The document outlines a detailed advanced training schedule for Koha ILS held from December 4-6, 2017, in Islamabad, led by Ata Ur Rehman. It covers essential topics such as Linux installation, system administration, Koha architecture, configuration, and customization, as well as remote server management and data migration. Additional components include generating reports, offline circulation, and setting up alerts for library patrons.

1. Advanced Level Training on Koha ILS
Dec 4-6, 2017 – PASTIC, Islamabad
Lead Trainer:
Ata ur Rehman
ata.rehman@gmail.com
1

2. Sequence of Study/Training
 Virtualization – Introduction to Virtual Box / VMWare
 Installation of Linux (Ubuntu – Xubuntu)
 Linux System Administration / Important Commands
 Remote Linux Server Administration
 LAMP Model: Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl
 Client/Server Environment
 Koha Architecture
 OPAC, Intranet/Staff Client
 Core Code/Templates
 Koha Installation: Tarball Vs Packages, Live CDS/DVDs
2

3. Sequence of Study/Training (Cont.)
 TLS: Download, Burn, Install/Deploy on Server/PC/Laptop
 Configuring TSL/Koha: LAN/Internet, Live IP, Domain, Sub-domain
 Upgrade Koha
 Configuring E-mail Reminders, Alerts
 Z39.50 Servers: Configuring targets
 Customization: OPAC, Staff Client
 Serial Module
 Sample Serial Patterns
 Editing Koha Configuration (koha-conf.xml)
 MySQL Database, User, Koha as Public Server
3

4. Sequence of Study/Training (Cont.)
 Reports
 User defined/customized reports generation
 Circulation Module
 Offline Circulation in Koha
 Remastering/Backups
 Cron Jobs
 TLS Server Maintenance: Online/Offline
 MARC: Biblios/Holdings/Organizations
 Other features/contents of TLS
 DSpace, Greenstone, WordPress
4

5. Sequence of Study/Training (Cont.)
 Data Migration: To Koha, From Koha
 MARCEdit, MS Excel, MS Access, Text
 Developing Library Web-Portal using TLS
 How to get Koha Support
 Embed Koha Search in your website
 SIP/SIP2 - Standard Interchange Protocol (Developed by 3M)
 NCIP (NISO* Circulation Interchange Protocol)
 Pazpar2
*National Information Standards Organization
5

6. Day 1
December 4, 2017
6

7. Virtualization / Linux Installation
 Physical Computer vs Virtual Computer
 Open Source Solution: Virtual Box
 Installation of VB
 Creating Linux Virtual Machine
 Installation of Linux using .iso
 Installation of VB Guest Essentials
 Configuration of VB Networks, Shared Clip-board, Drag and Drop, etc
 Familiarization with Linux Environment / XFCE Desktop
 Introduction to Linux  Next Slide
7

8. Introduction to Linux and Important
Commands
 Linux is the best-known and most-used (Free?) open source operating
system.
 An operating system is the most important software that runs on a
computer. It manages the computer's memory, processes, and all of its
software and hardware.
 Command-line based / with separate Desktop
 Gnome, KDE, Xfce, LXDE, etc.
 Important Commands
 ls, pwd, clear, mkdir, rmdir, touch, cat, cd, vi,vim, nano, mousepad,gedit,
passwd, cp, mv, rm, su, sudo, chmod, chown, apt-get, wget, tar, find, locate,
export, crontab, ifconfig, tee, top, ps, kill, killall, apt-key
8

9. End of Day 1
 Things to do / Home Work
 Installation of Virtual Box / VM Ware Workstation
 Creation of Virtual Machine
 Configuration and Installation of Linux (Any flavor)
 Practice of all Linux Commands Learnt
 Explore SSH / Putty
 Explore Webmin
9
Have a Good Day 

10. Day 2
December 5, 2017
10

11. System Administration /Important Commands
 ls (as dir in DOS/Windows)
 Switches - -a, -s, -l, etc.
 pwd
 Output – Current working directory
 clear
 Clears the screen / Scroll up everything
 mkdir / rmdir
 Create/Delete Directory/Folder
 touch filename
 Creates new file filename
 Introduction to Text Editors (vi, vim, nano, mousepad, etc)
11

12. Important Commands (cont…)
 cat filename
 Shows the contents of file in terminal
 rm filename/foldername
 rm –r file/folder
 File permissions/ownership in Linux
 Permission Groups: Owner/User, Group, Other, All users (u, g, o, a)
 Permission Types: Read, Write, Execute (_rwx)
 Binary notations for permissions: r=4, w=2, x=1
 chmod command to change permissions
 chmod 444 filename / chmod o+x filename
 chown command to change ownership
 chown user:group filename
12

13. Important Commands (cont…)
 stat filename
 Statistics / property of file, permissions in binary format
 cd (change directory)
 cd /path/of/dir
 cd .. (up directory)
 cp / mv commands for copy and move respectively
 su/sudo
 apt-get/apt
 apt-get update, apt-get upgrade, apt-get clean, apt-get autoremove
 apt-key add
13

