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    November 30th, 2021LISWire aggregatorUncategorized

    Atlanta, Ga., November 30, 2021: This #GivingTuesday, will you help fund a library’s website? Equinox Open Library Initiative announces its 2021 fundraising campaign, “Let’s Get Libraries Online!” From November 30, 2021 through December 31, 2021, Equinox is raising funds to provide libraries with their first websites. This initiative will offer libraries the opportunity to establish a web presence, share library information, broaden reach in the community, and expand access to library resources and collections. Funds raised will be matched with in-kind services from Equinox to deliver user-friendly, mobile-ready websites to selected libraries.

    For every $500 raised, Equinox will grant a library a website, along with training, hosting, and support, which may be renewed indefinitely. The “Let’s Get Libraries Online!” initiative joins Equinox’s other programs which provide funding for open source projects and operational infrastructure to libraries, archives, and cultural heritage organizations. Visit the Equinox website for more information about these programs (https://www.equinoxoli.org/collaborate/#grant).

    “A library’s website is a critically important asset to the library and community. It is an access point for community information, civic and educational resources, workforce development tools, print and electronic collections, programs and events, historical research, and much more,” said Lisa Carlucci, Executive Director at Equinox. “Library websites also serve another important purpose, which is to ensure that libraries are visible, findable, and accessible to all. We’re excited to kick off the “Let’s Get Libraries Online!” campaign and provide first time websites to libraries.”

    Follow Equinox Open Library Initiative on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for the latest updates. To receive news directly in your inbox, sign up for the mailing list at: https://www.equinoxOLI.org/#signup

    For more information:
    Laura Barry
    Communications Coordinator
    Equinox Open Library Initiative, Inc.
    EquinoxOLI.org
    laura.barry@equinoxOLI.org
    877.OPEN.ILS (877.673.6457)

    About Equinox Open Library Initiative
    Equinox Open Library Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is the successor to Equinox Software, Inc. Equinox's mission as a nonprofit is to promote and support a thriving ecosystem for open source library communities in order to provide libraries worldwide with innovative, affordable, and sustainable open source solutions. We are devoted to reducing barriers to library technology and services, expanding library access to open source software, and providing high quality technology, consulting, and support services.To learn more, please visit https://www.equinoxOLI.org.

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    November 29th, 2021LISWire aggregatorUncategorized

    ByWater Solutions, America’s forefront provider of Open Source library technology support, announced today that they have partnered with Unique Management Services to provide support and integration with communication services within Koha ILS.

    This integration provides services from Unique that were designed to innovate library to patron communication services. ByWater Solutions and Unique Management Services worked directly with Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) in Maryland to bring this enhancement into Koha. MCPL's involvement was crucial for the success of the integration.

    Joy Nelson, President, Koha Division at ByWater Solutions recently commented on the partnership, "We are thrilled to partner with Unique to help libraries communicate with their patrons. This development initiative directly complements the work we do in Koha and meshes with our mission to empower libraries. We look forward to expanding our work with Unique."

    Integration with Unique Services
    Koha can now connect directly to the Gentle Nudge ® process with Unique. This has been designed to meet the needs of libraries by effectively working to recover materials and other assets while preserving patron dignity and goodwill.

    Koha can now also connect directly to MessageBee. This integration allows libraries to send bold, engaging and branded emails, text messages, and automated phone calls with MessageBee.
    Unique’s number one goal is to help libraries improve communication with their patron customers. Ranging from helping libraries recover overdue materials to sending the many thousands of daily messages to patrons about their engagement with their home library, we hope to make the process better and more automated. The team at ByWater was fantastic and made the process very smooth. Creating these automated workflows will save time for library staff and improve overall library communications."

    Library Partnerships
    'Working one on one with Unique Management Services and Montgomery County Public Libraries was critical to getting this integration set up. Librarian-driven development for these services ensures that the process and workflows are easy for staff and end-users."

    James Donaldson, Assistant Director at Montgomery County Public Libraries, recently commented on the integration, "We are pleased to have worked with our partners at ByWater Solutions and Unique Management Services to add this functionality to Koha. It will help us connect with our customers and ensure the timely recovery of our materials, so other community members can benefit from them."

    About Montgomery County Public Libraries
    Montgomery County Public Libraries offers free and equal access to services and resources that connect the people of Montgomery County to ideas and information which sustain and enrich their lives. For more information: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/library/.

    About Unique Management Services
    Unique Management Services is the preferred patron communication partner for nearly 2,000 library systems worldwide. Initially known for their Material Recovery program (which has returned over $1 Billion to library systems), Unique now provides communication resources for all aspects of communicating with library patrons and prospective patrons. Learn more at https://uniquelibrary.com/.

