RELEASE NOTES FOR KOHA 18.05.00

24 May 2018

Koha is the first free and open source software library automation package (ILS). Development is sponsored by libraries of varying types and sizes, volunteers, and support companies from around the world. The website for the Koha project is:

Koha 18.05.00 can be downloaded from:

Installation instructions can be found at:

Koha 18.05.00 is a major release, that comes with many new features.

It includes 12 new features, 257 enhancements, 360 bugfixes.

Important notes

Plack and Memcached

On the Koha's about page you can see the status of Plack and Memcached.

The use of Plack and Memcached has been around and stable for more than two years, and must be considered mandatory.

They bring a lot of speed and improve the user experience.

No more login with the database user

It is no longer possible to use the database user to login into Koha. You should first create a superlibrarian patron and use it for logging in.

Debian Stretch users: tmp path changes

If you are using Debian Stretch (9) you should take a look at bug 20428.

A new entry upload_path must be created in your koha-conf.xml file in order to define a temporary uploaded files directory.

Dealing with SQL modes

Since latest stables have been released it is not longer needed to modify the configuration of the Database Management System.

See the dedicated wiki page for more information.

Change of the database tables charset

Bug 18336 adds the support for Unicode supplementary characters.

We have now a better support of Unicode characters and especially vietnamese and chinese get improved, we also support emojis.

However upgrading the database will require space (a temporary table is created for each of the tables), and time.

It is recommended that the upgrade routine is launched using the command line because it is expected to take more time than usual and could cause timeouts. Packages users will have this run during the upgrade process.

New features

Acquisitions

When creating a new order on an acquisition basket, bibliographic fields displayed on 'Catalog details' can now be customized. The system preference 'UseACQFrameworkForBiblioRecords' must be enabled. Fields are set on the 'ACQ' MARC framework.

Architecture, internals, and plumbing

Koha now supports grouping libraries into hierarchies. The previous grouping allowed only a single level of groups. The new hierarchical grouping allows for trees of unlimited depth to be created. This will allow for grouping of libraries based on physical location, political affiliation, or any other type of grouping! The new system is currently used for search groups, and patron visibility limits. Expect to see more features using hierarchical groups in the future!

Koha now has the ability to set times zones in Koha on a per-instance basis. That means that a single Koha server can support instances in several time zones simultaneously!
Each instance's timezone can be set in its' koha-conf.xml
See https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Time_Zone_Configuration for more details.

Authentication

This adds support for the CAS Single Logout feature. Single logout means that the user gets logged out not only from the CAS Server, but also from all visited CAS client applications when logging out in one of them or after reaching a timeout. The CAS server has to be set up for single logout for this to take effect, otherwise behaviour will remain unchanged.

Adds the ability to handle patron-level API keys to be used for authenticating the REST API.

Hold requests

Patrons

Koha now has the ability to merge patron accounts!
To merge patrons, perform a patron search, select two or more patrons then click the 'Merge' button.
Next, choose which patron you want to keep.
Circulation data (checkouts, holds, fines, etc.) will be transferred to the remaining patron record.

REST api

REST API route for managing patrons in database. Adds CRUD implementation for creating, reading, updating and deleting patrons, as well as listing with optional sorting.
Follows new guidelines from REST API RFC and Koha Object Exceptions regarding validation and error handling. Patrons can modify and delete their own object, or anyone with borrower modification permissions.

This development adds the OAuth2 client credentials grant support to Koha. This way securing the REST API for using it from other systems gets easier as it follows current standards.

Searching

Self checkout

Enhancements

About

Acquisitions

Architecture, internals, and plumbing

This patchset adds the ability to map several MARC fields to a single Koha field. The first existing mapped field will be saved into the database. This allows for flexibility in a system using RDA and AACR2 records where some store the publication data in the 260 fields and others in the 264.

For non-package installations, the following rewrite rules will need to be added to the apache config file:
RewriteRule ^(.)[0-9][0-9].[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9].js$ $1.js [L]
RewriteRule ^(.)[0-9][0-9].[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9].css$ $1.css [L]

Koha now supports Unicode supplementary characters like emojis or supplementary japanese, chinese and others.
The DB structure definition is changed to make use of the utf8mb4 encoding, instead of utf8.

Authentication

It is no longer possible to use the database user (defined in koha-conf.xml) to login into Koha.
You should first create a superlibrarian patron and use it for logging in.
See the script misc/devel/create_superlibrarian.pl

Browser compatibility

Internet Explorer 7, released in 2006, is no longer supported by Koha.

