Equinox has written a new feature for the Evergreen ILS to help libraries manage curbside pickup operations. This feature allows library staff and patrons to schedule appointments for patrons to pick up their available holds. It also adds a new staff interface for managing the staging and delivery of items that have been scheduled to be picked up. To learn about this feature, please see the following videos:
Duluth, Ga., March 4, 2021: Equinox is pleased to welcome Clinton County Libraries to Evergreen with their successful migrations to the Pennsylvania Integrated Library System (PaILS) SPARK Consortium.
The migration included a total of 70,682 bibliographic records and will support 8,557 patrons. Services provided to the Clinton County Libraries by Equinox included project management and Evergreen software configuration. Data extraction and bibliographic deduplication were completed as part of their migration encompassing item, patron, and transaction records. Hosting and support was included with their addition to the PaILS/SPARK consortium as well as virtual training by Equinox.
“We’re looking forward to growing with this new system,” said Tammy Garrison, Executive Director of Clinton County Libraries. “All of the new features will not only let us help patrons, but will allow the patrons to take an active part in material and account management.”
PaILS was founded in June 2011 as a non-profit organization to provide an open source integrated library system. It oversees SPARK, a consortium of Evergreen libraries across Pennsylvania. Equinox and PaILS have been collaborating on the SPARK consortium since 2013.
“The successful migration of the Clinton County Libraries to PaILS/SPARK with Evergreen was conducted during the fall and winter months of 2020 and early 2021 while the libraries operated under shifting pandemic and weather restrictions,” said Jennifer Weston, Implementation Project Manager at Equinox. “Patrons are now able to access their library accounts remotely and they will be able to place holds online with the added benefit of being notified via text or email when materials are ready for pickup thanks to Evergreen’s curbside feature. It has been a real privilege and delight to work with the Clinton County Libraries to provide new opportunities for their library community.”
About Equinox Open Library Initiative
Equinox Open Library Initiative Inc. is a nonprofit company engaging in literary, charitable, and educational endeavors serving cultural and knowledge institutions. As the successor to Equinox Software, Inc., the Initiative carries forward a decade of service and experience with Evergreen and other open source library software. At Equinox OLI we help you empower your library with open source technologies. To learn more, please visit https://www.equinoxinitiative.org.
About Evergreen
Evergreen is an award-winning ILS developed to provide an open source product able to meet the diverse needs of consortia and high transaction public libraries. However, it has proven to be equally successful in smaller installations including special and academic libraries. Today, over 1500 libraries around the world are using Evergreen including NC Cardinal, SCLENDS, and B.C. Sitka. For more information about Evergreen, including a list of all known Evergreen installations, see http://evergreen-ils.org.
Duluth, Ga., February 01, 2021
Equinox is pleased to welcome the Bowling Green Public Library to Evergreen with their successful migration to the Missouri Evergreen Consortium.
Bowling Green Public Library’s move will support 4,444 patrons and includes a total of 20,517 bibliographic records. Equinox provided project management for the migration along with Evergreen ILS software configuration. Data extraction and bibliographic deduplication were also completed, encompassing item, patron, and transaction records. Evergreen training was also provided by Equinox. This is the sixth public library that Equinox has migrated to the Missouri Evergreen Consortium since 2020.
“Everyone at the Bowling Green Public Library is thrilled to be joining the Missouri Evergreen consortium,” said Patricia Moore, Library Director at the Bowling Green Public Library. “The transition has been smooth and we are looking forward to working with other libraries.”
The Missouri Evergreen Consortium began as a resource-sharing initiative in 2012 in an effort to create an integrated library system for libraries in Missouri. The consortium is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provision of the Library Services and Technology Act as Administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
“Bowling Green Public Library’s migration to Missouri Evergreen happened during a time when the library was offering limited public access to materials while continuing to provide alternative services due to COVID-19 restrictions. Library director, Patricia Moore, led an heroic effort to manage the library’s migration project during this time,” says Jennifer Weston, project manager at Equinox. “As a result of Bowling Green’s diligent efforts, their patrons now have an interactive OPAC to place holds on materials and receive notifications when materials are ready to be picked up. For the first time, their patrons can now review and manage their library accounts online. It was truly an honor to work with Pat and the Bowling Green Library to provide new opportunities for the library community.”
