The following is a post from Mary Llewellyn, Bibliomation's Database Services Manager and Lead Cataloger. She summarizes her notes from the Evergreen Acquisitions Development update, "Evergreen Acquisitions Roundup," with Bill Erickson of Equinox.
----------------------------
The session that stands out for me was the Evergreen Acquisitions Roundup, presented by Bill Erickson of Equinox. I was very impressed with the direction the acquisitions module is taking. Many of the features our acq users currently have in Horizon are being developed in Evergreen, including the ability to upload order files from vendor resources such as Baker & Taylor’s Title Source or Ingram’s iPage. We’ll have the ability to define the tag and subfields that the information is coming from, so we won’t have to do much reconfiguring on the vendors’ sites for our libraries.
A feature that we don’t currently have that I think will be welcomed by our libraries is the ability to send EDI order files to the vendor from the Evergreen client itself. Currently the libraries using EDIFACT have to download the purchase order to their desktop, then send the file to the vendor using a third-party FTP client.
Another new feature is the ability of patrons to place requests for purchase that the library staff can review and either accept or reject. Patrons will be allowed to place title level holds on their own requests, and the system can send notifications to the patron about the status of the request.
Another feature that has me very excited touches on the cataloging module. They are developing the ability to have different MARC import profiles, and to designate certain tags to be kept when an imported record merges with/overlays an existing record.
The Acquisitions module will be included in Evergreen 2.0, which is coming out in “alpha” late summer 2010.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Growing Evergreen 2010 International Conference
The Bibliomation team just got back from our first Evergreen conference in Grand Rapids, MI, and we are all very jazzed from it, very jazzed, indeed. As I said to my boss, our CEO, Mike Simonds, "This was the best conference I've ever attended." Sure, there was the usual stuff of conferences - the networking, the keynote speakers, the ice cream breaks .... But what really stood out as different was the overall sense of collective enthusiasm I experienced. Nobody (-okay, one person, but I'm not sure what she was doing there in the first place-) was down on the software. I heard no wet blanket, "Oh, why doesn't the system do this?" talk, something I've been listening to for YEARS now at every other ILS vendor conference I've attended over these past fourteen years as a professional librarian.
Taking Ownership
I've thought some on this and I think that the reason why this conference was so fantastically enjoyable was that everyone there seemed to get that we were all in this together. The "Us v. Them" mentality did not present itself during the three days that I participated in roundtable discussions, impromptu meetings, user programs, and casual conversations with my fellow attendees.
Also, I discovered that this open source ILS community is rife with some amazingly talented, inspired, passionate individuals, who seem to share the sensibility that united we stand so let's get together and put on a show. I saw no egos on display - everyone seemed REALLY cool. When I asked Mike Rylander of Equinox why he didn't seem to have an ego the size of Toledo, he laughed it off in that "Aw, shucks" way he and the rest of the Equinox crew have about them.
Get Involved
Librarians love to share. For many of us, that's why we got into the profession in the first place. I have never been prouder to be a librarian than I am right now. I love the fact that I can help shape this growing Evergreen community in meaningful ways. For instance, I have volunteered to serve on the Evergreen reports taskforce and the governing committee for the embryonic, but quickly evolving Evergreen Foundation. Both of these opportunities came out of this year's conference.
I cannot wait for Austin in 2011. I hope to see you there.
Jump in. The water is more than fine. It is outstanding!
--Amy
=================
Amy Terlaga
Assistant Director, User Services
terlaga{at}biblio{dot}org
Monday, April 26, 2010
Equinox Releases Canned Reports for EG 1.6.0
Bibliomation is pleased to report that Equinox has made available a full set of canned reports for the Evergreen community. Bibliomation was one of three library partners who provided feedback to Equinox regarding these reports.
The reports are divided up into three main areas:
We are all very thankful to the folks at Equinox for taking the time to develop this core list of reports. They will be greatly used!
--Amy
The reports are divided up into three main areas:
- Library Collections
- Library Patrons
- Library Services
We are all very thankful to the folks at Equinox for taking the time to develop this core list of reports. They will be greatly used!
--Amy
Friday, April 16, 2010
IMLS Grant Partners accept Bibliomation!
Bibliomation has received the exciting news that we have been accepted as the fifth partner into the IMLS grant project headed up by King County Library System, "Empowered by Open Source."
The following is an excerpt from our acceptance letter from Jed Moffitt, Director of Information Technology Services at King County:
Thank you for your request for admission as a partner to our IMLS Grant Project “Empowered by Open Source”.
As per the goals outlined in the grant, we are looking for at least three new library partners per year toward the goal of developing a peer-to-peer support model for public library migration to open-source systems. We are looking to partner with libraries that have strong visions and have made clear strides toward an open-source future.
On behalf of our IMLS grant partners and our growing RSCEL community, we’d be pleased to accept Bibliomation as a grant partner.
