evergreen-ils blog

The newsletter for Evergreen open source library software

Volume 2, Issue 7 — August, 2009

As a reminder, we will also post this newsletter to the Evergreen general discussion list.  Cross-posting and forwarding is encouraged.

In This Issue…

Evergreen Out and About, Evergreen Documentation Survey Needs Your Help, Evergreen Development Update, Evergreen People, Lyrasis Evergreen Classes, New Evergreen Libraries, Newsletter Administrivia
Out and About: An Evergreen Calendar

ALA Annual 2009 — a good time was had by all! This photo is of Matt Carlson of King County Library System, at the Open Source Unconference held during ALA.

The one tidbit in this nicely quiet summer month is that the dates for the next international Evergreen conference have been set: April 21 -23, 2010. Watch for a site announcement shortly–the site nomination committee has been hard at work!

If you have Evergreen-related events to add (talks, conferences, etc.), just email events@evergreen-ils.org.

Documentation Interest Group: Please Take the Survey NLT August 20!

Please help the Evergreen project by taking the documentation needs assessment survey no later than Thursday, August 20, 2009.

This survey will help the Evergreen project prioritize and plan its activities. You are welcome to take the survey no matter what your role is in your organization or where you are in your Evergreen journey.

The Evergreen DIG (Documentation Interest Group) has made terrific strides since forming in late May and committing to single-source, XML-based documentation. Some of the highlights of this group’s activity include a gorgeous proof of concept, a thorough environmental scan of existing documentation, careful attention to the group’s scope and mission, and, in work, the all-important style guide.

Come on board–there’s room for many-a-more! Email docs@evergreen-ils.org for more info.

Webinar: Evergreen ILS and MARC Format for Holdings Data (MFHD)

David J. Fiander, Web Services Librarian, University of Western Ontario, did an outstanding job. For those who couldn’t attend, the webinar was recorded.

Evergreen Development Update

Evergreen 1.4.0.6 is due out shortly, and should introduce a few bug fixes.

See the Evergreen Roadmap for a full list of enhancements in 1.6, due out soon, and for a top-level view of what’s coming in 2.0.

Evergreen People

VOWS: When the academic year ended at Charles University in Prague, Linda Skolkova and Vaclav Jansa, who taught the Evergreen course at the Institute of Information Studies and Librarianship, could finally find some spare time… to get married! They said their I do’s on July 18 at the New Town Hall in Prague. You are welcome to virtually join the ceremony and subsequent celebration. The happy couple will resume Evergreen-related instruction this fall.

HIRES: Equinox Software Inc., “The Evergreen Experts,” recently hired Galen Charlton as Vice President for Data Services and Dave Brown as sysadmin. Charlton is a skilled developer and data migration specialist who in his decade in the industry has led developers and data specialists through hundreds of successful data migrations, has contributed his development acumen to thousands of lines of code, and has guided libraries through numerous successful development projects. Brown brings over 15 years of IT experience, most recently as Library Systems Manager for the Mayo Clinic.

California: Workshops on Open Source

If you were at the Evergreen conference this spring, you might have had a chance to experience a fun, engaging program based on a half-day workshop by The Open Source Open Libraries Consortium of California, a group that is working hard to bring awareness of open source library system software to libraries in their state. In the workshop, Lori Ayre (library technology consultant with The Galecia Group) and Cheryl Gould (training faciliator with Fully Engaged Libraries) combine exercises and activities that engage and energize the participates while teaching them about open source software–what it is, how it is licensed, and why it makes so much sense for libraries. Check them out!

Lyrasis Evergreen Training Classes

Lyrasis is offering an Evergreen Cataloging Class 8/19 at 2pm EST. To register please see the Lyrasis website

Planet Evergreen

Can’t get enough news about Evergreen open source software? Subscribe to or read Planet Evergreen, an aggregator for Evergreen-related posts, at http://planet.evergreen-ils.org . Have a blog that talks about Evergreen? To add your blog to the Planet Evergreen blog aggregator, send email to Dan Scott at dan@coffeecode.net

Evergreen on Facebook

Evergreen has a growing Facebook group. We post events to this group as well as press releases for new Evergreen libraries and systems and other related news. The group now has over 300 members.

A Few Reminders

Webinars and videos: Don’t forget the section on the Evergreen wiki devoted to community-contributed documentation and tutorials.

Evergreen also has a Flickr set.

New Evergreen Libraries: Welcome Aboard!

Also see the growing list of Evergreen libraries.

This list is open to all Evergreen libraries, from commercially-supported to “grow-your-own.” Please add your library if it’s not there! All community members are welcome to have wiki logins.

Highlights from the latest additions:

Sitka in British Columbia just rolled out two more libraries, Alert Bay Public Library and College of the Rockies, for a total of 21 libraries on a shared catalog.

The Haines (Alaska) library catalog is part of a cooperative partnership among the public library, the Haines Elementary Media Center, the Haines High School Library, and the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center.

Evergreen Indiana now has 37 libraries live on its shared catalog, including Shoals Public Library—the first previously non-automated library to join Evergreen Indiana—as well as Andrews Dallas Township, Loogootee, Middletown Fall Creek, Milford, Washington Public Township, Waterloo Grant Township, Pike County, Alexandria-Monroe, Kendalville & Limberlost Public Libraries.

Newsletter Administrivia

Feel free to forward, share, etc.!

The co-wranglers for this newsletter (produced every month… sometimes earlier, sometimes later… what can we say!) are Karen Schneider, Equinox Community Librarian and John Fink, Digital Technologies Development Librarian at McMaster University.