About Equinox Open Library Initiative
Equinox Open Library Initiative is a nonprofit company engaging in literary, charitable, and educational endeavors serving cultural and knowledge institutions. As the successor to Equinox Software, Inc., Equinox carries forward more than a decade of service and experience with Evergreen ILS, Koha ILS, and other open source library software. At Equinox, we help you empower your library with open source technologies. To learn more, please visit https://www.equinoxinitiative.org/.
About Evergreen
Evergreen is an award-winning ILS developed to provide an open source product able to meet the diverse needs of consortia and high transaction public libraries. However, it has proven to be equally successful in smaller installations including special and academic libraries. Today, over 1500 libraries around the world are using Evergreen including NC Cardinal, SCLENDS, and B.C. Sitka. For more information about Evergreen, including a list of all known Evergreen installations, see http://evergreen-ils.org.
We invite you to join us in looking back at our projects and activities from 2020. The attached Year in Review offers highlights from the year, with information on our monthly Twitter chat, the Equinox Open Source Grant, migrations and software updates, and more. As we look ahead, we’re inspired to find new ways to partner and collaborate with you in 2021. Thank you for your business, community, and support.
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season, from all of us at Equinox.
Sincerely,
Lisa Carlucci
Executive Director
Duluth, Ga., December 17, 2020
Equinox is pleased to welcome the Welland Public Library to Evergreen with their successful migration to the Libraries in Niagara Cooperative (LiNC) in Canada.
“The Welland Public Library is thrilled to expand access to library materials for our cardholders and share our collections and resources with member libraries in the LiNC cooperative. Our patrons have responded very well to the new system and are excited to begin borrowing materials available at partner libraries in 2021,” says Julianne Brunet, CEO of the Welland Public Library. “Joining LiNC has strengthened our relationship with neighbouring libraries, and we look forward to working together to improve library services for Niagara residents.”
The Welland Public Library’s move will support 26,134 patrons and encompass a total of 113,709 bibliographic records. Services provided by Equinox included project management, training, and Evergreen software configuration. Data extraction and bibliographic deduplication were completed as part of their migration, including item, patron, and transaction records. LiNC was established in 2010 between four public libraries and a college library and has since grown to 10 organizations. In 2017, the cooperative began resource sharing.
“When Welland Public Library began a migration to LiNC, their libraries had been closed for several months due to COVID-19. The Welland staff, led by Library Director Julianne Brunet, worked diligently and persistently during the summer and fall to ensure a successful data migration. In January, Welland Public Library will begin participating in a resource sharing arrangement to offer their patrons access to items from other LiNC libraries,” says Jennifer Weston, project manager at Equinox. “It has been an absolute joy and privilege to work with Welland Public Library as they join LiNC to offer expanded services to their communities during these unprecedented times.”
About Equinox Open Library Initiative
Equinox Open Library Initiative is a nonprofit company engaging in literary, charitable and educational endeavors serving cultural and knowledge institutions. As the successor to Equinox Software, Inc., Equinox carries forward more than a decade of service and experience with Evergreen ILS, Koha ILS and other open-source library software. At Equinox, we help you empower your library with open-source technologies. To learn more, please visit https://www.equinoxinitiative.org/.
About Evergreen
Evergreen is an award-winning ILS developed to provide an open source product able to meet the diverse needs of consortia and high transaction public libraries. However, it has proven to be equally successful in smaller installations, including special and academic libraries. Today, over 1,500 libraries around the world are using Evergreen, including NC Cardinal, SCLENDS and B.C. Sitka. For more information about Evergreen, including a list of all known Evergreen installations, see http://evergreen-ils.org.
Duluth, Ga., December 10, 2020: Equinox is pleased to welcome the Grimsby Public Library to Evergreen with their successful migration to the Libraries in Niagara Cooperative (LiNC).
The Grimsby Public Library’s move supports 13,793 patrons and encompasses a total of 48,111 bibliographic records. Services provided by Equinox included project management and Evergreen software configuration. Data extraction and bibliographic deduplication were completed as part of their migration encompassing item, patron, and transaction records. Evergreen training was also provided by Equinox.
