When PINES libraries open their doors - both physical and virtual - on Sept. 5, users will experience a new view of the PINES catalog and collections. A new, web-based PINES catalog will debut that day, featuring book covers, reviews, tables of contents and a variety of easy-to-use searches that will allow library users to locate materials quickly and efficiently throughout the system.

According to PINES Program Director Julie Walker, the Evergreen software project was conceived to meet the unique functional needs of a large group of public libraries that are committed to sharing materials. "After more than two years in development," she said, "the new software is generating considerable excitement, both in Georgia and across the country. We've even had inquiries from as far away as South Africa."

Evergreen is open-source software, which means it is royalty-free, and its license permits anyone to study, change, and improve the software, and to distribute the software either as is or after modifications have been made. Mozilla's Firefox web browser is a popular example of open-source software.

Work on the program began in June 2004. Evergreen developers relied on input from the end-user community - staff members working daily in the 252 PINES libraries - to guide their design of the program. The design team included Brad LaJeunesse, senior project administrator; Jason Etheridge, system support specialist and user interface developer; Mike Rylander, database developer; and Bill Erickson, systems developer.

Although Evergreen might one day be used in libraries around the world, the Georgia Public Library Service developed the Evergreen Integrated Library System software platform specifically for use in Georgia's PINES libraries, and it's the employees and patrons at PINES libraries who are most enthusiastically anticipating its debut. GPLS staff members will be conducting a series of training classes for librarians throughout the state in July and August.

PINES libraries will close over the Labor Day weekend in order to migrate to the Evergreen platform. These include all local branches of the Flint River Regional Library system, including the Peachtree City Library, Fayette County Library, and the Tyrone Library.

Current PINES library cards will not change, Walker noted, and users will not have to register for new cards to continue using the system.

A statewide consortium comprised of 252 public libraries in 123 counties, PINES offers Georgia citizens a shared catalog of more than 8 million items, with a single library card that is welcomed in all member libraries. Now boasting more than 1.6 million registered cardholders, PINES is a national leader in library cooperation and resource-sharing, and Evergreen is certain to enhance that position.

PINES users may request materials from any PINES library to be shipped to a pick-up library of their choice. Intra-PINES loans are provided free-of-charge to PINES users. The new catalog will be available from workstations within all PINES libraries, as well as for users logging in from home, beginning Sept. 5, at www.gapines.org.

Staff client software allowing library staff to catalog materials, perform checkouts and check-ins, place holds, and process payments is also a component of Evergreen. These features also will be implemented in libraries when Evergreen goes live, Walker said.

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