We’re excited about the open-source strategy and progress underway at Bibliomation, and look forward to working with you.
--------------------------------
King County is still looking for two more library system partners in 2010. It could be you!
-Amy
====================
Amy Terlaga / terlaga{at}biblio{dot}org
Assistant Director, User Services
Bibliomation, Inc.
The following is an excerpt from our acceptance letter from Jed Moffitt, Director of Information Technology Services at King County:
Thank you for your request for admission as a partner to our IMLS Grant Project “Empowered by Open Source”.
As per the goals outlined in the grant, we are looking for at least three new library partners per year toward the goal of developing a peer-to-peer support model for public library migration to open-source systems. We are looking to partner with libraries that have strong visions and have made clear strides toward an open-source future.
On behalf of our IMLS grant partners and our growing RSCEL community, we’d be pleased to accept Bibliomation as a grant partner.
We’re excited about the open-source strategy and progress underway at Bibliomation, and look forward to working with you.
--------------------------------
King County is still looking for two more library system partners in 2010. It could be you!
-Amy
====================
Amy Terlaga / terlaga{at}biblio{dot}org
Assistant Director, User Services
Bibliomation, Inc.
Evergreen Demos at CLA
Bibliomation will have a booth at this years Connecticut Library Association conference. Stop by to check out our new updated company logo, see how our BibliOak Project is going or just say “hi.”
Monday, April 19
| TIME | TOPIC |
| 10:15am-10:30am | Staff Client – Searching |
| 11:15am-11:30am | OPAC Bookbags and My Account |
| 12:15pm-12:30pm | Staff Client – Patron Registration |
| 2:15pm-2:30pm | Staff Client – Placing holds and pull list |
| 3:45pm-4:00pm | OPAC Searching |
Tuesday, April 20
| TIME | TOPIC |
| 10:15am-10:30am | Staff Client – Searching |
| 11:15am-11:30am | OPAC Bookbags and My Account |
| 12:15pm-12:30pm | Staff Client – Patron Registration |
| 2:15pm-2:30pm | Staff Client – Placing holds and pull list |
| 3:45pm-4:00pm | OPAC Searching |
Monday, April 5, 2010
Bibliomation Requests to be IMLS Grant Partner
Earlier today I submitted our letter of application to become the first library to participate in the first wave of King County Library System's IMLS open source library system (OSLS) grant partners. The grant calls for King County to add three libraries per year for the next three years to their grant project. King County's initial library partners are The Peninsula Library System (San Mateo, California), the Orange County Library System (Orlando, Florida), and the Ann Arbor District Library (Michigan). The grant was awarded to King County last September 2009.
The following is an excerpt from Bibliomation's letter of application:
[...]
On behalf of Bibliomation, I respectfully request that you consider our consortium as a first wave partner of additional IMLS grant partners for the year 2010.
Bibliomation is a committed and active member of the Evergreen community. Some of our projects include:
• The contracting out of Dan Scott of Project Conifer to develop Evergreen-specific SQL training course materials. Dan spent two days training eight Bibliomation staff members to write Evergreen SQL queries. Bibliomation has worked with Dan to make these course materials available to all interested Evergreen libraries under the Creative Commons license.
• The development of a collaborative-based Evergreen kids' catalog. Bibliomation was able to find three other Evergreen sites to help develop the project plan and functional specifications for this major addition to the Evergreen ILS.
Bibliomation has also brought up two small CT public libraries on our first Evergreen system. We plan to add at least six more public libraries and one school system before we migrate our entire consortium (48 public libraries, 23 K-12 schools) in the summer of 2011.
I believe that we will be a strong asset to your IMLS grant project.
[...]
-Amy
=================
Amy Terlaga
Assistant Director, User Services
Bibliomation, Inc.
terlaga{at}biblio{dot}org
The following is an excerpt from Bibliomation's letter of application:
[...]
On behalf of Bibliomation, I respectfully request that you consider our consortium as a first wave partner of additional IMLS grant partners for the year 2010.
Bibliomation is a committed and active member of the Evergreen community. Some of our projects include:
• The contracting out of Dan Scott of Project Conifer to develop Evergreen-specific SQL training course materials. Dan spent two days training eight Bibliomation staff members to write Evergreen SQL queries. Bibliomation has worked with Dan to make these course materials available to all interested Evergreen libraries under the Creative Commons license.
• The development of a collaborative-based Evergreen kids' catalog. Bibliomation was able to find three other Evergreen sites to help develop the project plan and functional specifications for this major addition to the Evergreen ILS.
Bibliomation has also brought up two small CT public libraries on our first Evergreen system. We plan to add at least six more public libraries and one school system before we migrate our entire consortium (48 public libraries, 23 K-12 schools) in the summer of 2011.
I believe that we will be a strong asset to your IMLS grant project.
[...]
-Amy
=================
Amy Terlaga
Assistant Director, User Services
Bibliomation, Inc.
terlaga{at}biblio{dot}org
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