“The Grimsby Public Library is excited to join the shared LiNC Evergreen ILS. This substantially expands the number of items available to our patrons through resource sharing with neighbouring libraries,” said Kathryn Drury, CEO and chief librarian at the Grimsby Public Library. “Equinox has provided excellent technical support throughout this process, including invaluable weekly migration meetings.”
LiNC was established in 2010 between four public libraries and a college library and has since grown to 10 organizations. In 2017, the cooperative began resource sharing.
“Grimsby staff were wonderful to work with,” said Jason Etheridge, senior developer at Equinox, “and our responsive communication led to a smooth migration.”
About Equinox Open Library Initiative
Equinox Open Library Initiative is a nonprofit company engaging in literary, charitable, and educational endeavors serving cultural and knowledge institutions. As the successor to Equinox Software, Inc., Equinox carries forward more than a decade of service and experience with Evergreen ILS, Koha ILS, and other open source library software. At Equinox, we help you empower your library with open source technologies. To learn more, please visit https://www.equinoxinitiative.org/.
About Evergreen
Evergreen is an award-winning ILS developed to provide an open source product able to meet the diverse needs of consortia and high transaction public libraries. However, it has proven to be equally successful in smaller installations including special and academic libraries. Today, over 1500 libraries around the world are using Evergreen including NC Cardinal, SCLENDS, and B.C. Sitka. For more information about Evergreen, including a list of all known Evergreen installations, see http://evergreen-ils.org.
Duluth, Ga., December 3, 2020: Equinox is pleased to welcome the Neosho-Newton County Library to Evergreen with their successful migration to the Missouri Evergreen Consortium.
Neosho-Newton County Library’s move will support 19,152 patrons and encompass a total of 65,791 bibliographic records. Services provided by Equinox included project management and Evergreen software configuration. Data extraction and bibliographic deduplication were completed as part of their migration encompassing item, patron, and transaction records. Evergreen training was also provided by Equinox.
“We are excited about the increase in our circulation and the opportunity to share our resources with so many other libraries in the state of Missouri,” says Carrie Cline, director of the Neosho-Newton County Library. “Our patrons are catching on, and we are seeing more and more borrowing and lending.”
The Missouri Evergreen Consortium began as a resource-sharing initiative in 2012 in an effort to create an integrated library system for libraries in Missouri. The consortium is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provision of the Library Services and Technology Act as Administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
“While Neosho-Newton was reopening to the public, they were simultaneously preparing for and accomplishing their migration to Missouri Evergreen,” said Erica Rohfls, senior implementation project manager at Equinox. “The staff kept their patrons informed of the changes during their migration in addition to their librarians diving right into participating in the overall Evergreen Community. We are proud to welcome them to Evergreen and the Missouri Evergreen Consortium.”
About Equinox Open Library Initiative
Equinox Open Library Initiative is a nonprofit company engaging in literary, charitable, and educational endeavors serving cultural and knowledge institutions. As the successor to Equinox Software, Inc., Equinox carries forward more than a decade of service and experience with Evergreen ILS, Koha ILS, and other open source library software. At Equinox, we help you empower your library with open source technologies. To learn more, please visit https://www.equinoxinitiative.org/.
About Evergreen
Evergreen is an award-winning ILS developed to provide an open source product able to meet the diverse needs of consortia and high transaction public libraries. However, it has proven to be equally successful in smaller installations including special and academic libraries. Today, over 1500 libraries around the world are using Evergreen including NC Cardinal, SCLENDS, and B.C. Sitka. For more information about Evergreen, including a list of all known Evergreen installations, see http://evergreen-ils.org.
Duluth, Ga., October 12, 2020: Equinox is pleased to welcome Brookfield Public Library to the Evergreen ILS with their successful migration to the Missouri Evergreen Consortium.
The Brookfield Public Library’s move will support 1,116 patrons and encompass a total of 2,1307 bibliographic records. Services provided by Equinox included project management and Evergreen software configuration. Data extraction and bibliographic deduplication were completed as part of their migration encompassing item, patron, and transaction records. Remote training was also provided by Equinox.
