Jeff Brown from Loughborough University spoke about their experiences of implementing Koha, VuFind and Coral.

1. Implementing Koha, VuFind and Coral in a
year and other tips on accelerating your ageing
process.
Jeff Brown Assistant Director: Support, Collections & Systems

2. The inexorable rise of Loughborough
University
• Achieved university status in 1967
• 2 campuses – Loughborough & London
• Student numbers = approx. 17800 (16000 FTE)
• Staff numbers = approx. 3800 (3000 FTE)
• League tables

3. The life & times of a University Library
• 2 libraries – Loughborough & London
• Staff numbers = 76 (45 FTE)
• Materials Budget = approx. £3,250,000
• Stock : approx. 700,000 volumes, access to over 30,000 ejournals &
650,000 ebooks
• NSS : joint 2nd
overall with 92% (same score as previous year)

4. A brief history of library systems
• Aleph implemented in 2001
• Primo implemented in 2011
• LORLs (in-house reading list system) implemented in 2000
• Also DSpace (Institutional Repository), figshare (Data Repository)
• IT support moved out of Library to IT Services in 2012

5. Plans, panic, mayhem & chaos – time to move
on
• Aleph identified as an at risk system so procurement project initiated
at beginning of 2016
• PTFS awarded contract for Koha & Coral in March 2017
• Project plan targeted change of LMS for August 2017
• Major problem identified in July with lack of Primo integration
• Project adjusted to include VuFind as a replacement for Primo –
new go live date beginning of February 2018 for both Koha &
VuFind
• Coral delayed

6. What a long, strange trip it’s been…
• Koha & VuFind went live on 1st
February 2018 in inter-semester
break
• Coral now being implemented
• Staff involved : IT Services until project completion, many library
staff but primarily 4
• Other projects : implementation of CLA Digital Content Store,
migration of Water, Engineering and Development Centre resources
to the Library, Institutional Repository modernisation/migration
project, De-commissioning of Athens project

7. Reflections on : The Good
• Costs
• Opportunity to review processes and involve staff with little
knowledge of Aleph
• Working with PTFS more personal, more flexible, and more
responsive
• Potential for development work

8. Reflections on : The Not so good
• Functionality lacking in certain areas – a step backwards – ILL,
acquisitions, circulation, search
• Workarounds have had to be developed
• VuFind’s accommodation of Primo Central
• Project timings

9. Are we still crying into a well of technological
despair?
• Maintaining throughputs
• Stress levels declining?
• Coral is currently being implemented
• Koha and VuFind work in progress
• Further reports required, further functionality to be implemented,
further developments being worked on

10. Our outstanding campus
Largest single site green campus in the UK