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Demonstrates how the complex and detailed task of creating a bibliography, involving compiling data,formatting it into a style sheet, revising the text, and printing the product can be simplified by using various software packages that automatically format bibliographic data into desired style.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of what is involved in implementing the VuFind discovery tool.

The paper documents Western Michigan University's experience with VuFind thus far, in several stages: planning; pre‐alpha testing; alpha testing; and beta testing.

The implementation process took longer than the authors originally expected. Users' input was not consistent and demanded software customization. WMU began with a relatively loose project management approach, but later reinforced the project with a specific scope statement and prioritized items within the scope to arrive at a beta‐testable version of VuFind.

The benefits of using open source software include low barrier and cost to entry, highly customizable code, and unlimited instances (libraries may run as many copies of as many components as needed, on as many pieces of hardware as they have, for as many purposes as they wish). One significant cost is in human resources required to install, configure and customize open source software.

The paper provides a unique account of one library's experience providing an alternative catalog interface using open source software. It also uniquely reports on VuFind hardware and software architectures and some initial testing results and evaluation.

The chapter aims to present a case study of what is involved in implementing the VuFind discovery tool and to describe usability, usage, and feedback of VuFind.

The chapter briefly documents Western Michigan University (WMU) and University of Richmond’s (UR) experience with VuFind. WMU Libraries embarked on a process of implementing a new catalog interface in 2008. UR implemented VuFind in 2012. The usability result and usage of Web 2.0 features are discussed.

The implementation processes at WMU and UR differ. At WMU, users’ input was not consistent and demanded software customization. UR strategically began with a very focused project management approach, and intended the product as short-term solution. The usability and feedback from several sites are also presented.

The benefits of using open source software include low barrier and cost to entry, highly customizable code, and unlimited instances (libraries may run as many copies of as many components as needed, on as many pieces of hardware as they have, for as many purposes as they wish). With the usability studies presented, VuFind is proved to be a valid solution for libraries.

The chapter provides a unique account of library’s experience providing an alternative catalog interface using open source software. It also uniquely reports on VuFind usability and initial testing results and evaluation.