Best Self Hosted Alternatives to ByWater Solutions Koha

Koha is a free and open source integrated library system (ILS) used by libraries to manage their catalog, patrons, and day-to-day circulation workflows. It provides staff interfaces for administration and a public-facing online catalog for discovery and account management.

Key Features

• Full ILS functionality including cataloging, acquisitions, serials, circulation, and patron management
• Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) for search, holds, renewals, and patron self-service
• Support for multiple libraries/branches, configurable policies, and fine/fee management
• Reporting tools and data exports for operational and compliance needs
• Interoperability with common library standards and external systems via integrations and APIs

Use Cases

• Public, academic, and special libraries managing physical and digital collections
• Multi-branch library systems needing centralized administration with local policies
• Libraries migrating from proprietary ILS platforms to an open source alternative

Limitations and Considerations

• Typically requires experienced administration and careful planning for upgrades, migrations, and integrations
• Some advanced workflows may depend on local customization or third-party support providers

Koha is a mature, widely adopted ILS with a long-standing community and ecosystem. It suits libraries that need a feature-complete system with flexible configuration, extensibility, and strong support for core library operations.

Evergreen is an open-source integrated library system designed to manage circulation, cataloging, acquisitions, patron records, and consortial services for public and academic libraries. It uses a service-oriented architecture and provides both staff and public-facing OPAC interfaces.

Key Features

• Full ILS functionality: cataloging, circulation, holds/reserves, acquisitions, serials, and patron account management
• Consortial and multi-branch support with shared catalogs and interlibrary workflows
• Service architecture based on OpenSRF for modular backend services and real-time messaging
• Web staff clients and OPAC: legacy AngularJS and newer Angular-based staff interfaces plus public OPAC skins
• PostgreSQL-backed data store with extensive PL/pgSQL code and SQL-based reporting
• Batch jobs, reporting and migration utilities for large datasets and consortia operations
• Development and build tooling using Node/npm for web clients and traditional configure/make toolchain for server components

Use Cases

• Hosting a public library consortium with shared cataloging and circulation across multiple branches
• Managing circulation, acquisitions, and serials for a medium-to-large academic or public library
• Replacing a proprietary ILS while preserving complex consortial workflows and batch migration needs

Limitations and Considerations

• Installation and upgrades require multiple prerequisites (PostgreSQL, OpenSRF) and system administration experience
• Building modern web staff clients can be memory-intensive and requires Node/npm and Angular build tooling
• The platform has a significant codebase with PL/pgSQL and legacy components, which can increase customization complexity

Evergreen is a mature, feature-rich ILS suited to organizations that need scalable consortial functionality and are able to manage a more complex installation and maintenance process.

RERO ILS is a next-generation open-source integrated library system developed in Switzerland by RERO+ and UCLouvain. It supports library networks and standalone libraries with modules for cataloging, acquisitions, circulation, search, and a public user interface, using an Invenio-based backend. The project comprises three GitHub repositories: rero-ils, rero-ils-ui, and rero-ebooks.

Key Features

• Consortial model: designed for library networks with multi-organization configuration
• Cataloguing and serial management: modern cataloging editor aligned with current standards and serials handling
• Online catalog: public catalog with search, filtering, and configurable views; integration of ebooks and external databases
• Circulation: checkout, check-in, requests, interlibrary loans, patron management, with a modern web interface
• Data interaction: JSON bibliographic data with a Bibframe model and a powerful API to interact with the database

Use Cases

• Manage library networks or multiple libraries within a single system
• Provide a public online catalog for patrons with customizable views
• Integrate external data sources such as ebooks and databases into the union catalog

Conclusion

RERO ILS aims to modernize library management with an open-source, configurable backend and a flexible frontend, enabling data exchange through APIs and a robust public interface. It is actively developed by RERO+ in collaboration with UCLouvain.