TBS Education's new digital library software for Barcelona students

TBS Education-Barcelona is excited to announce that we have implemented a new catalog to help students and faculty find and borrow books and e-books, find data, access to databases and digital resources, and more.

The software behind this new catalog is called Koha. It is the first free and open source 100% web-based library automation software. A curiosity: the word Koha comes from Maori, and it means “gift”.

This new catalog is focused on improving how TBS patrons can access to our paper collection in Barcelona, as well as the collection of TBS, since our school is implementing different strategies to improve the student experience.

IMPROVEMENTS

Independence from the Toulouse campus: previously, the system required to go through the Toulouse campus catalog. However, now TBS Education-Barcelona has its own access.
Unification of digital and physical library: thanks to Koha, users can check out both the digital library and physical collection in a single portal.
Listed bibliographies according to the program and courses: students can find the suggested, recommended, or mandatory books of each program or course.
An intuitive interface: it allows users to find titles and materials to borrow, place requests and discover services and what is new at the library.
Library services: one of the sections include specific information regarding to practical matters such as how to cite, how to avoid plagiarism, or the procedures to check out or renew books, among others.

NEW FEATURES

SAVE TITLES YOU’RE INTERESTED IN AND MAKE BOOK LISTS

While you’re browsing, you can bookmark titles you’re interested in and save them to lists in your account. Clicking the bookmark icon in the top right corner on an item’s detail page will allow you to add it to the “For Later” list, or to create new lists of your own. You can also save searches you perform by clicking the “Save Search” button at the top right of the search page.

If you had saved lists in your account in the old catalog, they will be automatically transferred over to the new catalog interface.

EASY TO USE ON A MOBILE DEVICE

The new catalog is easier to navigate and use on mobile devices, allowing you to search for materials, request materials for pick-up, and manage your account on the go.

ACCESS AND MANAGE YOUR LIBRARY ACCOUNT

At the topof all the catalog pages, you’ll find the “My Account” link. Clicking this button will bring up a menu in which you can see your current checkouts, requests, and account details. From these sections, you can renew titles, manage your requests, and edit your account details. You can also access your book lists and saved searches.

Personal details
Change password
Search history
Checkout history
Purchase suggestions
Lists

The library staff have designed and managed the project of creating this new catalogue in record time. We will be able to launch it at the Summer School and be fully operational for the new school year. All this would not have been possible without the help and collaboration of the TBS Education-Barcelona IT team: Sergio Cerrillo, CTO, and David Molina, IT developer at TBS Education-Barcelona. The library would like to thank them for their collaboration in this project.

Teamwork divides the task and double the success.