“It is scary changing the way you have done your entire workflow for 20 years,” said Gina Smith, Director of the Brookfield Public Library, “but with the help of Equinox, who had to train us entirely online due to COVID-19, we are confident as we move forward knowing that the migration to Missouri Evergreen was the best decision for our community.”
The Missouri Evergreen Consortium began as a resource sharing initiative in 2012 in an effort to create an integrated library system for libraries in Missouri. They are supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provision of the Library Services and Technology Act as Administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
“Brookfield Public Library began a migration to Missouri Evergreen while operating under restricted hours due to COVID-19,” said Jennifer Weston, Implementation Project Manager at Equinox. “During the migration project the Brookfield staff conducted a significant data review and database cleanup operation which resulted in a successful data migration – all while successfully reopening the library to the public. Brookfield patrons will benefit from the library’s tireless efforts to implement a new system including the convenient option to be notified via text or email when materials are ready to be picked up. It has been a real honor and pleasure to work with Brookfield Public Library to provide new opportunities for the library’s community during these unpredictable times.”
About Equinox Open Library Initiative
Equinox Open Library Initiative is a nonprofit company engaging in literary, charitable, and educational endeavors serving cultural and knowledge institutions. As the successor to Equinox Software, Inc., Equinox carries forward more than a decade of service and experience with Evergreen ILS, Koha ILS, and other open source library software. At Equinox, we help you empower your library with open source technologies. To learn more, please visit https://www.equinoxinitiative.org/.
About Evergreen
Evergreen is an award-winning ILS developed to provide an open source product able to meet the diverse needs of consortia and high transaction public libraries. However, it has proven to be equally successful in smaller installations including special and academic libraries. Today, over 1500 libraries around the world are using Evergreen including NC Cardinal, SCLENDS, and B.C. Sitka. For more information about Evergreen, including a list of all known Evergreen installations, see http://evergreen-ils.org.
By Felicia Beaudry, Product and Implementation Trainer at Equinox
Koha-US welcomed the Koha community to its 2020 Conference, themed Online Together, September 22 – 24.
Stephanie Chase, Executive Director of the Libraries of Eastern Oregon and Principal Founder of Constructive Disruption, gave the keynote address on the topic of change management. She encouraged everyone to focus on the “together” part of the theme and the collaborative nature of the Koha community and open source in general. Ms. Chase also reminded us of Kotter’s 8 Step Change Model, much of which resonated during these challenging times: lead with purpose and humanity – whatever we do, do with kindness, empathy, and care. She pointed out that many people are still mourning the loss of how things used to be, a regular schedule of getting the kids off to school, commuting to work, and gathering with friends and family. Many of us will mourn again when we need to go back to commuting to work, lose the time we’ve used for extra reading, cleaning, self-improvement, etc.
Covid-19 was addressed again in a presentation from Cindy Li, Head of Emerging Tech and Systems at Bridgewater State University. She spoke about the campus-wide response to the pandemic, as well as the library’s response, focusing on e-resources, but also having a plan for in-person services.
There were a number of really excellent presentations: how to use basic HTML and CSS to customize slips, using jQuery, integrating Koha and MARCEdit, working with the Advanced Cataloging Editor, making short educational videos for Koha users and patrons, and many more.
We at Equinox were happy to have two presentations at Koha-US 2020 this year. Jennifer Weston and I kicked off the first day of presentations with a discussion of why adaptability was so important in our migration of Biblioteca Nacional de Puerto Rico to Koha as part of the Equinox Open Source Grant. Rogan Hamby and Jason Etheridge did a terrific introduction to kmig, an open-source git like tool they developed to use for Koha migrations and data projects.
The last day of the conference, dubbed Bug-a-Palooza, was a new take on the normal hack-away. It started with a Sandbox how-to, with subject specific discussions throughout the day on bugs and enhancements, but all through Zoom.
If you weren’t able to attend the conference live, you can still enjoy all the presentations. Recordings, slides, links, and other information for each session are available on the conference website. Recordings are also available on the Koha-US’s YouTube channel.
