
The Prahran Mechanics’ Institute (PMI) is a not for profit community-run library located in Melbourne, Victoria. The building was originally built to provide education to tradesmen working in Australia.
Now this library specializes in archiving resources pertaining to the history of Victoria and contains over 70,000 books available for loan. They have archived collections relating to Mechanics’ Institute of Victoria, the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society and the Victorian Railway History Library. They offer resources relating to specific aspects of the history of Victoria including military history, the history of towns, cities and settlements, history relating crime, politics, and the economy, as well as information of the First Nations peoples.
They regularly organize special events such as lectures, workshops and competitions for educational purposes.
The digital archive at PMI is powered by Koha and DSpace.
Koha a specialized online library management system. Koha provides users with a means to browse and search for specific resources available at the library, such as books, DVDs, and journals and check for their call number, shelf location and availability. Koha provides a simple and easy to learn interface to catalogue items, and for users to place holdings, search for or check availability of items.
DSpace is an open source software for managing digital assets. DSpace is designed to preserve assets in a fixed state which remains accessible as technology evolves and older data formats become obsolete. It is used by a large number of libraries, universities, and other institutions.
To learn more about the services Prosentient offers PMI and other clients with Koha, visit https://prosentient.com.au/koha
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