Conference Quick Links
Conference Registration
Call for Proposals
Keynote Speaker
Conference Schedule
Program Descriptions
Sponsors
Exhibitors
Code of Conduct
2024 Evergreen Conference Program Descriptions
Note: Session recordings and presentation slides will be posted to this page beside the session titles.
See the Program Schedule for a grid view of the programs scheduled for each day of the conference.
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday
Monday, April 22
PRE-CONFERENCE SESSIONS (additional registration fee required)
1:00 to 3:00 p.m. (ET)
Acquisitions Boot Camp
Join Ruth and Samantha for a workshop on implementing and using Acquisitions.
Presenters: Ruth Frasur Davis, Evergreen Indiana and ECDI; Samantha O’Connor, NC Cardinal
Redis and Beyond
In this session we’ll briefly recap the Redis project, review system administration for Redis-based Evergreen servers, and look ahead to new features that may be available to us once Redis is fully adopted by the community, including other uses for Redis and Redis-based Rust code I’ve been working on..
Presenter: Bill Erickson, King County Library System
3:00 to 3:30 p.m. (ET)
Break Time
3:30 to 5:30 p.m. (ET)
All About Scheduling Evergreen Upgrades and Training for your Library/Consortium
Upgrading Evergreen versions for your end users can be a daunting task. Have you worried about training reluctant staff in a new version? Have you stressed out about database upgrade scripts and database reingests? Are you terrified to leave the TPAC? Our panel will discuss every aspect of upgrades and how PaILS/SPARK PA, BC Libraries Cooperative, and Bibliomation approach these methods. We’ll talk about training materials, scheduling the upgrade, talking to end users about the importance of upgrades, providing the right documentation, and the technical aspects of the upgrade itself.
Presenters: Gina Monti, Evergreen Systems Specialist, Bibliomation, Inc; Elizabeth Davis, Support & Project Management Specialist, PaILS/Spark; Jennifer Pringle, Co-op Support Training Lead, BC Libraries Cooperative
Data, Data, Everywhere
Protecting the right to privacy and confidentiality in library use is a bedrock principle of the library profession. As the administrators of our libraries’ integrated library systems, we are the gatekeepers of the software that contain a great deal of personally identifiable information on our users. What our some policies and best practices we can implement to ensure that right to privacy is protected? In this workshop, we will look at steps libraries and consortia can take to conduct a privacy audit, specifically against our Evergreen system and catalog. This is a participatory workshop where attendees will review recommended privacy guidelines against the policies and practices used in their organizations. This session will also include the building of a wishlist of Evergreen enhancements that would better support the privacy of our users.
Presenter: Kathy Lussier, Executive Director, NOBLE
Tuesday, April 23
11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. (ET)
Welcome and Keynote Address
Richard Littauer is an organizer of SustainOSS and the host of the Sustain Podcast. As a full-stack developer and open source community consultant, he has contributed to thousands of different open source projects, and worked with dozens of communities. He also likes birds. Richard will be speaking on sustainability in open source projects with time for Q&A after his presentation.
Presenter: Richard Littauer
12:00 to 12:50 p.m. (ET)
A Beginner’s Guide to Evergreen Permissions
A back-to-basics session that will go over how permissions and permission groups work in Evergreen, hopefully demystifying some of the many complexities of permissions. This session will cover topics such as creating permissions and permission groups, assigning permissions to users, and how depth and grantability work.
Presenter: Susan Morrison, PINES Operations Analyst, Georgia Public Library Service
Bins and Bags and Boxes: Resource Sharing Infrastructure and its Challenges (slides)
Join representatives from large consortia to discuss how library items move from location to location, and the implications of that infrastructure for Evergreen use. We will be joined by Galen Charlton to discuss new avenues of development in Evergreen to help the software better prioritize hold transits based on distance, time and costs.
Presenters: Katie Greenleaf Martin, Executive Director Pennsylvania Integrated Library System (PaILS); Ruth Frasur Davis, Coordinator, Evergreen Indiana Library Consortium; Joe Knueven, Director, Wilmington Public Library; Galen Charlton, Implementation and IT Manager, Equinox Open Library Initiative
1:00 to 1:30 p.m. (ET)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Hold Targeter Geolocation Follow-up
In previous conference sessions, I presented about work that NC Cardinal was undertaking to implement geo-location services into Evergreen’s hold targeter. Since that time, we’ve rolled the code out into our production environment, entered in all of the new data that was required, and enabled the feature across the consortium. All of our holds are now having their potential targets chosen based on their physical distance from their pickup libraries and not by random chance. I would like to follow up on the effects that we’ve seen, our implementation process, and changes that needed to be made after reviewing our resource sharing process.
