[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Evergreen Newsletter, March 2009

[Karen Schneider]

Evergreen Newsletter

*The newsletter for Evergreen open source library software **
http://evergreen-ils.org*

*Evergreen International Conference May 20-22, 2009
http://solinet.net/evergreen
*

* *

Volume 2, Issue 3 March, 2009
 Evergreen: A Perfect Color for St. Patrick's Day!

'Tis the luck o' the Irish to be an Evergreen user! As a reminder, we will
post this newsletter to the Evergreen general discussion list (see all
Evergreen lists at http://evergreen-ils.org/listserv.php) and to the
Evergreen blog (http://evergreen-ils.org/blog). Cross-posting and forwarding
is encouraged.
 In This Issue… Evergreen Out and About, Evergreen 1.4.0.3 Imminent,
Evergreen Conference (Program Lineup now available!),  Mark Jordan's nifty
Drupal tool, Evergreen Webinars, SOLINET Evergreen Classes, Documentation
Update, New Evergreen Libraries, Newsletter Administrivia
 Out and About: An Evergreen Calendar

*Let us know and we'll add your "out and about with Evergreen" events to
this calendar!
*

 *VTLS Users Group *(Blacksburg VA, March 19) Karen Schneider from Equinox
will be keynoting about open source and creativity. *
*

*Computers in Libraries* (D.C., March 30 - April 1) will feature a rock-out,
boffo panel of Evergreen Divas: Karen Schneider from Equinox; Ruth Dukelow
from Michigan Library Consortium; Karen Collier and Andrea Neiman from Kent
County Library in Maryland. http://www.infotoday.com/CIL2009/ *
*

*Texas Library Association* (Houston, March 31 - April 3): We're exhibiting
there, so scoot your boots over to booth 1115 and sit a spell with Shae,
Karen, Bob, and Brad!

*British Columbia Library Association *(Burnaby, April 16-18) will feature a
talk by Karen Schneider on creativity and open source.
http://www.bcla.bc.ca/Conference2009/default.aspx

*Evergreen International Conference *(Athens, Georgia, May 20 – 22, 2009).
Our first conference! Joe Lucia and Jessamyn West will be keynoting! Program
lineup now available! See more about this exciting event below.

*American Library Association* Annual Conference (Chicago, Illinois, July
9-15). We'll be exhibiting, meeting with people, and so forth!

*WilsWorld* (Madison, Wisconsin, July 28-29). Karen Schneider to do a
plenary session. Karen spoke at one of the earliest WilsWorld conferences
and is excited to return!

*Past Conferences*: Code4Lib, for which Equinox was a Gold Sponsor, was a
terrific event. Mike Rylander and Karen Schneider were there waving the
Evergreen flag. Karen monitored one of the two camcorders, swapping out 18
tapes (can you tell she was a Campfire Girl?), and when the videos are up
we'll let you know.
 Evergreen 1.4.0.3 Imminent!

Evergreen 1.4.0.3 (the latest in the 1.4.0*) series is imminent. The feature
list for the 1.4.0 series is here:
http://open-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=feature_list_1_4_0. See the
Evergreen download page (http://evergreen-ils.org/listserv.php) for source
code, staff client, images, and more. Have fun with the MARC record
importer-exporter, the locale picker, and other great features -- it's a
blast!

Remember that the Evergreen staff client needs to match the server version.

<jbielewski at solinet.net> Evergreen International Conference, May 20-22, 2009
*See*  *http://www.solinet.net/evergreen

Also see the growing conference wiki where you can sign up for dine-arounds,
table talks, etc.! http://evergreen-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=eg09:main

Questions? Sponsorship and exhibits requests? Program submissions? Email
events at evergreen-ils.org
*

The first-ever Evergreen International Conference is just around the corner!
Here are the top ten tidbits about this wonderful, can't-miss conference:

1. *Takes place May 20-22, 2009* at the Classic Center in Athens, Georgia, a
very attractive university town with great restaurants and pubs, just one
hour from the Atlanta airport. *Accommodations *are delightfully reasonable
business hotels a comfy walking distance to the Classic Center.

2. *Early Bird Registration continues through March 31, 2009* on the
conference website *http://www.solinet.net/evergreen* -- We are holding this
conference to a comfortable 150 attendees, so spaces will fill fast -- don't
delay!

3. *Fascinating keynote speakers*: *Joe Lucia* of Villanova University (and
Vufind fame), and *Jessamyn West*, noted librarian, technology advocate,
blogger/writer, and champion of open source!

