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Grand Rapids Public Library Goes Live With Evergreen

Press Release: Equinox [September 30, 2008]

Norcross, GA -- September 30, 2008. The Grand Rapids Public Library has gone live with Evergreen, the consortial-quality open-source library automation software. GRPL follows Branch District Library in Branch County as the second of seven public libraries in the Michigan Evergreen project that will migrate to Evergreen by the end of the year. Michigan Evergreen is a shared-catalog project administered by the Michigan Library Consortium (MLC). Equinox Software, Inc., the support and development company for Evergreen, provided bumper-to-bumper support during the data migration process.

"The Evergreen catalog was developed for the 275 libraries in the PINES Library system in Georgia," said Marcia Warner, director of Grand Rapids Public Library. "The move to the Evergreen system allows us more flexibility to adapt the catalog to meet our patrons’ needs, offer innovative features such as freezing holds and creating book bags, while at the same time reducing costs."

"We applaud the Grand Rapids Public Library in taking steps to transform their library service and to be at the forefront for the state as the leader in moving to this new technology and setting an example for other libraries throughout the state to follow," said Lakeland Library Cooperative Director Sandra Wilson. Brad LaJeunesse, Equinox company president, added, "In addition to up-front cost savings and a support plan that really delivers, MLC now has the security and flexibility that open source brings to software decisions."

The Grand Rapids Public Library was founded in 1871 and was originally located in City Hall. Today the library operates out of its main location on Library Street as well as seven other branches located throughout the city. Grand Rapids Public Library currently houses 925,000 bibliographic items and serves a population of over 197,000 residents.

The Grand Rapids Public Library will oversee day-to-day administration for the new server for all seven pilot libraries, and MLC will provide support and training to the participating libraries. Equinox will also provide ongoing technical support to MLC’s Evergreen implementation.

The library’s website can be seen at http://www.grpl.org and their new online catalog can be viewed at http://grpl.michiganevergreen.org . For more information about the Michigan Evergreen project, see the project wiki at http://mlcnet.org/wiki or follow the latest activity at http://www.mlcnet.org/evergreen, the Michigan Evergreen blog.

About Evergreen

Evergreen is consortial-quality, open-source library system software. Evergreen was initially developed to support Georgia PINES, a resource-sharing consortium with over 270 public libraries. While Evergreen was designed from the ground up to meet the needs of very large, high-transaction, multi-site consortia, its robust, fault-tolerant architecture elegantly scales down to the smallest sites. Evergreen is also adaptive software that due to its service-oriented, standards-compliant design can nimbly evolve to meet changing library needs and user expectations.

From its debut in September 2006, Evergreen has consistently outperformed expectations and resulted in acclaim and praise from users worldwide. Evergreen has received significant attention, including a Technology Collaboration Award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Additional Evergreen implementations include the Michigan Library Consortium, the Indiana Open Source Initiative, British Columbia SITKA, and several smaller implementations, such as Kent County Public Library in Maryland and Marshall Public Library in Missouri. 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.

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Publication Year:2008
Type of Material:Press Release
Language English
Issue:September 30, 2008
Publisher:Equinox
Company: Equinox
Products: Evergreen
Libraries: Grand Rapids Public Library
Subject: System announcements -- installations
Record Number:13553
Last Update:2024-12-14 06:03:54
Date Created:2008-09-30 08:47:06
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