What is PINES

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What is PINES?

• Public Information Network for Electronic
  Services.
• A consortium of 46 public library systems
• 265 facilities and bookmobiles.
• A single ILS, operating on a single server.
• A union database of 8.8 million items.
• A shared patron database of 1.7 million active
  PINES cardholders from all 159 Georgia counties.
• A single (almost state-wide) library card.

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Georgias Public Library Systems
159 counties 59 systems 375 facilities
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PINES Membership
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How Is PINES Unique?

• The PINES library card is free to any resident of
  Georgia, obtained from any PINES library.
• The PINES card good at any PINES facility - as if
  at the home library.
• Materials may be returned to any PINES library.

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How Is PINES Unique?

• Users may request materials delivered from any
  PINES library to local library, at no charge.
• New books are protected from intra-PINES loans
  for 6 months.
• In FY07, more than 480,000 intra-PINES loans,
  compared just 6000 loans FY00.
• Statewide courier service began in October 2004,
  with service to all headquarters libraries in
  PINES.

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How Is PINES Unique?

• PINES libraries agree to a common set of policies
  and procedures--a consistent patron experience.
• PINES libraries agree to common fine structures.
• Fines and fees may be paid at any PINES library.
• Overdue notices processed centrally for all
  member libraries.

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PINES Governance

• Nine (9) representatives from member library
  systems compose the Executive Committee.
• Elected by PINES member library systems annually
  staggered terms.
• Meet quarterly or as needed.
• Module-specific subcommittees make policy
  recommendations.
• Executive Committee sets policies (not GPLS).

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Benefits for Users

• One easy to use interface.
• Local library identity maintained in large
  consortium.
• Users have dramatically increased access to
  statewide combined library collections.
• Convenience of using all 265 member libraries
  throughout the state.
• Common policies create consistent user
  experience.

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Benefits for Libraries

• PINES is centrally administered.
• Significant ILS costs paid by state.
• Regional training, convenient to member libraries
  and staffs.
• Centralized helpdesk and support for software and
  common policies.
• Centralized overdue notices mail and email.

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Cost-benefit of PINES

• Estimate to install stand-alone ILS in all PINES
  libraries 15M
• Estimate annual maintenance 5M
• PINES annual operations 1.6M
• Approximately 1.00 per registered customer
• About 1/10 of the cost of purchasing individual
  automation systems

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WHAT ARE PATRONS SAYING ABOUT PINES?Comments
from the PINES User Survey

• It SIGNIFICANTLY expands the choices of books
  and other materials available to me. I appreciate
  this so much because I live in a rural part of
  the state with a very small local library.
• Allowing books to be check out from other
  libraries is WONDERFUL. This way, the Pines
  System is like one gigantic library making
  available a tremendous selection of books
  regardless of where the books are physically
  housed.

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Crossroads for PINES

• Initial 5-year software contract for PINES ended
  in June 2005.
• 2003-2004 comprehensive survey of the library
  automation marketplace.
• Is the software driving the policy/procedure, or
  vice versa?
• Drumbeat for open-sourcefoolish, crazy,
  suicidal?

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What Do PINES Libraries Need?

• Hundreds of librarians in focus groups around the
  state
• Enterprise-class relational database
• Scalable and compliant with standards
• Ease of use for customers
• Flexible reliable
• Data security
• Stats and reports to correspond to annual
  reporting requirements

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Evergreen

• Evergreen Integrated Library System developed in
  a fully Open Source environment.
• Software development began in June 2004.
• All PINES libraries migrated to Evergreen
  software on 9-5-06.
• Evergreen debuted with Online Catalog,
  Circulation, Cataloging, and Reports.
• Transactions, customer records, and online
  catalog records were migrated from the former
  system.

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Evergreen Features

• Search capabilities similar to popular commercial
  websites.
• Live circulation data in the OPAC.
• Google-like spell-checking and search
  suggestions.
• Added content, including book cover images,
  reviews, and excerpts.
• Scalability in anticipation of PINES growth.
• Enhanced security features to keep customer
  information confidential.

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Evergreen Features

• Customer empowerment to manage own accounts.
• Streamlined online catalog that works with screen
  readers like JAWS.
• Virtual book bags that can be created, managed,
  and shared by the user (including RSS feed for
  updating).

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Evergreen Features

• Local flexibility to define authorizations by
  login.
• Surveys provide flexibility to collect
  information locally or PINES-wide.
• Use of buckets (virtual containers) to allow
  batch changes.
• Simplified merging of bibliographic records.

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Evergreen Features

• OPAC view in the staff client.
• Use of tabs (like Mozilla) for ease of transition
  between tasks.
• Ability to search ANY field in the patron record.
• Truly randomized holds which work in a tiered
  structure.

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Evergreen Core Technologies

• Database PostgreSQL
• Logic/glue languages C and Perl
• Webserver Apache mod_perl
• Server operating system Linux
• Messaging core Jabber
• Client side software XUL

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PINES/Evergreen Server Farm
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Customer-Vendor Relationship
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Evergreen Design

• Cost-effective - software designed to run on
  inexpensive commodity hardware with an open
  source operating system.
• Reliable - designed to run in a clustered
  environment, giving it enterprise-level high
  availability and failover.
• Flexible - Evergreen's staff client is
  cross-platform (Windows, Mac, Linux).

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Where Do We Go from Here?

• Develop a children's web-based catalog.
• Complete Spanish translation for the OPAC.
• French/Canadian version completed.
• More self-service options, including online bill
  pay for customers.
• Enhanced links with GALILEO - Georgias
  state-wide database portal.

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Where Do We Go from Here?

• Migration of the five library systems waiting to
  become PINES members over 600,000 more
  Georgians served.
• Work with partners on protocols to share
  information with other automation systems (Open
  NCIP).
• Partnership with U. Rochester extensible
  catalog project.
• Develop the A/S - Partner with U. Windsor, BC
  Libraries, and Equinox.

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Where Do We Go from Here?

• Enhance social networking aspects of the catalog
  (user tagging, ratings, reviews, etc.)
• Partnerships with libraries worldwide.
• Cooperative projects with university system
  libraries.
• Evergreen software foundation?

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Development Home Page
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• PINES online catalog
• www.gapines.org
• Evergreen software development
• www.open-ils.org
• Lamar Veatch, State Librarian
• lveatch_at_georgialibraries.org
• Georgia Public Library Service

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• Now for a PINES/Evergreen OPAC Demo