Brazil (Ind.) Public Library Goes Live With Evergreen
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Norcross, GA – January 7, 2009
Brazil (Ind.) Public Library has gone live with Evergreen, the consortial-quality open-source library automation software. The successful migration of this library is part of a process that saw 16 new libraries running Evergreen by the end of 2008 as part of Evergreen Indiana, a shared-catalog project administered by the Indiana State Library. Equinox Software, Inc., the support and development company for Evergreen, is providing bumper-to-bumper support for the migrations as well as round-the-clock ongoing technical support once the catalogs are in place.
“From the staff side all functionalities are smooth and easy to use, and from the patron's side there are so many resources to choose from, and the ease of use is so easy,” said Jill Scarbrough, director of Brazil Public Library. Scarborough added, “Every taxpayer should be grateful to the State Library and Equinox Software Inc. for taking on such a project to make their tax dollars go much farther.”

“Evergreen Indiana showcases the consortial power of Evergreen,” said Brad LaJeunesse, Equinox CEO and part of the original team that wrote Evergreen for PINES, the resource-sharing network of the Georgia Public Library Service. “No product, commercial or open source, was ready for the needs of Georgia PINES until we wrote Evergreen. Indiana has selected the product that can flex forward to the needs of the consortium as it grows.”
The town of Brazil founded its public library in the late nineteenth century, and in 1904 relocated the library to the Carnegie-funded building still in use today. The library’s website is at http://www.brazil.lib.in.us.
About Evergreen
Evergreen is consortial-quality, open-source library software initially developed to support Georgia PINES, a resource-sharing consortium with over 270 public libraries. Evergreen was designed from the ground up to be robust, fault-tolerant, service-oriented, and standards-based. Evergreen nimbly evolves to meet the needs of very large, high-transaction, multi-site consortia while elegantly scaling down to the smallest library sites.
The growing, multinational Evergreen development community has shepherded Evergreen through a series of releases that have further strengthened Evergreen’s consortial qualities while adding popular and useful functionality.
From its debut in September 2006, Evergreen has earned acclaim and praise from users worldwide. Evergreen has received significant attention, including a Technology Collaboration Award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Additional Evergreen implementations include consortial projects such as Michigan Evergreen and British Columbia SITKA, and libraries such as Kent County Public Library in Maryland, Marshall Public Library in Missouri, and the University of Prince Edward Island. For more information about Evergreen, visit http://evergreen-ils.org.

About Equinox Software, Inc.
Founded by the original Evergreen designers and developers, Equinox Software is a growing team of skilled developers and other professionals who provide comprehensive support for Evergreen, the consortial-quality, open source Integrated Library System (ILS). Equinox develops, supports, trains, migrates, integrates, and consults on Evergreen, and engages with the rapidly expanding Evergreen community. Instead of one-size-fits-all support, Equinox works closely with libraries to ensure Evergreen is implemented in the manner that best fits their individual needs. In addition to support, custom development and integration services, Equinox offers complete Evergreen hosting packages for libraries wishing to outsource their ILS infrastructure. Equinox also provides consulting services for libraries seeking more insight into the value proposition of open source software.
Press contact: Corinne Hall, corinne@esilibrary.com, 678-269-6113
For more information on Equinox Software, please visit http://www.esilibrary.com.
Evergreen is open source software, freely licensed under the GNU GPL. Evergreen and the Evergreen logo are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of the Georgia Public Library Service.

Barb has worked at the Information Desk at the St. Thomas Public Library (Ontario) for almost 20 years. She has written at the amateur level for years and won several small awards in local writing contests. Her entry "was inspired by the cozy mysteries that I see on a daily basis at the library. I always get a kick out of the spunky heroines."

Honourable mention goes Leanne Olson for "Murder, She Sang." Leanne is a new librarian, currently working at the University of Western Ontario, where she completed her MLIS in 2008. "Murder, She Sang" was inspired by the time she spent working as a co-op student in the Music Library at UWO.

Entries were judged on their entertainment value and the inventive use they make of our specialist skills rather than their potential interest to a literary agent.

The winner and honourable mention were selected by a jury from among 21 entries submitted by library and information specialists in all types of roles. The members of the jury were: Mary-Jane Maffini (mystery writer and lapsed-librarian), Ross Gordon (former director of the RCMP Library) and Anne Van Iderstine (Judges' Librarian at the Nova Scotia Dept of Justice).

Effectively Collaborating with Other Libraries and Partners: A MaintainIT Book Club Discussion
When: 01/06/2009 11:00am - 12:00pm Pacific (Noon Mountain/1 PM Central/2 PM Eastern)
Duration: One hour
Every month, MaintainIT hosts an online book club discussion. We select a short chapter from one of the free Cookbooks, invite people to read it, and then meet to discuss. January's Book Club Topic is: Collaborations can enhance the library's ability to serve your community and make library services more visible and valued. Working collaboratively opens up possibilities and enables libraries to share and conserve resources, reach new audiences, and expand services and programs. Are you interested in learning more about effectively collaborating and building partnerships? Read the chapter http://maintainitproject.org/cookbook-3/communication-and-partnerships/e... register for the webinar at http://maintainitproject.org/events, and then join the conversation!

Assistive Technology: A Free Webinar
When: 01/14/2009 11:00am - 12:00pm Pacific (Noon Mountain/1 PM Central/2 PM Eastern)
Registration link: Assistive Technology Webinar
Duration: One hour
Learn about assistive technology!

Using MaintainIT Resources for Technology Training
When: 01/15/2009 11:00am - 12:00pm Pacific
Registration link: Train-the-Trainer Webinar
Duration: One hour
Do you train library staff to use technology? If you do, please consider attending this free one hour webinar. Learn about resources for trainers and hear about training happening in the field

A Need for Speed: Measuring and Managing Bandwidth
When: 01/20/2009 11:00am - 12:00pm Pacific (Noon Mountain/1 PM Central/2 PM Eastern)
Registration link: Need for Speed: Bandwidth Webinar
Duration: 30 minutes
Does it ever feel like your high-speed connection to the Internet is somehow trapped in the slow lane? Are you experiencing the 3 PM chug? There are tools you can use to monitor your network performance and there are techniques you can use to manage bandwidth. Join this fast-paced and interactive webinar to find out more. Take 30 minutes out of your day to learn from the experiences of others and get something started. This is a part of the MaintainIT Cookbook webinar series where contributors to the Cookbooks share their insights, their secrets, and what you can do to get started with projects like theirs.

Stephanie Gerding, MaintainIT Contributor, http://stephaniegerding.com
The MaintainIT Project of TechSoup Global
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