North Texas Library Consortium Goes Live With Evergreen
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Norcross, GA — September 21, 2009

Thirteen libraries in Texas have gone live with Evergreen, the robust, highly scalable open-source library automation software, creating a shared Evergreen catalog representing nearly 100,000 registered users. 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.
The newly-formed North Texas Library Consortium (NTLC) is a resource-sharing project by the North Texas Regional Library System. This is the first known shared Evergreen catalog in Texas.
Adam Wright, Executive Director of the North Texas Library Partners, said, “The North Texas Regional Library System is excited for its member libraries moving to Evergreen. Each community served by this consortium will realize a large value in the sharing of the resources between them. Each library director should be commended and held up as a hero. They truly inspire me!”

“NTLC not only gets the benefits of Evergreen’s excellent feature set, but can now grow as big as they need to,” said Brad LaJeunesse, Equinox company president. “With Evergreen, the big Texas sky is the limit.”

About the North Texas Regional Library System

NTRLS is one of the 10 regional library systems which, along with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, make up the Texas State Library System. The regional systems exist to promote and assist the development of strong community libraries. NTRLS is responsible for setting policies and procedures for the services it provides to member libraries, but each member library remains autonomous. Current members of NTRLS include over 70 public library entities in the 20-county region.

About Evergreen
Evergreen is robust, highly scalable open-source library software. While Evergreen is best known for its unique ability to meet the needs of very large, high-transaction, multi-site consortia, Evergreen also elegantly scales down to the smallest library sites.
Since its debut in September 2006 as the software powering the 270-plus libraries of the Georgia PINES consortium, Evergreen has earned acclaim and praise from users worldwide, including a Technology Collaboration Award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Evergreen now supports hundreds of libraries of every type—public, academic, special, and school media—in 12 states and 2 countries.
Evergreen is open source software, freely licensed under the GNU GPL. Evergreen and the Evergreen logo are trademarks of the Georgia Public Library Service. For more information about Evergreen, including a list of all known Evergreen installations, see http://evergreen-ils.org.

About Equinox Software, Inc.
Founded by the original Evergreen designers and developers, Equinox Software is a growing team of skilled 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. Equinox also offers hosting packages for libraries that prefer not to maintain local servers.
For more information on Equinox Software, please visit http://www.esilibrary.com.
Press contact: Corinne Hall, corinne@esilibrary.com, 678-269-6113

The Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government, has awarded the PLINKIT Collaborative a 2009 Digital Government Achievement Award in the Government-to-Government category.

The Digital Government Achievement Awards showcase progressive and innovative web sites and digital applications by government entities worldwide.  The awards are judged by a panel of experts on a wide range of categories, including site accessibility, innovation, cost-savings, ease of use, and exceptional service to the public.

Cathilea Robinett, executive director of the Center for Digital Government, said, “We congratulate the winners of this year’s awards.  They are terrific examples of first-rate ideas and collaboration on digital solutions which ultimately benefit citizens.”

Plinkit is software that lets libraries maintain rich web sites without any technical expertise.  Libraries that previously had no web presence or that offered only a basic, static web page can now connect with customers online, letting them search library catalogs and databases, view slide shows and videos, peruse event calendars, and much more.  Plinkit is especially valuable in rural areas where long distances and limited hours make it difficult for patrons to go to the library in person.  More than 250 libraries in Oregon, Texas, Illinois and Colorado are able to serve their hundreds of thousands of users online because of Plinkit. That number is expected to explode as upgraded software will soon be available and the Virginia and Michigan state libraries, as well as the Nebraska Library Commission, INCOLSA and Lyrasis have become members.

View the Center for Digital Government’s press release.

September 21, 2009, Medford, NJ—Information Today, Inc. (ITI) has announced the publication of Library Mashups: Exploring New Ways to Deliver Library Data, edited by Nicole C. Engard.

As web users become more savvy and demanding, libraries are encouraging patrons to help keep library websites dynamically and collaboratively up-to-date. According to Engard, mashups—web applications that combine freely available data from various sources to create something new—can help libraries meet patrons’ expectations and provide superior web-based service. In the book, Engard and 25 contributors present numerous practical and innovative examples.

“Library Mashups is a great resource for anyone aspiring to create cutting-edge library services,” said Raymond Yee, Ph.D., author of Pro Web 2.0 Mashups: Remixing Data and Web Services. “The book’s case studies draw from the practical experiences of an impressive group of forward-thinking professionals in the field.”
Examples of mashups in the book range from ways to allow those without programming skills to make simple website updates, to modifying the library OPAC, to using popular sites like Flickr, Yahoo!, LibraryThing, Google Maps, and Delicious to share and combine digital content.

“This book illustrates not only what is different from the past but also how libraries can continue adding new value in the future,” according to Jenny Levine, blogger of The Shifted Librarian, writing in the Foreword to the book. “Creatively utilizing these new tools has empowered libraries to experiment and create new resources, as well as enhance traditional ones.”

With human and financial resources shrinking in many libraries, the content in Library Mashups is designed to be useful to librarians with limited budgets. Librarians who have little or no experience with web programming as well as the technologically savvy will find value in Library Mashups. “The goal of this guide is to teach you the basics of what mashups are and how they have been used in libraries worldwide,” Engard says in the book’s Introduction. “It is my hope that after reading this book, you will be inspired to make at least one change to your library site.”

In addition to Library Journal “Mover & Shaker” Nicole Engard, contributors to Library Mashups include these librarians and technology specialists who have done pioneering work in enriching library services:

• Derik A. Badman
• Bonaria Biancu
• John Blyberg
• Thomas Brevik
• Jason A. Clark
• Karen A. Coombs
• Mark Dahl
• Joshua Ferraro
• Darlene Fichter
• Joseph Gilbert
• Robin Hastings
• Stephen Hedges
• Brian Herzog
• Karl Jendretzky
• Stuart Lewis
• Jeremy McWilliams
• Matt Mitchell
• Lichen Rancourt
• Bess Sadler
• Wolfram Schneider
• Ross Singer
• Laura Solomon
• Tim Spalding
• Corey Wallis
• Michael C. Witt

In addition to an Introduction by Engard and the Foreword by Levine, Library Mashups features an afterword, a glossary, and an index. As a bonus for readers Engard maintains a companion website to the book at mashups.web2learning.net.

Nicole C. Engard is the Open Source Evangelist at LibLime, where she directs the company’s open source education endeavors. Her interest in library technology started at the Jenkins Law Library in Philadelphia, where she worked as Web Manager. For her innovative uses of technology in libraries, Engard was named one of Library Journal’s Movers & Shakers in 2007. She keeps the library community up to date on web technologies via her website, “What I Learned Today…” (www.web2learning.net). She has been published in Computers in Libraries, ONLINE magazine, and Journal of Hospital Librarianship and written chapters for Thinking Outside the Book: Essays for Innovative Librarians and Writing and Publishing: The Librarian’s Handbook.

Library Mashups: Exploring New Ways to Deliver Library Data (352 pp/softbound/$39.50/ISBN 978-1-57387-372-7) is published by Information Today, Inc. (ITI). It is available in bookstores and direct from the publisher by calling (800) 300-9868; faxing (609) 654-4309; emailing custserv@infotoday.com; or visiting the ITI website at www.infotoday.com. To order the book outside North America contact Facet Publishing: +44 (0)1235 827702; www.facetpublishing.co.uk.