4. *Outstanding programs! Wow! We had great submissions. *Please don't
forget you can also do a 5-minute lightning talk, a Birds of a Feather or
breakfast table talk, or just hang with folks and discuss issues.
(Dine-arounds will be great mingling opportunities as well.)

You can see the full track on the conference wiki  (
http://evergreen-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=eg09:events ), but here are
the programs in a nutshell:

*The Big Picture*
Emily Almond, GPLS: You’re Live… Now What?
Evette Atkin, Michigan Library Consortium: Ready, Fire, Aim!
Lori Ayre, Galecia Group: Out of the Frying Pan
Bielewski-Gregory-Tetterton, SOLINET-PINES, Equinox. Migration Nation:
Planning for Success
Elizabeth McKinney, GPLS: The Emotional Impact of Open Source
Karen Schneider, Equinox: TCO of Open Source Software

*Front-Line Staff*

Karen Collier, Kent County, MD: Evergreen and Small Libraries

Dawn Dale, GPLS: Evergreen: Easy to Learn, Easy to Use
Elaine Hardy, PINES: Bibliographic Database Integrity
Chris Sharp, GPLS: Voices of Experience
Jim Bartram Veatch, Trail Regional Library: Electronic Government
Publications for PINES
Tigran Zargaryan, Fundamental Scientific Library, Armenia: Evergreen in
Armenia

*Techno-Track*
George Duimovich, NRCan: Electronic Resource Management
Bill Erickson, Equinox: Building New Interfaces
David Fiander, University of Western Ontario: Predicting the Future with
MFHD
Grant Johnson, University of Prince Edward: Island Bits and Pieces
Mike Rylander, Equinox: OpenSRF and Jabber
Dan Scott, Conifer Project: Evergreen Globalization

5. May 20 is an *all-day Hackfest* (no additional registration fee) in the
comfortable environs of the Classic Center. Don't be dissuaded by the word
"hack"! If you have an idea and want quiet, wired space to explore it it
with other colleagues, just plan on it. We already have several
happening--including at least a half-day session on documentation.

6. The conference kicks off the evening of May 21 with a *Vendor Reception *--
just enough food to replenish you before you head out into the adorable
environs of downtown Athens, with its pubs and restaurants. If you're a
vendor, note that the reception is a no-conflict event, so we can give your
products lots of attention!

7. May 21 - 22 features fascinating *programs*, long breaks where you
can *network
with peers*, a *luncheon* (no events during the luncheon, so you can spend
time talking with friends, colleagues, and vendors) and a *Table Talk
Breakfast
*

8. *User led 5-minute lightning talks* will spark up the conference,
while *Birds
of a Feather sessions* and breakfast *Table Talks* offer even more
opportunities to commune with like-minded peers about topics of interest.
Even if you don't have a full 45-minute program to offer, you may have 5
minutes for sharing a great idea.

9. *Sponsorship *and *exhibiting *opportunities abound -- sponsor at a
specific level (Gold, Silver, Platinum), sponsor one of our many events, or
just exhibit! *
*

10. Affordable *accommodations* (we just lined up two great but also
great-priced hotels within walking distance), superb local *meal *values,
and the Classic Center has *free wifi*!

 The 2009 Evergreen Conference is jointly coordinated by Georgia Public
Library Service, Equinox Software, and SOLINET. Also, special thanks to
Karen Collier at Kent County Library, Maryland, for participating in the
program review process.
Drupal Module for Evergreen: ILS Authentication

Mark Jordan of Simon Fraser University Library in Burnaby, British Columbia
has written a Drupal module called ILS Authentication that allows people to
log into a Drupal website using their Evergreen credentials. The module is
intended to make it as easy as possible to write drivers (simple PHP
authentication scripts) for other library systems as well.

Mark commented about ILS Authentication, "What I find cool about this type
of module is that it shows how easy it is for disparate apps to talk to each
other if they are both open." If you want to write a driver for your ILS,
Mark would be happy to hear from you (mjordan at sfu.ca). For more information,
visit http://drupalib.interoperating.info/ilsauthen .

