ByWater Solutions, America’s forefront provider of Open Source library technology support, announced that VOKAL (Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries) has added Fletcher Free Library and Lincoln Library to its consortium. They will be using Koha for their ILS.

About Fletcher Free Library
Today the Fletcher Free Library is a vibrant partner in the Burlington community. The collection includes over 155,000 items, including: 5,493 DVDs; 40,820 e-books; 7,845 downloadable audiobooks; 3,380 books on CD or MP3; 315,910 streaming videos; and 111,708 books and everything else (museum passes, book club kits, magazines, databases, subscriptions and gardening tools, etc). Free internet access is available to laptop users and at public access computers. The Library offers the community programs and services that meet your educational, cultural and life-long learning needs.

Find out more about the library here: https://www.fletcherfree.org/History

About Lincoln Library
After a flood in 1998 destroyed the library, the community came together to build a new library. It was opened in July 2000. The Lincoln Library has become a community center for Lincoln and the surrounding area. Many people contribute their time and talents to create the 200 or so programs the Library offers each year for young and old.

Find out more about the library here: https://www.lincolnlibraryvt.com/history.html

About VOKAL
The Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries (VOKAL) is a project of the Green Mountain Library Consortium dedicated to creating a shared catalog and Integrated Library System.

In late 2007, three Vermont libraries joined with a representative from the Vermont Department of Libraries to explore a replacement ILS for Follett, the system currently used by the three libraries. After exploring many options, the group settled on Koha, an open-source ILS solution originally created in New Zealand.

In May of 2008, the group chose the name VOKAL - the Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries - as a name for the group and the project.

Initially, VOKAL's Koha project was implemented on a stand-alone system. In October of 2010, VOKAL implemented a consortium version of the ILS and began migrating member libraries into the shared system. By January 2011, 4 libraries had been migrated.

Today VOKAL has grown to 59 libraries. Read more at https://www.gmlc.org/index.php/vokal

About ByWater Solutions
ByWater Solutions is a full service, high-quality Open Source support and implementation company dedicated to providing libraries with a lower cost, more advanced level of support for their systems than a traditional proprietary solution can offer. ByWater Solutions has a proven track record in the first-rate implementation and support services with library systems of all sizes for the Koha ILS, Aspen Discovery, Folio LSP, Coral ERM, and Libki PC Management.

Our highly ranked, comprehensive support is what sets our company apart from any other vendor in the industry. Partnering with ByWater Solutions not only lowers the cost of implementation and maintenance of OSS but more importantly empowers libraries by giving them the flexibility and freedom they deserve. For more information please visit https://bywatersolutions.com.

About Koha
Koha is the first open-source Integrated Library System (ILS). In use worldwide, its development is steered by a growing community of libraries collaborating to achieve their technology goals. Koha’s impressive feature set continues to evolve and expand to meet the needs of its user base. It includes modules for circulation, cataloging, acquisitions, serials, reserves, patron management, branch relationships, and more.

Koha’s OPAC, circulation, management, and self-checkout interfaces are all based on standards-compliant World Wide Web technologies, HTML5, CSS and Javascript, making Koha a truly platform-independent solution. Koha is distributed under the open-source General Public License (GPL). For more information about Koha, please visit http://koha-community.org.

For more information
Jessica Zairo
Marketing & Outreach Coordinator
ByWater Solutions
bywatersolutions.com
Phone:(888)900-8944

At this year's koha-us annual conference in McKinney, Texas, you can get hands-on experience in the Open Source Observatory. You've heard libraries are using open-source software, now is your chance to explore it.

Interested in attending the 2021 koha-US Annual Conference? You still have time to register through the link above. Full schedule or presentations can be viewed at https://koha-us.org/conference2021/.

IMPORTANT NOTE: After careful consideration of current conditions, the koha-US 2021 Conference will have a mask mandate. Facemasks will be required at all onsite sanctioned events.

If you are interested in attending the conference virtually, online registrations
are complimentary. (Donations to koha-US are welcome and appreciated!)

Open Source Observatory
Join us to get a hands-on experience at the open-source Observatory. McKinney Public Library will also have a model library set up that is completely open-source software. The room will include a Catalog, Self Check-Out, Self Return, PC and Print Management, Data Analytics, Ebooks, SRP, and more. If you want to see how Texas libraries are empowering staff and their patrons with intuitive, open-source software, then come join us. Basically, if you have the hardware and the gumption, this library will really be OPEN! Stop by anytime over the course of the conference, September 21-24.

Not able to travel to the event, but what to experience the open-source observatory? Contact sales@bywatersolutions.com to learn more.

