Fred King
Fred received his MSLS from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, in the waning years of the previous century. He has had an awful lot of jobs since then, and for the past fifteen years he has been a medical librarian at MedStar Washington Hospital, just down the street from Catholic University. He was introduced to Koha around 2012, and in 2013 he migrated his library to Koha 3.12. He also developed the MedStar Authors Catalog using a slightly modified version of Koha and Medline records converted into MARC format. He served as one of the founding board members of koha-US, first as Member-at-Large, and then Member-at-Large/Unsupported. He didnt do anything in this position, but he did it very well. His experience in migrating a small library convinced him that Koha could be a cost-effective way for other libraries to automate their own libraries with limited funds and support, or, has he puts it, If I can do it, you can do it. He is known on six continents, not for his Koha or medical library skills, but rather for his poetry and for being the travelling companion to a stuffed chicken, both of which can be found at http://avengingchicken.online.
He promises that he will not refer to himself in the third person during his presentation.
Catch me at Kohacon20
Day 3, 11:45-12:10pm: Got a hundred dollars? Gte an ILS! - Fred King MedStar Washington Hospital Center (pre-recorded talk))
While everyone at Kohacon20 already knows that Koha is the premier ILS on the planet, there are still thousands of libraries not yet convinced. As hard to believe as that is, the perspective from the sales side of Koha can help all of us understand what libraries are looking for as they change systems. Focus will be given to what potential partners ask about, don’t believe and ask for as developments. Marketing of Koha to the masses can be much better, but how do we do that? Shout it from the mountain top – Koha is amazing.