    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
    Director of Library Sales & Outreach
    ByWater Solutions
    bywatersolutions.com
    Phone:(888)900-8944

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    November 17th, 2021LISWire aggregatorUncategorized

    ByWater Solutions, America’s forefront provider of Open Source library technology support, announced today that they are providing support and hosting services for the Aspen Open Source Discovery system for Rapid City Public Library in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Rapid City Public Library has been a Koha and ByWater partner since 2015. We are excited to expand our partnership!

    You can view Rapid City Public Library's Aspen Discovery interface by visiting: catalog.rapidcitylibrary.org/

    Morgan Daigneault of the Aspen Discovery Implementation Team recently commented, "Lisa DaSilva was the contact for this project and she was fantastic to work with during the entire implementation process. She picked up on Aspen Discovery right away and figured out so much on her own with tutorials before we even started training! They have created such a beautiful site already. I'm excited to continue to work with her and Rapid City in the future!"

    About Rapid City Public Library
    Rapid City Public Library is a member of the Black Hills Consortium in South Dakota. In addition to books, audiobooks and movies, Rapid City Public Library provides a wide variety of services including:

    A makerspace with access to 3D printing, laser engraving, large format printing, laminating and more
    Access to over 260,000 ebooks, audiobooks, movies and music albums available 24/7
    Board games and video games
    Meeting and study rooms
    Notary, proctoring, and research assistance
    And more!
    Learn more about Rapid City Public Library here: www.rcgov.org/departments/library.html

    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 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 Aspen Discovery
    Aspen is a full-featured Discovery System that integrates with eContent and other third-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. It also improves relevancy and ease of use, provides native reading recommendations, displays all formats of titles within one result (record grouping), and much more. With included features like web builder and mobile app (Aspen LiDA), Aspen was created to give users an improved experience over other Discovery systems, with less impact on library budgets.

    For more information about Aspen please visit: https://bywatersolutions.com/projects/aspen-discovery

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

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    November 16th, 2021LISWire aggregatorUncategorized

    "Aspen LiDA is a wonderful tool for patrons to more easily use their library from more devices. We're excited to have worked with the Aspen community to launch Aspen LiDA and we're excited to continue to work with them to continue the evolution of Aspen LiDA!" - Mark Noble, Aspen Discovery Team Lead

    ByWater Solutions, America’s forefront provider of open-source library technology support, announced today that they have launched Aspen LiDA (pronounced Lee-dah; Library Discovery App), a companion app to Aspen Discovery.

    Aspen Discovery provides a simple and powerful way for patrons to find exactly what they are looking for in their library's catalog. Now with Aspen LiDA, they have access wherever they are. We believe that patrons deserve a better way to discover all the amazing resources that libraries offer, and with Aspen LiDA, everything is in the palm of their hands.

    When we started development of Aspen LiDA, we knew we wanted a platform that was easy to maintain on a variety of devices and that had a robust community around it. Of course, we also needed the code to be Open Source so that it can be extended by our team and developers at other libraries. Christofer Zorn at AJAX Public Library in Canada had built an app that met these needs and formed a strong foundation for Aspen LiDA. By utilizing the APIs within Aspen Discovery, we were able to leverage functionality to make it easier to create the app and ensure consistency between Aspen Discovery and Aspen LiDA. Because Aspen LiDA and Aspen Discovery are both Open Source, we were able to iterate quickly with our partners as they contributed code to help advance the development of Aspen LiDA from a few year project to a few month project!

    Because we had a strong foundation to build on, Kirstien Kroeger, ByWater Solutions' lead developer for Aspen LiDA, was able to concentrate on functionality that was unique for supporting the needs of multiple libraries within a single app.

    We currently have approximately 900 libraries active within Aspen LiDA and that number is growing continuously. Obviously, that is more libraries than can be easily browsed by a patron so we needed to find a way for patrons to quickly find their library. We turned to geolocation to make it easy for patrons to find libraries within 60 miles of their current location to get a more limited view of libraries. Once the number of libraries has been limited, they can easily select their location from that list.

    As patrons login to Aspen LiDA we are able to use information about the library they have selected to personalize Aspen LiDA to them based on settings that the library configures within Aspen Discovery. By using Aspen Discovery as the central location where all customization is done, we are able to streamline the administration of both Aspen Discovery and Aspen LiDA to provide a consistent look and feel for patrons.