14. Important Commands (cont…)
 tar -zcvf filename.tar.gz foldername (to compress)
 tar -zxvf filename.tar.gz (to uncompress)
 find /path/to/be/find –name pattern
 find / -name *.txt
 locate filename.ext (not updated data until updatedb)
 info command (To get information about command)
 man command (To get manual of command)
 ifconfig (Configuring Network Interface/Card)
 ifconfig eth0 up/down, ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.1 netmask 255.255.255.0
 route add default gw 192.168.0.253 eth0
14

15. Important Commands (cont…)
 top, ps -aux
 List of current processes
 kill, killall
 To kill a process
 kill -9 pid
 killall processname
 crontab -e
15

16. Important Commands (cont…)
 export command
 This command is used to set variables / environment variables
 export VAR=value
 export PERL5LIB=/usr/share/koha/lib
 export EDITOR=/usr/bin/vim
 export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin
 wget command
 To download a file using terminal
 apt-key add
 apt-key management utility
 wget -O- http://debian.koha-community.org/koha/gpg.asc | apt-key add -
16

17. Remote Server Management
 SSH Server
 apt install openssh-server
 RDP – Remote Desktop
 ssh server, xrdp, vnc server
 Webmin – Web based remote server management
 Installation process
 Update sources.list with:
 deb https://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib
 Download /add key:
 wget http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc
apt-key add jcameron-key.asc
 apt install webmin
17

18. Koha Installation: Tarball Vs Packages, Live
CDS/DVDs
 Tarball
 Installation of all components before installing Koha
 Apache, MySQL, Perl, Zebra, Yaz
 Download Koha Tarball (koha-x.tar.gz)
 Install all components / Koha
 Configure Koha with Apache, Zebra etc.
 Packages
 Package sources list update
 apt-get install koha-common
18

19. Installation of Koha
 Add Koha community repository / Update
 Install Koha
 Initial Configuration / Pre-Server Configuration
 Install MySQL/MariaDB server
 Enable Apache mods
 Create Koha Instance
 Enable more mods for Apache
 Get password for koha_library user
 Web Installer of Koha
Training
Modules
19
Help Files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hwWGHV1iHgcpjK_tw6-Xgf-ZVUPchIS_

20. End of Day 2
 Things to do / Home Work
 Practice of all Linux Commands Learnt
 Explore SSH / Putty
 Explore Webmin
 Installation and Basic Configuration of Koha
 Backups
 Remastering /z39.50
20
Have a Good Day 

21. Day 3
December 6, 2017
21

22. Important Koha Commands
koha-create --create-db instancename
koha-create --create-db library
koha-disable instancename
koha-enable instancename
koha-remove instance1 instance2 etc
Zebra related Koha Commands
koha-start-zebra instance1 instance2 etc
koha-restart-zebra instance1 instance2 etc
22

23. Important Koha Commands (Cont..)
koha-rebuild-zebra -v -f instancename
koha-stop-zebra instancename
Email enable/disable
koha-email-enable instance1
koha-email-disable instance1
Koha-conf.xml file
Public Server
Database, User, Pass
Tools – Backup, etc.
23

24. Configuring TLS/Koha: LAN/Internet, Live IP,
Domain, Sub-domain
Network Configuration in Linux
Network Settings with GUI / ifconfig
DNS for Subdomains
library.mywebsite.com
catalog.mywebsite.com, etc.
24

25. Cron Jobs
Automatic jobs done
What, when
Daily/weekly/hourly
Koha Cron Jobs
crontab command of Linux
25

26. Upgrade Koha
 Step 1: Update Packages Sources List
(/etc/apt/sources.list.d/koha.list)
deb http://debian.koha-community.org/koha oldstable
main
deb http://debian.koha-community.org/koha stable main
 Step 2:
Run in terminal:
apt-get update
apt-get upgrade AND [apt-get install koha-common] (if
necessary)
koha-rebuild-zebra -v -f instancename
 2nd Option
Update from Webmin
26

27. Remastering/Backups
 Concept
 Pros/cons
 Windows Ghost
 Size Limit – 4GB
 How it actually works / TLS Example
 Remastersys  PinguyBuilder Respin
 PinguyBuilder (ISO_Builder)
 https://sourceforge.net/projects/pinguy-os/files/ISO_Builder/
 dpkg -i pinguybuilder_4.3-8_all-beta.deb
 apt-get install -f
27

28. TLS: Download, Burn, Install/Deploy on
Server/PC/Laptop
28
 LiveDVD: www.lisolutions.org/tls
 Burn on DVD using ImgBurn
 Bootable USB: Universal USB Installer
 Use .iso file for VirtualBox or VMWare

29. Z39.50 Servers: Configuring targets
 irspy from IndexData
 http://irspy.indexdata.com
29

30. Configure gmail with Koha for alerts
 Using Exim 4
 Using PostFix
30
Training
Modules
Help Files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hwWGHV1iHgcpjK_tw6-Xgf-ZVUPchIS_

