1. In 2009 five small libraries collaborated on an innovative ILS solution using KOHA Open source software. Five years later consortium members discuss the opportunities, challenges and solutions. A good news story that you can have all the benefits of a high-tech ILS system like integration of Overdrive Collections, mobile-friendly OPAC, automatic pre-due emails/texts, news on screen and checkout slips, database querying report builder, and professional support at an affordable price.

2.  Formed in 2008  6 libraries at the start - shopping for ILS  Consortium set up with assistance from SOLS  Intent to leverage grant funds and benefit from shared expertise and better buying power

3.  Criteria – affordability and functionality  Preferred product was Koha  Fear of the unknown going to open source was overcome by confidence in the group  Concerns about hosting in USA led to selecting a local vendor and hosting in house

4.  Times and options for hosting and support changed  Other support vendors offer Canadian hosting  The consortium libraries chose Equinox  Now our ILSs are hosted in Toronto  Still happy with Koha, and have excellent support

5.  Examples – Firefox, Android, Linux, Open Office, Wordpress, MySQL, VLC Media Player  Advantages –  No cost to use the software  Anyone can modify and develop it  Flexibility in support and hosting options  Freedom to change vendors  Worldwide community support  Not tied to financial stability of one company

6.  Not a pre packaged turnkey all in one solution  Still unfamiliar in library circles  Lack of confidence in distributed development  Nobody to blame if you don’t like it