    Another example of Administration carrying over between Aspen Discovery and Aspen LiDA are the Browse Categories that allow patrons to easily discover materials that they might not otherwise know about. Many libraries use Browse Categories to highlight seasonal content, special collections, popular materials and more. Within Aspen Discovery, any staff curated list and any search can be turned into a Browse Category with just a couple of clicks. As new categories are created within Aspen Discovery, they will automatically appear within Aspen LiDA. If a library is part of a consortium, the categories are also unique to each library within the consortium so each library can have it’s own branding and best serve it’s patrons. Similarly, searching within Aspen LiDA is specific to the patron’s home library so that materials they have access to are displayed. Because Aspen LiDA uses the Aspen APIs we maintain the speed of searching, have highly relevant results, and we’re able to show all formats that a title is available in.

    When first loading up Aspen LiDA after logging in, patrons are delivered a beautiful “Netflix-style” grid of cover art. In this initial screen, each Browse Category (and it’s subcategories) is given a grid of cover art that allow patrons to easily find and discover new materials. For traditional catalog searchers, patrons can dive into materials by using the Search screen. Just as you expect, here you can search based on keyword or title. To inspire a patron’s journey through the catalog, we’ve also offered a few ready-to-use “predefined” popular searches like Superheroes or U.S. History. Patrons can easily find physical materials, as well as check out, place holds, and access e-content directly from the app.

    We are already finding libraries and their users are loving the ease of use and functionalities available with Aspen LiDA. We were able to launch the app in a matter of a few months thanks to feedback and testing in the Aspen Community. We continue working each day to add increased functionality in the app that meets and exceeds the needs of Aspen libraries and their users.

    Watch a demo: https://youtu.be/AxjSI6q9Mwk

    Download now on Apple or Google Play!

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

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    November 12th, 2021LISWire aggregatorUncategorized

    Atlanta, Ga., November 11, 2021: Equinox Open Library Initiative, an expert leader in open source technology development and support for libraries, is pleased to welcome Pearisburg Public Library to the Virginia Evergreen Libraries system with their deployment of Evergreen ILS, an award winning library solution used by more than 1,800 libraries worldwide.

    The Pearisburg Public Library began serving its community in 1963, begun by the fundraising efforts of the Pearisburg’s Women's Club. Today they serve 8,590 patrons and their migration encompasses 66,009 bibliographic records. Equinox supported the migration with their project management and configuration services in addition to deduplication and data conversion for the Pearisburg Public Library. They will be hosted on Sequoia, Equinox’s hosting platform for open source tools for library automation services. Remote training was provided by Equinox’s expert team of degreed librarians.

    "Pearisburg is excited to join the Virginia Evergreen Library system,” said Allison Long, Director of Library Services for Pearisburg Public Library. “The ability to place holds and renew items online has been a longstanding request from our patrons. With Evergreen, we can fulfill those requests and offer even better service to the community!"

    Virginia Evergreen Libraries was founded to provide the state of Virginia with an affordable, integrated open source library system. It is supported by its member libraries, the Library of Virginia, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

    “Supporting communities by empowering libraries is a core part of what we do at Equinox,” said Jason Etheridge, Senior Developer at Equinox. “We are excited to make resources more accessible to users of the Pearisburg Public Library with their addition to the Virginia Evergreen Libraries consortium.”
    Follow Equinox Open Library Initiative on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Vimeo for the latest updates.

    To receive news directly in your inbox: https://www.equinoxOLI.org/#signup

    For more information:
    Laura Barry
    Communications Coordinator
    Equinox Open Library Initiative, Inc.
    EquinoxOLI.org
    laura.barry@equinoxOLI.org
    877.OPEN.ILS (877.673.6457)

    About Equinox Open Library Initiative
    Equinox Open Library Initiative provides innovative open source software for libraries of all types and delivers extraordinary service at exceptional value. As the successor to Equinox Software, Inc., Equinox Open Library Initiative builds upon more than a decade of trusted service and technical expertise, providing consulting services, software development, hosting, training, and support for Evergreen ILS, Koha ILS, and other open source library software. To learn more, please visit https://www.equinoxOLI.org. For Equinox Library Services Canada, please visit https://www.equinoxOLI.ca.

    About Evergreen
    Evergreen Integrated Library System is an award winning and trusted library solution used by more than 1,800 libraries worldwide. Evergreen ILS is a web-based and mobile-friendly system which provides attractive, easy to use interfaces for library acquisitions, administration, cataloging, circulation, OPAC, reports, course reserves, and serials functionality.

    Evergreen ILS is an enterprise level system designed to manage a scalable catalog shared across libraries, including large public and academic library consortia. While designed for large collections, Evergreen is suitable for libraries of any size and type from government libraries to museum and special library collections. Its flexibility enables libraries to configure policies and settings that work best for their communities and to maintain ownership of their library and systems data.

    For more information about Evergreen: https://www.equinoxoli.org/products/evergreen/.

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