Evergreen Webinar Update

**
Watch for a separate announcement on the lists and blogs, but due to popular
demand, there will be two free half-hour webinars in March available to
anyone who wants to attend:

*Webinar on Webinars:* This was a huge success! See the slides and video of
the presentation:

http://evergreen-ils.org/blog/?p=195  *

*There's still room in* Understanding Open Source*, rescheduled to March 17,
2 p.m. Eastern Time:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/813256302
SOLINET Rolls Out More Evergreen Training Classes

**

**SOLINET continues to offer free online Evergreen demos! The next one is
March 31st (11am-noon).These free demos provide overviews of Evergreen's
popular features and gives participants a chance to ask questions in a
training environment.

SOLINET also offers three fee-based online classes on Evergreen modules. All
class times are Eastern Standard:

*Evergreen Circulation*: OPAC searching, navigating the staff client,
creating and maintaining patron accounts, using tools and options, check
in/check out and other circulation procedures such as creating and
maintaining holds. Offered March 31st (2-4pm).

*Evergreen Cataloging*: This is now a 2-day class that covers creating,
editing and merging records; transferring items; using buckets; and
importing/exporting records. Offered March 24th-25th (10am-noon).

*Evergreen Local Administration and Statistics: *A more advanced class that
covers configuring Evergreen locally, setting user permissions, creating
templates for printing receipts and running reports. Offered March
25th(10am-noon).

To register for SOLINET's Evergreen training (including the free demo), just
visit Solinet's Educational Services Registration website at
http://www.solinet.net/Classes%20and%20Events/Class%20Registration.aspx
 For questions, contact SOLINET trainers Jennifer Bielewski and Jenny
Liberatore, 1-800-999-8558 or jbielewski at solinet.net

Documentation UpdateMcMaster University intern Betty Ing has been working
closely with Karen Schneider of Equinox and John Fink of McMaster on a proof
of concept of generating documentation in Docbook, an XML format. Watch for
more about this on the list and the newsletter!

 * *
 Evergreen on Facebook

Evergreen has a growing Facebook group at the not-so-mnemonic address of
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6396639614 . We are now posting events
to this group, such as the Evergreen conference and the ALA Midwinter
get-together, as well as press releases for new Evergreen libraries and
systems and other related news. The group now has over 270 members. If
you're on Facebook, join our group. If you aren't on Facebook and you don't
think you're the Facebook "type," give it a try. You might be surprised by
who's on Facebook!
 A Few Reminders

*Webinars and videos*: Don't forget the section on the Evergreen wiki devoted
to community-contributed documentation and
tutorials<http://evergreen-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=community_tutorials>.


Evergreen also has a Flickr set and Delicious bookmarks:

Delicious: http://delicious.com/evergreenils

Flickr (see OLA pictures!): http://flickr.com/photos/evergreen-ils/
New Evergreen Libraries: Welcome Aboard!

Below are the newest Evergreen libraries — the Evergreen installations known
to have taken place since our last newsletter in mid-January. Quite a batch!
Also see the growing list of Evergreen libraries at:

http://evergreen-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=evergreen_libraries

 *Evergreen Indiana:*

Hagerstown Public Libraries
Madison-Jefferson County
Noble County
Otterbein
Thorntown

*British Columbia SITKA: *

Rossland Public Library
Salmo Public Library


*Self-implemented Sites: *

The Law Society of British Columbia has gone live with Evergreen. The bulk
of the work was accomplished by Jeremy Buhler, a graduate student from the
School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of
British Columbia. Buhler developed the main page and migrated the data.
Buhler recently began working with British Columbia SITKA as a trainer/help
desk specialist.

*Up and Coming:
*
North Texas Regional Library System has committed to migrating to Evergreen.
NTRLS will begin migrating to Evergreen with a pilot group of 13 libraries
that are also the flagship members of the newly-formed North Texas Library
Consortium. The pilot libraries are scheduled to go live during the summer
of 2009. Welcome aboard!

If you'd like to follow along as libraries join the Evergreen community, you
can subscribe to the Equinox press release feed, which will announce most
known Evergreen implementations (or follow the Facebook group mentioned
above). The Equinox press release feed
<http://esilibrary.com/esi/news.rss>was recently tweaked to make it
easier to track and share the releases.

*Forthcoming Evergreen Libraries!*

Both King County Library System (in Washington State) and Natural Resources
Canada have signed contracts with Equinox. Welcome aboard!
 Newsletter Administrivia

Feel free to forward, share, etc.!

The deadline for the Evergreen newsletter is the last working day before the
first of the month… feel free to submit items earlier. The co-wranglers for
this newsletter are Karen Schneider, Equinox Community Librarian and John
Fink, Digital Technologies Development librarian at McMaster University.
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