained by the Koha Gruppo Italiano. It discusses the relationship with Koha vendors, as well as the eventual adoption of this model in other countries.