Localization Is So Much More Than Just Translation

The presentation will focus on Evergreen as an ILS which can be localized and therefore used internationally in various language settings. We will describe steps one needs to take to translate Evergreen to another language and mention some of the challenges the translator may need to deal with. Some of the other localization tasks will also be introduced. These tasks are often rather complex and include configuring and enriching Evergreen so that it fits well into the geographic and situational environment in which it is used. The presentation will be based on our experience with translating Evergreen to Czech and using it in the Czech library landscape. This landscape differs from the one in Evergreen’s home United States not only in terms of language but also in terms of the range of UTF-8 characters used, currency, library staff expectations when it comes to cataloging interface or handling authority records, statistical data required by authorities or national projects in which libraries are usually involved, to name just the most significant differences.