Collaborating to Ready Evergreen for Massachusetts Libraries 

Kathy Lussier, MassLNC Project CoordinatorMassachusetts Library Association Conference

May 10, 2012

The Massachusetts Evergreen Project

• What have the MassLNC consortia been doing for the past 2 years?

• What does the switch to open source software mean for libraries?

• Working with the greater Evergreen community.

• MassLNC’s future

Background

• Joint Application for $412,000 LSTA Grant.• C/W MARS• MVLC• NOBLE

• Investigate and select a single open source Integrated Library System.

• Jointly develop the system to better meet local needs.

• Mutual support system.

MassLNC Libraries Go Evergreen

• MVLC live on Evergreen since May 31, 2011.

• C/W MARS and NOBLE going live on May 29, 2012.

A new model for collaboration around Evergreen

MassLNC Pre-Migration Activities

• Shared decisions

• Mutual support

• Shared development

Evergreen Development

• Iterative process of identifying and prioritizing needs.

• Monitoring of development from other Evergreen libraries.

• Communication with Evergreen community about development plans.

• Open RFP’s to find contractors.

Some MassLNC sponsored projects• Major cataloging enhancements.

• Support for texting call numbers and hold notices.

• Enhancements to Syrup academic course reserves systems.

• Improved scoping in the public catalog.

• General staff client improvements.

• Improvements to the newly-developed acquisitions system.

Challenges

• The public catalog was a moving target throughout the project.

Traditional Evergreen Catalog

New Evergreen Catalog

Challenges

• The public catalog was a moving target throughout the project

• Release schedules

• Small vendor community

Highlights

• Greater communication among 3 participating networks.

• Working collaboratively with greater Evergreen community.• Development partnerships lead to greater savings.

• Seeing wishes turned into functionality.• MVLC post-migration punchlist – 46 requests for enhancements;

25 have been addressed or are in the works.

What does the switch to open source software mean for libraries?

• Libraries gain control over their systems

• Functionality

• Use of funds

• Who supports the system

• But there are constraints

Changing ways networks provide services

• In the past, new ideas sometimes led to dead ends because a vendor was unwilling to make the necessary development happen.

• Now, the decision lies in the network’s hands.

About the Evergreen Community

• Evergreen is a member of the Software Freedom Conservancy.

• Holds assets on behalf of Evergreen.

• A two-year-old Oversight Board formed to safeguard and govern the interests of the larger Evergreen user and developer communities.

• Maturing development cycles

Participation in the community

• Community involvement is a key component to success with OSS.

• For Evergreen support

• For bug fixes & development

• For building partnerships

MassLNC participation at all levels

• Core Committer – Thomas Berezansky, MVLC

• Chief Bug Wrangler – Jason Stephenson, MVLC

• Evergreen Oversight Board member – Kathy Lussier, MassLNC

• Various levels of participation in Documentation Interest group, Reports Interest Group, Cataloging Interest Group.

MassLNC’s Future• Business Planning Task Force formed to set future

direction of project.

• Opportunity to assess what is needed to support continued cooperation.

• Will continue with central coordinator.

• All networks committing funds to continue development.

• New governance structure begins July 1.

Questions?