About koha-US
koha-US is a proud partner in a Global Community. While they strive to be a hub for the US users of Koha, they also encourage those users, with the rest of the Koha community, to participate through the various resources listed on the website. Read more about koha-US https://koha-us.org/about/.

About McKinney Public Library
The McKinney Public Libraries offer materials and experiences that educate, inform, and entertain. Read more about the McKinney Public Library at https://www.mckinneytexas.org/116/Library

About Koha
Koha is the first open-source Integrated Library System (ILS). In use worldwide, its development is steered by a growing community of libraries collaborating to achieve their technology goals. Koha’s impressive feature set continues to evolve and expand to meet the needs of its user base. It includes modules for circulation, cataloging, acquisitions, serials, reserves, patron management, branch relationships, and more.

Koha’s OPAC, circulation, management, and self-checkout interfaces are all based on standards-compliant World Wide Web technologies, HTML5, CSS, and Javascript, making Koha a truly platform-independent solution. Koha is distributed under the open-source General Public License (GPL). For more information about Koha, please visit http://koha-community.org.

About Aspen Discovery
Aspen is a full-featured Discovery System that integrates with e-content and other 3rd party providers, giving your patrons comprehensive access to all of your materials in one place. Aspen combines your library catalog with e-content, digital archives and enrichment from all major third party providers, improves relevancy and ease of use, provides native reading recommendations, displays all formats of titles within one result (FRBR) and much more. Aspen was created to give users an improved experience over other Discovery systems with less of an impact on library budgets. For more information about Aspen please visit: https://bywatersolutions.com/projects/aspen-discovery.

About Libki
Libki is a cross-platform Open Source computer reservation & time management system and print management powered by Google Cloud Print. It also features single sign-on integration with the Koha ILS, which is also FOSS.

Libki is ideally suited for use in locations where a controlled computing environment is paramount such as public access systems, libraries, school computer laboratories, and more! Visit https://libki.org.

For More Information
Jessica Zairo
Director of Library Sales & Outreach
ByWater Solutions
bywatersolutions.com
Phone:(888)900-8944

EBSCO Information Services Introduces Ethnic Diversity Source™
~ New Full-Text Resource to Support Researchers in Ethnic and Racial Diversity Studies ~
IPSWICH, Mass. — August 17, 2021 — In a continuing effort to offer full-text resources that support libraries and collection needs, EBSCO Information Services has released Ethnic Diversity Source™. The new full-text resource is dedicated to covering racial diversity and supports universities and colleges with ethnic studies and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Ethnic Diversity Source covers culture, social treatment and lived experiences of underrepresented groups across North America, including but not limited to: African Americans, Arab Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, Jewish Americans, Latinx Americans, Native Americans and Multiracial Americans. The curated resource is comprised of a wide variety of sources including scholarly journals and magazines, primary sources, historical documents, interviews and biographies, as well as robust collections of e-books and videos aligned to represent marginalized populations in North America.

This unique resource supports researchers by helping them to discover ethnic studies concepts, discuss ethnicity and race, and think critically about how current events are influenced by history and politics. Ethnic Diversity Source enables researchers to explore the crossroads of oppression and justice and apply social context to anti-racist studies. The rich variety of source types creates a dynamic research experience for all users.

EBSCO Information Services Senior Vice President of Research Databases Sara Earley says EBSCO recognizes the importance of constantly improving strategies and products to deliver pertinent and relevant resources that best fits the needs of our customers. “EBSCO is committed to making diverse content available in all of our research database products and to include authors and topics that represent a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences as we add new content. The study of ethnicity in North America has become an increasingly important field of study according to customer feedback. Ethnic Diversity Source was specifically developed to meet this need and offers researchers a dedicated, stand-alone resource for ethnic diversity scholarship.”

For more information on Ethnic Diversity Source and other diversity, equity and inclusion research databases, including African American Historical Serials Collection, Bibliography of Asian Studies™, Caribbean Search™, Ebony Magazine Archive, Central & Eastern European Academic Source™, Jewish Studies Source™, LGBTQ+ Source™ and Women’s Studies International™ visit: https://www.ebsco.com/products/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-resources

About EBSCO Information Services
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is the preeminent provider of online research content and search technologies serving academic, school and public libraries; healthcare and medical institutions; corporations; and government agencies around the world. From research, acquisition management, subscription services and discovery to clinical decision support and patient care, learning, and research and development, EBSCO provides institutions with access to content and resources to serve the information and workflow needs of their users and organizations. EBSCO Information Services is a division of EBSCO Industries, Inc., a family-owned company since 1944. For more information, visit the EBSCO website at: www.ebsco.com.

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For more information, please contact:
Kathleen McEvoy
Vice President of Communications
kmcevoy@ebsco.com
(978) 414–0443