Cataloging

This adds default indicators to bibliographic frameworks. The table marc_tag_structure is adjusted. In order to make effective use of this enhancement, you may want to add values in your MARC frameworks administration.

This patchset adds the ability to search for and link authorities in the advanced cataloging editor. When editing a record staff can press 'Shift+Ctrl+L' to launch the authorities search. Choosing a record will update the field and add a subfield 9 for linking.

Circulation

The new system preference AutoSwitchPatron allows to automatically switch to another patron record on scanning the cardnumber during circulation. This will allow to streamline processes at the circulation desk a bit more. Note: Use only if there is no overlap in your cardnumber and barcode ranges.

These patches give a facelift to the circulation homepage. All functionality remains the same, however, things have been moved to make the interface little friendlier and more responsive on different screens.

Command-line Utilities

Koha now has a command line tool for importing patron CSV files of the same format the web-based tool uses. This tool allows a user to specify a matchpoint, set default values for non-existing fields, decide if a match should be overwritten, and if extended attributes should be preserved!
For more details, run "misc/import_patrons.pl -h"

To ease multi-tenant sites maintenance, several handy scripts were introduced. For handling Zebra, 4 scripts were introduced: koha-start-zebra, koha-stop-zebra, koha-restart-zebra and koha-rebuild-zebra.
This patch introduces a new script, koha-zebra, that unifies those actions regarding Zebra daemons on a per instance base, through the use of option switches.

The new koha-zebra maintenance script replaces the old koha-start-zebra, koha-stop-zebra and koha-restart-zebra scripts. This patch removes them, while keeping backwards compatibility (i.e. you can still run them until you get used to the new syntax).

Remote debugging capabilities are added to the koha-plack script. This is very important for developers.

This report adds the command-line option 'no-overwrite' so that you can add preferences only when they are not yet
present (in other words: skip patrons that already set their prefs).

Course reserves

Hold requests

I18N/L10N

Installation and upgrade (web-based installer)

Lists

MARC Authority data support

This report adds pref AuthorityControlledIndicators. It controls how the indicators of linked authority records affect the corresponding biblio indicators. Currently, the default pref value is finetuned for MARC21, and copies the authority indicators for UNIMARC.
An example to illustrate: A MARC21 field 100 in a biblio record should pick its first indicator from the linked authority record. The second indicator is not controlled by the authority. This report supports such MARC conventions.

This patch adds a script to perform various authority related maintenance tasks.
This version supports deleting an authority record and updating all linked biblio records.
Furthermore it supports merging authority records with one reference record, and updating all linked biblio records.
It also allows you to force a renumber, i.e. save the authid into field 001.

MARC Bibliographic data support

Notices

OPAC

This patchset adds a new column to the subscriptions tab on the opac details page, 'publication date' so a user can see the date of issue rather than the date of receipt.
Additionally, the patch brings the table under column settings in the administration side so that staff can determine which columns should be shown by default

Adds a routing list tab to the patron account in the OPAC that will be visible if RoutingSerials is turned on and the user is at least on one routing list.

Packaging

Patrons

This report adds pref ProtectSuperlibrarianPrivileges in order to block users without superlibrarian privileges to modify the superlibrarian flag for themselves or other users, if the pref is enabled. For existing installs the pref will not be set, so behavior does not change. For new installs the pref will be enabled.

REST api

Reports

This new feature allows parameters to be re-used in reports. When a report asks for two variables using the same name and type/authorised value they will be combined into a single input field on the form. i.e.
SELECT *
FROM items
WHERE homebranch=<> AND holdingbranch=<> AND itype=<>
Will ask for only 2 parameters when run, Branchcode and Item type.

This feature allows to access files on the server from the staff interface. The directories where the files are stored need to be defined in the koha-conf.xml file. In order to be able to access the tool the staff patron requires either the superlibrarian or the new access_files permission.

SIP2

Searching

Searching - Elasticsearch

Serials

Staff Client

System Administration

Apart from introducing the new preference PurgeSuggestionsOlderThan, this report also adds a -confirm flag to the cron job purge_suggestions.pl. Please adjust existing cron tab files and add this flag in order to have the expected results.

Templates

Show the library's description for variations of "Lost," "Damaged," and "Withdrawn" statuses which have been defined in Koha's authorized values.

