Speed up your setup: A proof-of-concept for better onboarding

When we onboard a new Koha library, we spend a large chunk of our training time just helping them set it up. The Koha Administration module is a beast, with its many sections and settings. Then, there are nearly 1,000 system preferences to wade through which determine how your Koha looks and behaves. We love how configurable Koha is, but it can be an intimidating and overwhelming process - especially for busy staff, who need a library system that just works.

Rōpū kohinga at Catalyst have been dreaming of ways to simplify the setup of a new Koha. We've found there are steps we take to set up any Koha that doesn't need all the bells and whistles. So, we built a proof-of-concept that automates much of this process for us. At this point it works for one profile - a small lending library, run by volunteers or staff with no formal library qualification - but more profiles could be added to make onboarding different types of libraries more efficient. This intent is not to replace the Administration module; instead it is to make getting started feel more accessible to those who simply need a good library system.

Aleisha Amohia, Rōpū kohinga Technical Lead, will discuss the considerations they made when building this profile and demonstrate how the tool works, using a Koha implementation for schools in Tonga as a case study.