Invitation to Regional Workshop on KOHA-An Open-Source Integrated Library Management Software (ILMS)

• Is your library still using manual systems to deliver services to your clientele?
• Is your university burdened by hefty yearly subscription fees of hundreds of dollars for proprietary library management software?
• Are you seeking an enterprise-level library management solution for modernising your digital library operations?
• Do you wish to eliminate yearly subscription costs and embrace an open-source alternative?
• Would you like to integrate electronic article surveillance and enhance security within your library premises?

If your answer to any of the above is YES, then this workshop is for you!!!

The Association of African Universities (AAU), warmly invites you to its regional training workshop on KOHA, an open-source Integrated Library Management System. The objective of the workshop is to unbundle the KOHA open-source Integrated Library System (ILMS) to participants and institutions.

KOHA is an enterprise level web-based ILS, accessible via Z39.50 protocol, with highly configurable and adaptable user interface that can also support many languages. It has most of the features that would be expected in an ILS, including:

• Web 2.0 facilities like tagging, comment, social sharing and RSS feeds
• Union catalogue facility
• Customizable search
• Automated circulation and borrower management
• Self-check-in/check-out capacity
• Full acquisitions module that manages budgets and pricing information
• Ability to handle multiple branches, patrons, patron categories, item categories, items, currencies, and other data
• Reading lists for members
• UNICODE and library standards compliant
• Export/import and backup/restoration facilities
• Offline support
• Integrating security gates and electronic article surveillance

This workshop will also introduce the Linux operating system to participants to acquaint them with the installation of KOHA on server class machines and provide extensive hands-on-training for both librarians and library IT support staff. Participants will be equipped with the requisite capacity to manage KOHA as LMS at institutions with large collections.

TARGET AUDIENCE

There will be two parallel sessions for the workshop.:

1. Librarian Session for KOHA management
2. IT session for installation, customising, and configurations.

These sessions will be of immense benefit to LIS professionals working in any type of library. The number of participants will be restricted to 30 per session, and admission will be strictly on a first-come-first-served basis. The Workshop will be handled by experts with extensive practical experience in Linux and Koha.

WORKSHOP FEES:

The registration fees for the 4-day event

AAU Member Institutions    –        $800

Non – AAU Member Institutions – $1000

Ghanaian Institutions: Subsidized Fee – $400

This will cover workshop attendance fee, snacks and lunches, training material, certificates and other logistics.

 

REGISTRATION LINK: https://forms.office.com/r/pPNeZu8Fy9

WORKSHOP DATE AND VENUE

This workshop will be held on 28^th -31^st May, 2024 at the Secretariat of the Association of African Universities (AAU), Accra -Ghana.

CONTACT DETAILS: +233 26 417 3153/ elaari@aau.org and membership@aau.org

VENUE: AAU Secretariat, Accra, Ghana

 

TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION, CONFERENCING AND VISA

Participants will be responsible for their own accommodation and travel-related costs, such as flights and or local transportation. AAU will provide invitation letters to support the visa application process of participants from countries that require visas to enter Ghana.

Participants are encouraged to confirm their participation early enough to ensure they have enough time to process their visas. Delegates from the ECOWAS region countries do not need a visa to enter Ghana. It is suggested that participants arrive latest on the Monday evening, as the training starts on Tuesday morning.

 

RECOMMENDED HOTEL(S)

Generally, participants are advised to book hotels in Accra, specifically East-Legon. The AAU logistics team for the workshop remain available to support with hotel bookings.

Below are some recommendation hotels and their negotiated rates:

TOMREIK HOTEL- USD 80 – asm@tomreikhotel.com Mr. Bondzie/ +233 244286915

MJ GRAND HOTEL – USD 80 – ansulinda@ymail.com Ms Linda /+233 249982150

ROYAL BEAULA HOTEL – USD 70 – edith.pinamang@gmail.com Mrs Edith Pinamang

MENSVICK HOTEL- USD 100 – info@mensvichotels.com

AH HOTEL – USD 120 – Robert.bulley@ahhotelafrica.com 0243274676

 

WORKING LANGUAGE

The workshop will be conducted in English only.

 

A BRIEF BACKGROUND OF THE AAU

The Association of African Universities (AAU) founded in 1967 with an initial membership of 34 universities, currently has more than 400 member institutions spread across 46 African countries. The Association represents the voice of higher education in Africa and draws its  membership from all five sub-regions of Africa and operates in four official languages, namely English, French, Portuguese and Arabic. The Association’s mandate as an apex organization for higher education in Africa is to promote cooperation, academic linkages and exchange of information on higher education issues across the continent. The mandate further extends to support members in their core functions of teaching, learning, knowledge generation and its   dissemination through fundamental and applied research and community engagement. The AAU also plays a key role in setting up dialogue platforms, advocacy and raising awareness for and about the major needs of African higher education institutions and coordinates the means by which these needs are met. The Association also acts as a catalyst for increased networking between and among its members and the wider African and international higher education academic community. The AAU also serves as the Coordinator for the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA), among other high-profile projects and initiatives.  The AAU frequently identifies areas where member institutions require capacity building through its training programmes that are tailor-made to address such needs.

 

NB: There will be a discussion on a provision now available for hosting for institutions who will need support to host their Koha platform on the cloud. These institutions will be supported to setup their Koha Library management platforms on the clouds