Sign up now, mark your calendars and pick your favorite topics for this series of weekly webinars offering fun and informative stuff good for libraries. Here's the line-up that's filling out with more great speakers everyday:

3/12 SOPAC - John Blyberg
3/19 Creating Open Source Sandboxes with BitNami - Mark Beatty
3/26 Wordpress as a CMS - Karen Coombs
4/2 Mobile Applications for Libraries
4/9 LibraryThing for Libraries - Jen Schmidt and Ingrid Lebolt
4/16 LibX Searching Toolbars - Jen Holmen and Anne Zarinnia
all sessions are Thursdays, 2:00-3:00 p.m. Central Time

Register now for individual webinars at $25 each, or for the whole series at the bargain rate of $100 for 6, at:
http://www.wils.wisc.edu/events/opsolutions_reg.html

You can keep up on the latest series information and comments from speakers at our series blog:
http://librarywebinars.blogspot.com/

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Library Open Source Webinars Registration and Attendance Details

Each one hour Webinar will present about 45 minutes of content including live web demonstrations, leaving some time in the hour for questions and discussions. Participants use an internet enabled computer to view the content and a phone line to hear and talk. Long distance is via an 800 number. Speaker phones with mute buttons are a good thing for groups.

Register for individual webinars, $25 each, or for the whole series, at the bargain rate of $100 for 6, at:
http://www.wils.wisc.edu/events/opsolutions_reg.html
Upon registration you will receive an email with the log in information for your selected session(s), as well as log in information to access the webinar recordings. Recordings will be available for up at a year and can be registered for and viewed the same as the live sessions.

Registration fees are per site. This approach allows us to share the programming across more participants using fewer "lines". Registrants from the same library site should plan on sharing and using a single log in line saving your library money and saving WiLS resources to provide the Webinars to more libraries. Your log in allows you to share the webinar by "crowding around a PC" or projecting to a screen for a group. It also allows you to share the recording log on at your site. Again speaker phones with mute buttons are a very good thing for groups.

If you have any questions about the Webinar series don't hesitate to contact me at:
mbeatty@wils.wisc.edu, or phone 608.265.5179

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Mark Beatty
mbeatty@wils.wisc.edu
WiLS, 728 State St. Room 464, Madison, WI 53706 608.265.5719
http://www.wils.wisc.edu

Four on the Floor: Evergreen Indiana Continues to Grow
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Norcross, GA – March 10, 2009
Madison-Jefferson County, Otterbein, Thorntown, and Hagerstown Public Libraries have gone live with Evergreen, the consortial-quality open-source library automation software. 24 libraries are now part of Evergreen Indiana, a shared-catalog project of the Indiana State Library. Equinox Software, Inc., the support and development company established by the original Evergreen developers, provided bumper-to-bumper support for the migrations and is now providing round-the-clock ongoing technical support.
According to Karen Niemeyer, Director of Thorntown Public Library, "The library staff plan to serve our customers well with Evergreen Indiana for many, many years and are very excited to be sharing the system with the other two public libraries in our county as well as other libraries throughout the state. Our customers are very used to shared catalogs and to our sharing of resources and borrowing for them from across the nation and even the world."

Brad LaJeunesse, Equinox company president, said, “The resilience and flexibility of Evergreen become more evident as Indiana’s shared catalog grows. The fact that hundreds of libraries in Georgia thrive on one shared Evergreen catalog underscores that the sky’s the limit for Indiana.”

Bibliographic holdings for each library are 128,288 for Madison-Jefferson County 19,223 for Otterbein, 55,758 for Thornton, and 34,000 for Hagerstown. View the Evergreen Indiana shared catalog at http://evergreen.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 carefully-planned releases that have further strengthened Evergreen’s consortial capabilities while adding popular and useful functionality. Evergreen 2.0, due out in 2009, will add acquisitions, serials, and reserves to Evergreen’s outstanding functionality.
From its debut in September 2006, Evergreen has earned acclaim and praise from users worldwide, 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, the National Weather Center Library, and the University of Prince Edward Island. Other libraries contracting with Equinox software for Evergreen services include King County Library System—a public library system in Washington State—and the thirteen libraries of Natural Resources Canada. A number of libraries “go it alone” with Evergreen by providing their own migration and support, which further demonstrates the power, ease, and reliability of this state-of-the-art library software.
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, 770-709-5571
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 trademarks of the Georgia Public Library Service.

Library Partnerships

New Book Helps School and Public Libraries Connect, Partner, and Share Resources to Improve and Expand Services Even During Times of Extreme Fiscal Restraint

March 9, 2009, Medford, NJ—Information Today, Inc. (ITI) has announced the publication of Library Partnerships: Making Connections Between School and Pubic Libraries by Tasha Squires. In the new book, young adult library consultant Squires demonstrates a range of ways in which school and public libraries can create mutually beneficial relationships.

According to Library Journal’s 2009 Budget Survey, most libraries are anticipating and preparing for budget cuts during this fiscal year. This means that libraries and librarians are facing the task of doing more with fewer resources. In Library Partnerships, Squires offers practical strategies for school and public librarians to appreciate, communicate, and build on the benefits of public/school library relationships in order to make the most of tight budgets, create resource rich environments, and promote the development of lifelong learners.

For public and school librarians to reap the benefits of working together, they must embrace one of Squires’s core principles: collaboration. “While we all know what collaboration is, and we know that we are supposed to be doing it, we don’t always find the time for the one type of collaboration for promoting literacy in the youth we serve: collaboration between school and public libraries,” Squires said. “This is a disservice to the youth we worry about night and day, trying always to increase their desire to read, learn, and grow, both within and outside our library walls.”