Presenter: Llewellyn Marshall, NC Cardinal Admin/Developer at the State Library of North Carolina
1:00 to 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Meet the List Maker
The List Maker is a homegrown tool that NOBLE libraries use to make all kinds of lists of bibliographic and item records, based on searches performed directly in the List Maker or starting with lists of barcodes, record IDs, or ISBNs, and also works titles selected in the catalog and added to baskets and buckets. The List Maker provides several types of output: HTML and JSON for adding to websites; Excel or CSV for collection analysis; and weeding, inventory and shelf checking items with Missing, Lost and other statues. It also creates and interacts with record and item buckets and carousels. Lists can be run once or set to run automatically on a regular schedule. It’s easy to use and popular with a wide variety of staff for all sorts of projects.
The ListMaker code consists of a series of PHP scripts that provide both a front-end form and back-end functions to collect and validate user criteria, query the Evergreen database, and deliver the report in various formats to the user. Javascript validates form entries and dynamically changes the form as users make selections. Crontab entries run reports that have been designated to run periodically.
We’re planning to share the code and hope that other systems will find it useful and help it grow! In this session, Elizabeth Thomsen will demonstrate how the List Maker works for various projects, and Martha Driscoll will go over the technical side of things and so you can try it yourself!
Presenters: Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager, NOBLE; Martha Driscoll, Systems Manager, NOBLE
1:30 to 2:00 p.m. (ET)
I’ll Have what MARC’s Having
We developed an alternate Regex-based MARC search and replace interface at King County. I’d like to demo the new interface, discuss some of the implementation details, and maybe take requests!
Presenter: Bill Erickson, King County Library System
2:00 to 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Break / Exhibitor Time
2:30 to 3:00 p.m. (ET)
Exhibitor Lightning Talks
3:00 to 3:50 p.m. (ET)
Consortium Leaders Interest Group
Round table opportunity for consortia leaders to get together and talk about issues we all may face.
Presenter: Benjamin Murphy, NC Cardinal Program Manager
Authorities in Evergreen: you can too!
Providing an introduction to the structure of an authority record, with demonstrations of searching for/editing/creating/linking authorities in Evergreen, and as much discussion as time allows on authority imports, templates, and workflows.
Presenter: Jessica Efron, Cataloger, State Library of North Carolina
4:00 to 4:50 p.m. (ET)
Using Aspen as your Evergreen OPAC (slides)
Join Rogan and Ruth to discuss the pros, cons, challenges and delights of using Aspen as an alternative discovery experience for library users. We will look at Evergreen specific considerations when implementing Aspen, share experiences from a large consortium implementation and collect feedback for the larger Aspen community. Bring your questions, ideas, and wish lists!
Presenters: Ruth Frasur Davis, Evergreen Indiana and ECDI; Rogan Hamby, Equinox Open Library Initiative
Series, Serials, Pieces and Parts
How does your library handle different types of serials? Do you always use serial records or do you use monograph records — there are pros and cons of each approach. Do you use parts to manage sets that individual libraries circulate differently? Hear two different approaches from to these issues from NOBLE and C/W MARS.
Presenters: Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager, NOBLE; Carol Witt, Bibliographic Services Supervisor, C/W MARS
5:00 to 5:50 p.m. (ET)
Tip of the Iceberg: Uncovering Accessibility Issues through UI Testing
What looks like a small bug in the Evergreen user interface can actually be a larger issue underneath! Learn how little UI glitches can be clues to hidden accessibility problems that have big consequences. Bad alignment, weird colors, and unexpected pointer styles–no bug is too small to report. We’ll describe what to look for and discuss how these little details can add up to big problems for people with visual, mobility, or cognitive impairments. We’ll also demonstrate how to find these issues proactively with some five-minute accessibility tests that you can do using only your keyboard and a browser extension or two.
Presenters: Jennifer Pringle, Co-op Support – Training Lead, BC Libraries Cooperative; Lena Hernandez, Product and Education Specialist, Equinox Open Library Initiative; Stephanie Leary, Front End Developer, Equinox Open Library Initiative
On the Same Page: Standards, Expectations, and Automation in Consortium Catalog Training
Two years ago, Missouri Evergreen implemented a cataloging certification program using a pdf document, YouTube, and the test server. Although consortium catalogers were able to complete the process and earn their certifications the program was clunky – labor intensive and difficult to update along with software upgrades. In order to streamline the process and prepare for a bi-annual recertification process it was decided the program was in need of a complete overhaul. In this session I will discuss how we created our certification program, set standards, managed expectations, and automated the process with an LMS.
Presenter: Liz Rudloff, Consortium Cataloger at Missouri Evergreen Consortium
7:00 p.m. (ET)
Online Social Hour
Unwind at our online social hour! We will have a Jackbox Party and open space to chat.