This patch adds a new Staff Client profile for Novelist information. Previously we used the same value as the opac, this caused malformed links on the staff side. With this patch Novelist features will be disabled on the staff client until a correct profile is obtained from Novelist and entered into the system preference

Test Suite

Tools

Critical bugs fixed

(This list includes all bugfixes since the previous major version. Most of them have already been fixed in maintainance releases)

Acquisitions

Architecture, internals, and plumbing

Cataloging

The behaviour for marking a checked out item as 'Lost' is different, depending on the path you use: sometimes the item is checked in, sometimes not.
The system preference 'MarkLostItemsAsReturned' now allows libraries to choose if the item is checked for each of the 4 ways an item can be marked as 'Lost': from the edit item form, from the 'Items' tab of the catalog module, from the batch item modification and with the longoverdue cronjob.

Circulation

This adds a details view for every fine and payment in a patron account that will show detailed information about the payments made forward a fine and how a payment has been split up to pay towards several fines.

Command-line Utilities

Documentation

Fines and fees

Hold requests

ILL

Installation and upgrade (web-based installer)

Lists

MARC Authority data support

Notices

OPAC

Packaging

Patrons

REST api

SIP2

Searching - Elasticsearch

Staff Client

The current plugin writing practice is to craft the response header in the controller methods. This patchset adds new helper methods for plugin authors to use when dealing with output on their plugins. This way the end-user experience is better, and the plugin author's tasks easier.

System Administration

Templates

Web services

Other bugs fixed

(This list includes all bugfixes since the previous major version. Most of them have already been fixed in maintainance releases)

About

Acquisitions

Architecture, internals, and plumbing

Memcached is now required and enabled by default.

Authentication

Cataloging

Circulation

Command-line Utilities

Course reserves

Database

Fines and fees

Hold requests

I18N/L10N

The languages displayed in the footer are now displayed in the same order as they are in the system preferences languages and opaclanguages (they can be reordered by drag and drop).

ILL

Installation and upgrade (web-based installer)

Label/patron card printing

Lists

MARC Authority data support

MARC Bibliographic data support

Notices

OPAC

Prevents warnings about type attribute being generated for the style tags when testing the OPAC pages using W3C Validator for HTML5.

Packaging

Patrons

REST api

Reports

SIP2

Searching

Searching - Elasticsearch

Serials

Staff Client

System Administration

Templates

Test Suite

Tools

Web services

Z39.50 / SRU / OpenSearch Servers

New system preferences

Renamed system preferences

Deleted system preferences

New Authorized value categories

New notices

Renamed notices

System requirements

Important notes:

Documentation

The Koha manual is maintained in Sphinx. The home page for Koha documentation is

As of the date of these release notes, the Koha manual is available in the following languages:

The Git repository for the Koha manual can be found at

Translations

Complete or near-complete translations of the OPAC and staff interface are available in this release for the following languages:

Partial translations are available for various other languages.

The Koha team welcomes additional translations; please see

For information about translating Koha, and join the koha-translate list to volunteer:

The most up-to-date translations can be found at:

Release Team

The release team for Koha 18.05.00 is

Credits

We thank the following libraries who are known to have sponsored new features in Koha 18.05.00:

We thank the following individuals who contributed patches to Koha 18.05.00.

We thank the following libraries, companies, and other institutions who contributed patches to Koha 18.05.00

We also especially thank the following individuals who tested patches for Koha.

And people who contributed to the Koha manual during the release cycle of Koha 18.05.00.

We regret any omissions. If a contributor has been inadvertently missed, please send a patch against these release notes to koha-patches@lists.koha-community.org.

Special thanks

I would like to add special thanks to the documentation team.

They provided documentation for all the new features and enhancements we have in this release.

I also think the whole Koha team can be thanked for their patience with my requests!

And, of course, Karen, for her daily help and support.

Notes from the Release Manager

During this release we mainly focussed on: * improving the online manual - it is now available in several languages and formats! * integrating new features: we have 12 of them into this release! * keeping our testing suite and our code robust * elastic search * REST API

Enjoy this new version of Koha and wish the best of luck to Nick!

Revision control notes

The Koha project uses Git for version control. The current development version of Koha can be retrieved by checking out the master branch of:

The branch for this version of Koha and future bugfixes in this release line is master.

Bugs and feature requests

Bug reports and feature requests can be filed at the Koha bug tracker at:

He rau ringa e oti ai. (Many hands finish the work)

Autogenerated release notes updated last on 22 May 2018 15:34:41.