“When library partnerships are born and nurtured between school and public librarians, programs flourish that service young people in extraordinary ways,” according to Gail Bush, PhD, Director for the Center for Teaching Through Children’s Books, writing in the Foreword to Library Partnerships. “Generations mingle, artifacts are displayed, hot books are booktalked, summertime is reading time, and exhausted librarians are fulfilled.

“As funding is cut at many school and public libraries, partnerships become even more important,” said Amy Alessio, a teen librarian and co-author of A Year of Programs for Teens “This practical guide offers many time-saving paths to successful cooperation.” Jennifer Bromann, school library media specialist at Lincoln-Way (IL) Central High School, called Library Partnerships “the most comprehensive and practical source available on partnerships between public and school libraries.”

Library Partnerships includes the following chapters:

1. Relationships Take Work
2. Partnership Basics
3. Changing Seasons
4. After-School Blues
5. From Basic to Bravo!
6. Using Technology to Partner
7. Resource Sharing
8. Visits
9. Garnering Support
10. Keeping it Going

In addition to the Foreword by Gail Bush, Library Partnerships features an Introduction by the author, interviews with school and public librarians who are currently involved in collaboration efforts, numerous helpful sidebars, a recommended reading list, and an index. This practical and timely book is a must-read for school and public librarians who want to successfully connect and collaborate with other youth-focused professionals in their areas.

About the Author
Tasha Squires currently works as a young adult consultant for the Shorewood-Troy Public Library District in Shorewood, Illinois, collaborating on programs for teens while completing her certification as a school library media specialist. She was the young adult librarian for the Fountaindale Public Library District in Bolingbrook, Illinois, for more than eight years. She has contributed articles to Know Kidding: The Best of the Best in Youth Services (Wheeling, Illinois, 2003) and the Info Career Trends electronic newsletter. Tasha holds an MLIS from Dominican University.

Library Partnerships: Making Connections Between School and Pubic Libraries( 224 pp/softbound/$39.50/ISBN 978-1-57387-362-8) is published by Information Today, Inc. It is available in bookstores and direct from the publisher by calling (800) 300-9868 [outside the U.S., call (609) 654-6266]; faxing (609) 654-4309; emailing custserv@infotoday.com; or visiting the ITI website at www.infotoday.com.

Queens Library invites all our colleagues to experience "Innovation in Libraries by The Shanachies," Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 9:30 am, Queens Library at Flushing, 41-17 Main Street at Kissena Boulevard, Flushing NY. Admission is free. RSVPs are essential. Please email lgarciafebo@queenslibrary.org.

Erik Boekesteijn and Jaap van de Geer are worldwide recognized specialists in gaming, libraries and innovation. They work at DOK Library Concept Center, a public library in the city of Delft in The Netherlands. Jaap is the Head of Innovation, and Erik is the Master of Communications. They call themselves The Shanachies (storytellers). They will share best practices and innovative ideas using web 2.0 tools, video, sound, art and cross-media to make your library appealing to customers from all ages and backgrounds.

Queens Library is an independent, not-for-profit corporation and is not affiliated with any other library. The Queens Library serves a population of 2.2 million in the most ethnically diverse county in the U.S. With a record 22.8 million items in circulation for FY 2008, the Library has the highest circulation of any public library system in the U.S. and one of the highest circulations in the world. For more information about programs, services, locations, events and news, visit the Queens Library Web site at www.queenslibrary.org or phone 718-990-0700. Queens Library. Enrich Your Life ®.

Noble County (Ind.) Public Library Goes Live With Evergreen
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Norcross, GA – March 3, 2009
Noble County Public Library is the twentieth public library to go live on Evergreen Indiana, a shared-catalog project of the Indiana State Library powered by Evergreen, the consortial-quality open-source library automation software. Equinox Software, Inc., the support and development company established by the original Evergreen developers, provided bumper-to-bumper support for the migrations and is now providing round-the-clock ongoing technical support. Alpha-G Consulting assisted with data migration.
According to Sandy Petrie, Director of Noble County Public Library, “We are very grateful for this opportunity to join Evergreen. With the slow economy and tighter budgets, Evergreen is allowing us to give our patrons enhanced services while vastly reducing our expenses. The product and the timing could not be better.”

“Open source software offers peace of mind and the knowledge that you can demonstrate your purchase is a smart decision,” said Brad LaJeunesse, Equinox company president. “This is code you can see, download, and examine—no hidden secrets, no bad surprises. Plus the history of Evergreen underscores its most important feature: no matter how big or small the library, it just works.”

Noble County Public Library has three branches located in Albion, Avilla, and Cromwell. Together these branches serve 14,000 patron and hold 72,000 bibliographic items. The new Noble County Public Library online catalog and the complete Evergreen Indiana shared catalog can be viewed at http://evergreen.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 carefully-planned releases that have further strengthened Evergreen’s consortial capabilities while adding popular and useful functionality. Evergreen 2.0, due out in 2009, will add acquisitions, serials, and reserves to Evergreen’s outstanding functionality.
From its debut in September 2006, Evergreen has earned acclaim and praise from users worldwide, 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, the National Weather Center Library, and the University of Prince Edward Island. Other libraries contracting with Equinox software for Evergreen services include King County Library System—a public library system in Washington State—and the thirteen libraries of Natural Resources Canada. A number of libraries “go it alone” with Evergreen by providing their own migration and support, which further demonstrates the power, ease, and reliability of this state-of-the-art library software.
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, 770-709-5571