Implementing Koha at Regent University College, Ghana: A case study of options, opportunities and challenges

Abstract

This paper shares the automation experience of Regent University College in relation to the selection and implementation of Koha library management system. It is a first time automation project which looked at the options available to Regent, a private university in Ghana. The background information and the literature review provide the context for the decision to choose the ‘independent’ route of a wholly in-house solution. Koha as an open source system meets the systems requirements and financial needs of Regent. In addition, it provided the Project team with the ‘sandbox’ in which to try its hands at offering the Koha solution to Regent. Examples from earlier adopters of Koha guided the selection and adoption and the ten-month account gives the detail of events leading to the selection and adoption. Lessons learnt include the development of staff expertise, working strengths of library and IT staff, and project management skills. The benefits are cost savings made for the parent institution and service improvement for the Regent Ghana Library. The major challenge was staff time and commitment to the full implementation of the project. Also, as the first reported case study on Koha in Ghana, it serves as guide to would be adopters of the library system