Library Consortium Environmental and Organizational Assessment and Strategic Planning Consultation

PaILS is a consortium in Pennsylvania which provides a shared Evergreen system for 37 library systems across the state.  The engagement included:

  • assessing existing services and operations
  • re-evaluating the PaILS Mission Statement
  • reformulating the PaILS Vision Statement
  • identifying strategic priorities and developing activities to support them
  • developing a plan to address challenges related to the need for stable funding for the disparate needs of a diverse group of libraries
  • developing cost share formula that more accurately reflects current environment and supports sustainability

This work was led by Lori Bowen Ayre with Galecia Associates Lucien Kress and Sam McBane Mulford.  The final deliverables included a recommendations document which served as the basis for a Strategic Plan which the consortium adopted.  We then worked with them to develop a formal Strategic Plan used to guide the organization over the next 3-5 years.

Library Consortium Environmental and Organizational Assessment and Strategic Planning Consultation

The Galecia Group has been working with NC Cardinal since May 2016.  NC Cardinal is a consortium in North Carolina which provides a shared Evergreen system for 31 library systems across the state.  The engagement includes:

  • assessing existing services and operations
  • identifying emerging needs and aspirations of shareholders, and
  • creating a 5-year strategic plan to grow the system, enhance the services, and define a sustainable funding model

The final deliverable was a recommendations document and a planning document that was developed during a one-day workshop with the NC Cardinal Board.  It included a calendar of prioritized activities to pursue over the next 3-5 years with assigned owners for each activity.

This engagement was led by Lori Bowen Ayre with Galecia Associates Lucien Kress and Sam McBane Mulford.  

Web-based Staff Client for Everyone!

I'm pleased to announce that there is now a demo version of the new Evergreen web-based staff client.  Check it out here:

https://webby.evergreencatalog.com/eg/staff/

login: admin password: demo123

It's not done yet but  it already looks pretty darn good!  Congratulations to everyone who has contributed to this new development including:

Press Release: Lyrasis to Manage Open Source ILS Feature Comparison Tool

Atlanta, GA - May 13, 2014 - LYRASIS and The Galecia Group announce that LYRASIS will be managing and hosting the Open Source ILS Feature Comparison Tool under the LYRASIS FOSS4LIB project, beginning immediately. The move is part of the Open Source Decision Support Tools project, funded in part by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Open Source ILS Feature Comparison Tool, previously on galecia.com, is now available at https://ils.foss4lib.org/

The Open Source ILS Feature Comparison tool compares more than 1,000 features between the Koha and Evergreen open source integrated library systems, and was designed to help libraries navigate open source software options and determine the best fit for their needs. The tool was created in 2012 by The Galecia Group with help from dozens of content contributors from the Koha and Evergreen communities. The project was funded through the Empowering Libraries with Open Source project, part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant awarded to the King County Library System (WA). This move is part of a wider enhancement effort on the FOSS4LIB site, with integration of the ILS feature comparison site with the main FOSS4LIB site, including unified logins and links between the two sites coming soon. The ability to compare other types of software packages in addition to integrated library systems will also be added in the coming months. After completing a registration process, librarians can create custom reports of just the features they need for their libraries. Those who have already registered can still use their login. New users can register athttps://ils.foss4lib.org/user/register.

Catalyst IT Services Looking for more Evergreen Customers

Attached is a nice little article from CIO magazine about King County Library System's move from Innovative to Evergreen, their challenges, and the solutions they've employed.  Here's the article.

Catalyst is interested in doing more work with libraries and now that they have some experience with Evergreen doing development and support, I imagine they'd like to get more customers on that platform.

Vote on Your Most Wanted OPAC Feature in Evergreen

Evergreen (the Open Source ILS) is in the process of transitioning from a technology heavy on the Javascript (JSPAC) to one utilizing the Template Toolkit (TPAC).  Right now, some of the JSPAC features are absent from TPAC.  But since the developers want to phase out JSPAC entirely, they need to be sure to get all the critical functionality that users rely upon from JSPAC into the new TPAC.

Thanks to Michael Peters you can provide this critical feedback to the developers.  What JSPAC features do you think are most important?  Which features should the developers make sure get into TPAC before JSPAC is end-of-lifed?

How to do it?  Respond to this informal survey and make your voice heard.

Go To Survey Now!

Open Letter to Vandana Singh re Open Source ILS Site

A new website has popped up as a result of a research project undertaken at the University of Tennessee School of Information Sciences. The project was funded from an IMLS grant.  I don't know if there is any expectation of keeping up the site but there are some useful things there and some not-so-useful things there.  Several of us have attempted to contact the lead research, Vandana Singh, so she could correct the misrepresentations. But no one has received a response.  Too bad.

Application Development

I presented a session with Jed Moffitt of KCLS on how to get going with new developers in the Evergreen environment. My part of the session focused on the protocols to follow to help ensure your developer has a warm reception from other developers and helps ensure that others know about what you have in mind.

Also included: a sample contract you might want to check out for you and your new developer.