31. Configure Koha to Send SMS Alerts
 Use some E-mail to SMS service for getting SMS Package
 bulksms.net*
 Configure email address at bulksms.net and set a password/passcode
 Put mobile phone of patrons in primary email column as:
+92xxxxxxxxxx@bulksms.net
 Edit Notices/Triggers in Koha and put passcode/password of bulksms.net
account in address
 Now actually koha will send email to the above mentioned email but
bulksms.net will redirect it to patron mobile phone
31
*Remember bulksms.net is a paid service

32. Day 4
December 7, 2017
32

33. Introduction to HTML/CSS
 Basic Tags of HTML
 <html>, <head>, <title>, <body>
 <b>, <i>
 https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_basic.asp
 <DIV> Tag - https://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_div.asp
 Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
 https://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp
33

34. Customization: OPAC, Staff Client
 OPAC Customization
 Koha > Administration > System preferences > OPAC >
 opacheader, OpacMainUserBlock, OPACUserCSS, OPACFavicon, OpacNav,
OpacNavBottom, OpacNavRight
 Staff Client
 Koha > Administration > System preferences > Staff Client>
 IntranetmainUserblock, IntranetNav , IntranetFavicon
34

35. Reports
 User defined/customized reports generation
 Koha Wiki Reports Library
35

36. Circulation Module
 Offline Circulation in Koha
 Concept/Model
 AllowOfflineCirculation – Enabled
 Firefox Addon: https://addons.mozilla.org/en/firefox/addon/koct/
 Built-in offline circulation module
36

37. TLS Server Maintenance: Online/Offline
 Linux Rule: Keep up/live
 Updates/upgrades
 Online/Remote Server Administration
 Webmin/Cpanel Example
 Backups/Cron jobs
37

38. MARC: Biblios/Holdings/Organizations
 MARC
 Biblios
 Holdings
 Organizations
 Elements
 Leader
 Fields
 Subfields
 Indicators
38

39. Data Migration: To Koha, From Koha
 MARCEdit, MS Excel, MS Access, Text
39

40. How to get Koha Support
 Koha Manual/Documentation
 https://koha-community.org/documentation/
 Koha Mailing List
 https://koha-community.org/support/koha-mailing-lists/
 Koha Paid Support
 https://koha-community.org/support/paid-support/
40

41. Embed Koha Search in your website
<form name="searchform" method="get" action=http://YOURCATLOG/cgi-
bin/koha/opac-search.pl id="searchform">
<input id="transl1" name="q" type="text">
<select name="idx" id="masthead_search">
<option value="kw">Keyword</option>
<option value="ti">Title</option>
<option value="au">Author</option>
<option value="su">Subject</option>
<option value="nb">ISBN</option>
<option value="se">Series</option>
<option value=“bc">Accession No.</option>
<option value="callnum">Call Number</option>
</select>
<input value="Search Catalog" id="searchsubmit" type="submit">
</form>
41

42. End of Day 4
 Things to do / Home Work
42
Have a Good Day 

43. Day 5
December 8, 2017
43

44. OPAC Header Banner
 Upload the banner/ image (e.g. banner.jpg) in
/usr/share/koha/opac/htdocs/opac-tmpl/bootstrap/images
 In Koha > Administration > Global Preferences > OPAC > opacheader,
paste the following code:
<img src="/opac-tmpl/bootstrap/images/banner.jpg">
 Save preferences - DONE!!!
44

45. On-Screen Keyboard – Urdu/Sindhi
 Add the following code in Koha > Administration > OPAC >
OpacCustomSearch:
 Note: This code and instructions are given in Training Module File
45
Training
Modules
Help Files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hwWGHV1iHgcpjK_tw6-Xgf-ZVUPchIS_

46. Zebra/Koha Configuration for UTF-8
 Edit the file: /etc/koha/zebradb/etc/default.idx
 Comment out the string charmap word-phrase-utf.chr as:
 # charmap word-phrase-utf.chr (It appears two times in file,
comment out both strings and add:
icuchain words-icu.xml (Two times after each commented file
mentioned above
 Rebuild Zebra with the following command:
sudo Koha-rebuild-zebra –v –f library [library is instance
name]
46

47. Adding Custom MARC Framework
 Create a new framework: Koha > Administration > MARC Bibliographic
Framework > New Framework
 In action button press import and provide the path to custom-marc-
framework.csv file [Provided during training]
 DONE!!!
47
Help Files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hwWGHV1iHgcpjK_tw6-Xgf-ZVUPchIS_

48. Bulk MARC Import
 To import Bulk MARC records into Koha, use the Terminal Command:
./bulkmarcimport.pl
 This script is available at
/usr/share/koha/bin/migration_tools
48

49. Tips / Tricks
Setting variables permanently:
 Open environment file
 sudo nano /etc/environment
 Add the following two lines at the end:
PERL5LIB=/usr/share/koha/lib/
KOHA_CONF=/etc/koha/sites/library/koha-conf.xml
(library is instance name)
 Logout and Login system
 DONE!!!
49

50. Group Discussion
 Topic: General
50

51. End of Day 5
51
Have a Good Day 

52. Thanks
52
www.facebook.com/ataurrehman
ata.rehman@gmail.com
www.twitter.com/ataurrehman