Back to School!

For most of Bibliomation's schools, the first day has been delayed thanks to Irene. However, our friends at Equinox software got their data transferred into our Evergreen servers before the storm hit. Bibs, items, and students are all ready to go for our school media specialists once they have electricity to access them.

We're still training (and rescheduling hurricane-disrupted trainings) and working out new routines and workflows with the schools, but their data is ready to go. Next up, Bridgeport Public Library!

-Kate




image by Flickr user strangelibrarian

It’s Official – Bibliomation is an (almost) all-Evergreen consortium

On June 7, 2011, all of Bibliomation’s public libraries became Evergreen libraries. This fall, the school libraries will start their year with Evergreen and two more public libraries will join Bibliomation, bringing our total public library membership to 60.

We’ve been up and running on Evergreen for almost two months now and while it hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing (what migration ever is), we’re finding our way and establishing some best practices as we go.

We’re over the moon about Ben Shum’s work automating our monthly reports and Jessica Venturo’s reports in the staff client. We’ve got data any which way our libraries want it. Now that we’re settling in to circulation and cataloging in Evergreen, Mary Llewellyn is forging ahead with acquisitions and serials. We’re bringing our libraries’ feedback about these two newest components of Evergreen as well as everything else in our new ILS back to the community and we’re building a wishlist for future development.

Bibliomation is excited to be a part of the Evergreen community and we can’t wait to build an even brighter future for our libraries and our ILS!

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

This is me, signing the official Evergreen Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement with the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC), an umbrella, not-for-profit organization that helps promote, improve, develop, and defend Free, Libre, and Open Source Software (FLOSS) projects.

I was one of many interested individuals serving on the Evergreen Oversight Board, hoping to find a means to protect the assets of the Evergreen community and we found such a way with the SFC. We spent the past year developing a beginning rules of governance that were adopted at the 2011 Evergreen conference on April 29th. One of our first tasks, now that these rules have been accepted, is to define a mechanism for electing Board members in future years.

I am very pleased to be on this Board, as the individuals I serve with seem to inhabit the spirit of open source. It was stressed again and again throughout our process of defining who we are and what our role should be, that we did not want to add a layer of bureaucracy to a community that is already thriving, fulfilling key components to keeping Evergreen growing in a very productive manner. We have found our role in the Evergreen community and I am happy to report that it is a supportive role, one that will help the existing groups - the developers, the documentation interest group, and the rest - grow even more.

For more information see here.

--Amy Terlaga
terlaga{at}biblio{dot}org

Here we go!

Evergreen training starts tomorrow. My trusty little car is loaded up with documentation, handouts, and my picnic blanket. Don't worry, there's still room for donuts!

-kate

Welcome, Hagaman Memorial Library!

We're pleased as punch to welcome East Haven's Hagaman Memorial Library to the Evergreen community!

The Hagaman Memorial Library went live on Monday, April 4 and was a roaring success.

The library staff used Evergreen's offline circulation mode over the weekend and reported it was easy to use. On Monday morning, they wisely opened late, so they could spend time in the morning checking in returns from over the weekend and acclimating to their new system. Their first Evergreen patrons were a preschool class storytime that got to come in while the library was closed.

I think I can safely declare Hagaman Memorial Library the most adorable go live ever!

The Evergreen Kids Catalog Project Picks Up Steam

We're happy to report that the kids catalog development project for the Evergreen catalog is moving nicely along. Bibliomation, along with our development partners, The King County Library System (Washington state), Sitka (British Columbia), and PINES (Georgia Public Library Service), have just approved the basic graphical skins that FGI, a Seattle-based web design firm, has created.

Next steps: We'll be checking with Equinox to make sure that they can develop the functionality around these skins so that libraries could plug in any skin of their choosing.

Equinox is also preparing a quote for us so we'll know what it will cost to develop the functions and features we'd like to see in this catalog, including:

• The option to filter to juvenile materials exclusively, either by MARC record (audience field) or by item shelving location code(s)
• The option to add and delete new graphical subject categories or edit existing ones
• The ability to see grade level information
• The ability to add a bibliography of web links
• The ability to add ratings and user reviews

For more information about this kids catalog project, you can contact me at terlaga{at}biblio{dot}org.

Amy Terlaga
Assistant Director, User Services
Bibliomation, Inc.

It's our Paper Anniversary

I'm a day late with this, but yesterday marked Bibliomation's first Evergreen anniversary! Beacon Falls Public Library was the first library in Connecticut to go live on Evergreen. They were also the first public library in Connecticut to move to an open source ILS.

What a year it's been! Since March 3, 2010, Bibliomation has brought up ten more Evergreen libraries, with another still cataloging away. We've been enjoying newlywed bliss with our new ILS and the Evergreen community, and we can't wait to introduce the rest of our libraries to our new sweetheart.

Image from Flickr user Eric Martin