Zoom Link for Social Hour: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81476561433
Wednesday, April 24
11:00 to 11:50 a.m. (ET)
Building a Culture of Open Source Contribution
Community contributions are critical to the success and sustainability of the Evergreen project. Most of these contributions are expected to come from employees of Evergreen libraries, consortia and service providers, but other work responsibilities often take priority, leading to inconsistent work on the project. How can managers build a culture where open-source contributions are valued and encouraged? In this session, leaders from Bibliomation, Georgia PINES, and NOBLE will share their methods for encouraging staff to be active participants in the Evergreen community. Attendees are invited to bring their own tips and ideas for ensuring their organizations are actively working with the community.
Presenters: Elizabeth McKinney, PINES Program Director, Georgia PINES; Carl DeMilia, Executive Director, Bibliomation; Kathy Lussier, Executive Director, NOBLE
MarcEdit
Terry Reese will make a special appearance as an invited expert speaker to discuss the power of MarcEdit and how it can be used to streamline and enhance the care and maintenance of bib records in Evergreen. MarcEdit is a metadata suite that is used by tens of thousands of librarians annually from around the world. Find out more about Terry Reese and his work at reeset.net.
Presenter: Terry Reese, Creator of MarcEdit; Head of Digital Initiatives for The Ohio State University Libraries
12:00 to 12:50 p.m. (ET)
New Features in Evergreen 3.11+ (The Ruth and Andrea Show version 5.0) (slides)
Come hear about all the latest & greatest in Evergreen with your favorite guides to the world of Evergreen, Andrea & Ruth, in their 5th annual rundown of new features. We’ll talk about what went into Evergreen for 3.11 and 3.12 in 2023, as well as what’s potentially coming in 2024 (which may also be the year for Evergreen 4.0!) We promise there will be lots of exciting screenshots and probably a few bad jokes.
Presenters: Ruth Frasur Davis, Evergreen Indiana Library Consortium / Evergreen Community Development Initiative, Coordinator; Andrea Buntz Neiman, Equinox Open Library Initiative, Project Manager for Software Development & Product Specialist
1:00 to 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Adventures in Running an Evergreen Support Desk (slides)
A panel discussion including representatives from four different Evergreen consortia and their support desk experiences.
Presenters: Elizabeth Davis, Support and Project Management Specialist, PaILS; Terran McCanna, PINES Program Manager, PINES; Courtney Brown, NC Cardinal Systems Librarian, NC Cardinal; Daniel Guarracino, Automation Services Librarian, OWWL Library System
Batches, Baskets, Buckets, and Bookbags
Overview of the different ways to work with batches of items and bibs in Evergreen, including item status batches, item and record buckets, My Lists/Bookbags, and carousels with lots of examples, tips and tricks, and future development.
Presenter: Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager, NOBLE
2:00 to 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Break / Exhibitor Time
Exhibitor booth hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 12pm – 4pm Eastern Time
2:30 to 3:00 p.m. (ET)
Lightning Talks
3:00 to 3:50 p.m. (ET)
State of the Project / Developers’ Update (Dev Update slides)
4:00 to 4:50 p.m. (ET)
Circulation Interest Group
Open discussion of anything circulation related. Problems, ideas, workflows, etc.
Presenter: Dawn Dale, PINES Services Specialist – Circulation, Georgia Public Library Service
Modify a Million MARC a Month
In this presentation we’ll walk through the process we used to update 2.2 million bib records over the course of two months using database queries to identify records for editing, exporting with Evergreen, modifying with MarcEdit and then re-ingesting using the Blake Bib Magic ingest tool discussed at the last conference. We’ll discuss tips for finding records, things we’ve learned about using MarcEdit, how we do quality control on the records, and the reingest process. We’ll describe how this can be done without any special tools or technology for your instance of Evergreen or how you can reproduce what we’ve done.
Presenter: Benjamin Murphy, NC Cardinal Program Manager
5:00 to 5:50 p.m. (ET)
Just a Bit of Git
If you’re reading this, you’re likely well acquainted with Evergreen, and you’ve likely heard talk about Git. Git is a powerful tool that is used to manage changes in the Evergreen code. Even if you don’t write code, or barely (or never) even look at code, having a basic understanding of what Git is, what it can do and how it applies to Evergreen can be valuable to anyone involved with the Evergreen community. In this session, we’ll take a few steps back from the command line and look at some broad concepts and basics to get you more familiar with the power and usefulness of git.
Presenters: Michele Morgan, Systems Support Specialist, NOBLE
Help Your Patrons Discover More with Evergreen and Aspen
In this panel presentation, libraries using Aspen Discovery will discuss topics such as why they chose to implement Aspen, what benefits patrons and libraries get from a discovery layer in addition to Evergreen, and feedback on Aspen from library patrons and staff.
Presenters: Sierra Chastain-Rittue, Web Support Specialist, C/W MARS, Inc. Jordan Fields, Aspen Product Librarian, ByWater Solutions; Inge Kokidko & Elizabeth Hager, Porter County Public Library System (IN); Linda Kramer, Martin Luther College Library (MN); Lindsay Stratton & Allison Pryor, Westchester Library System (NY)
Thursday, April 25
Hackfest