Where do Cover Images Come From in Koha?

Cover Images in Koha

Cover images can come from multiple sources in Koha including third-party sources or locally provided. Koha has several options when it comes to displaying cover images on the OPAC.

System Preferences

Users can choose from these system preferences for cover image sources:

OPACAmazonCoverImages, GoogleJackets, OpenLibraryCovers, which are free.
Or paid services, like Baker and Taylor cover images or SyndeticsCoverImages.

Koha also has a Coce Server. When Coce is enabled it will look at three services: Amazon, Google, and Open Library. It matches the ISBN in the MARC record (020 field) and finds the best match out of those 3 services.
  1. Google API
  2. Amazon Product Advertising API
  3. Open Library Read API
If a book cover is not available from a provider, Koha will search another provider. Amazon book covers are retrieved with Amazon Product Advertising API, which means that more covers are retrieved (ISBN13).

To enable Coce go to Administration –> System Preferences –> Enhanced Content



The Coce server URL is listed in the screenshot, so if your library is blank, feel free to plug this in. From the system preference, CoceProviders, you can choose all of the three providers or opt to choose just 1 or 2 of the choices. Currently, you can’t rank which service it looks at first, Coce sends the first available URL.

Notes
If Coce is enabled, make sure to select Don’t show or Don’t Add for the following system preferences OPACAmazonCoverImages, GoogleJackets, or OpenLibraryCovers. If both are enabled, you will get multiple images on the OPAC.

Add Cover Images to Item Records


Upload an Item Cover Image

Navigate to the Item Record you want to attach a cover image to. In the item list on the holdings table, you will notice a new action button with a downward arrow. Click on the action button to "Upload image".


From here you will choose a file and select upload image once complete. This will provide an option to "Replace existing covers".



You can navigate back to the record but clicking view final record. You will now notice a new column in the item table.



Deleting or Modifying an Image

If you want to edit or delete the cover image, click on the image in the holdings table and that will pop up a modal window.



Click the edit button to the lower left-hand side of the screen next to Local cover image.



Allow Multiple Covers

  1. If you want to have multiple images displayed, make sure you have AllowMultipleCovers set to allow in your system preferences.
  2. If you want to hide the column for cover images from the OPAC or Staff Client, click on Administration --> Table settings
    1. OPAC - Table id: holdings and check the box for item_cover
    2. Catalog (for the Staff Client) - Table id: holdings_table and check the box for holdings_cover_image

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