System Change At Booth Library Means An Improved Experience

By Nancy K. Crevier

C.H. Booth Library technology specialist Brenda McKinley and librarian Kim Weber are excited about upcoming changes to the current system in place that allows patrons to search for books, and which is used for circulation and cataloging.

The library belongs to a consortium of approximately 50 public and 30 school libraries statewide, called Bibliomation, said Ms McKinley. Since 2004, the consortium has utilized a commercial product known as Horizon.

“Bibliomation is changing because the company that owns Horizon stopped supporting it a few years ago. The consortium has been considering this switch for a couple of years now, and testing products. It’s a big step, and one they did not want to take lightly,” Ms McKinley said. The system is the backbone of the library, said Ms McKinley.

The new system, Evergreen, is open source software developed by the Georgia State Library, and that is one of the most attractive features of Evergreen. Open source, she explained, means that it is free software, available on the Internet. “It’s a nationwide consortium using it, and we are not dependent upon a for-profit company anymore,” Ms McKinley said.

What is means for library patrons is an ease of searching, with the software far less sensitive to user errors than Horizon was, Ms Weber said. “It is an easier search. I’ve tested it a lot, and I love it,” she said.

Unlike Horizon, Evergreen recognizes close spellings, for example. “If you spell a word wrong, or put spaces in the wrong places, it can still find what you are looking for. Users can also enter an author’s first or last name first, instead of having to go in last name first order. If you don’t do that on our current system,” Ms Weber said, “the search comes up as saying the book or article is not available. And that is not always true.”

Another feature of Evergreen that Ms Weber likes is the ease with which users can create their personalized reading lists. That way, users can easily keep track of what books and DVDs he or she has checked out. The library will not track the personalized lists. However, if the user wishes, the lists can be shared with friends or book clubs through social networking.

 “Some of our more advanced users realize that it is possible to create lists, now, and have done so. Those lists, we are told, will be carried over into their new accounts on Evergreen,” Ms McKinley said.

“Our users will see a new online catalog when they go to the home page, after Evergreen is installed. The page is a little different, but there will be prompts to lead the user through the new search process,” Ms McKinley explained. But because the system affects circulation and cataloging, too, staff will need time to adjust to the new system, and it is hoped that for the first few days that Evergreen is up and running, that people will be patient.

The library will be open from 11 am to 8 pm, Monday, May 23, to Thursday, May 26, and on Friday, May 27, from 11 am to 5 pm. The later opening hour provides training time for staff with the new system.

On Friday afternoon, May 27, after 3 pm, patrons will no longer be able to renew or hold library material online. “Then, the whole system will be taken down over an extended and changed Memorial weekend,” Ms Weber said.

The C.H. Booth Library will be closed Saturday, May 28, through, and including, Tuesday, May 31, while Evergreen is installed.

There will be no overdue charges attached during the period that the library is closed to the public.

When the library opens Wednesday morning, June 1, Ms McKinley and Ms Weber believe the public will be pleased with the improvements to the library system.

For more information about the changeover of the system, visit www.chboothlibrary.org.