Evergreen - Our New Library Catalog
In late May, Memorial Hall Library and
other members of the Merrimack Valley
Library Consortium (MVLC) moved to a new
automated library system called
Evergreen. An announcement regarding
Evergreen can be found on
MVLC's web site. This page attempts
to address some of the questions and
concerns that have come up about the new
system.
What advantages
does Evergreen have for us over the old
system (Horizon by SirsiDynix)?
With Evergreen, we're an owner, not a
renter, and with ownership comes greater
control over our software and how it
functions. We have a far greater ability
to correct problems and to shape or
create functionality that meets our
specific needs. Evergreen 2.1, for
example, includes a number of features
specific to the needs of Massachusetts
libraries and MVLC.
Also, over time, Evergreen will allow us
to implement a variety of advanced
patron services we have not been able to
implement with our current catalog.
While many of them will not be there Day
One as we had hoped they would be,
Evergreen still offers us greater
potential than any other library system
currently available (commercial or open
source) to provide the kind of 21st
century library services our patrons
increasingly expect.
Beyond that, we'll have greater control
over our future costs. Going forward,
we'll have reduced costs for both system
maintenance and telecommunications,
which will help us better control future
increases in member assessments and
provide the possibility for increased
service offerings through MVLC.
Why did we change
catalogs at this time?
The old catalog, Horizon, is no
longer supported by its vendor, Sirsi/Dynix.
Who uses Evergreen?
Evergreen is currently used by
approximately 425 library systems
encompassing 873 separate library
outlets, including the second largest
library system in the country (the King
County Library System outside Seattle).
The Evergreen user base continues to
grow and the numbers will easily top
1,000 library locations by this autumn.
Evergreen is also a top destination of
Horizon sites that are migrating away
from SirsiDynix. Over the next year, two
other Massachusetts library networks,
NOBLE
and
CW/MARS, will be changing to the
Evergreen system as well.
I used to see my
position in the Holds Queue, but now I
can't.
from MVLC...
We're working on a fix for this. We'd
like to implement it in the catalog in a
different and more meaningful way than
the way this number appeared in Horizon.
What we're planning on doing is having
the patron's queue position in their
pickup location library display, so that
rather than simply showing where they
are among the total holds, they would
now see where they are in the waiting
list for their pickup library. Instead
of seeing something like "You're 325 of
750 requests," they'd see something more
like "You're 10 of 20 at your pickup
library" or something to that effect.
Why do we want to do it this way? Some
background on the holds queue number:
The position in holds queue number was
very inaccurate in Horizon and would be
equally inaccurate in Evergreen. The
reason is that we don't and really never
have, filled requests in strict holds
queue order. A number of other factors -
the pickup location among the most
significant - affects the actual order
of how requests are filled. That 's why
a patron could sometimes be 300th on the
list and receive the item two weeks
later. Doing this by pickup location
would provide a more accurate and
hopefully, user-friendly number (The
patron might be 5th on list at their
library, rather than 300th on the
overall queue).
Note: The Library
Elf notification service seems to indicate where you are in the holds queue.
How come I can't
see an item's due date in the web
catalog?
MVLC is aware of this and looking into
getting this fixed.
When an
item I requested arrives, the listing no
longer states how long I have to check
out the item.
MVLC is aware of that, too, and will try
to fix it.
Where are the
lists of new and popular materials?
We're well aware that this was a popular
resource and are busy working at
restoring it. In the meantime, we are
creating lists of new DVD and music CD
acquisitions. These lists can be found
here.
My hold and overdue
notices are getting blocked. What can I
do?
Inform your internet service provider
and/or whatever spam filtering or
internet security software you may have
installed that you wish to receive email
from "no-reply@mvlc.org."
Do you have any tips
on how to use the new catalog?
We're working on a tips sheet as well as
some videos. Meantime...
- Enter your search words in any
order. So, a search for compass
golden gives the same results
as a search for golden compass.
Adding more search words gives
fewer, and more specific, results
- This is also true for author
searches. Both David Suzuki
and Suzuki, David will
return results for the same
author
- Evergreen is also forgiving
about plurals and alternate word
endings, so if you enter dogs,
Evergreen will also find items with
dog
- Do not use the word AND to join
search terms
- AND is automatically used to
join all search terms. So, a
search for golden compass
will search for entries that
contain both golden and
compass
- Boolean operators such as
and, or, not are not considered
special and are searched for
like any other word. So, a
search for golden and
compass will not return the
title golden compass.
Putting it another way, there
are no stop words that are
automatically ignored by the
search engine
- Don’t worry about white space,
exact punctuation, or capitalization
- Search for an exact phrase using
double-quotes. For example
“golden compass”
- Use * (asterisk) as a wildcard
to truncate search terms, e.g.
comp* golden may return the
same results for compass golden
and more
- Exclude a term from the search,
using – (minus) . For example,
vacations –britain will search for
materials on vacations that do not
make reference to Britain
- You can form more complex
searches using the
Advanced Search features. You
can also click the Advanced button
under the search box to build
complex searches using Boolean
operator OR to connect your terms.
In addition, the Sitka library group in
British Columbia has put together
a nice collection of tips on their
web site, most of which apply to our
implementation of Evergreen.
The catalog is
prompting me to install the Google
Chrome Frame plugin for Internet
Explorer? What is that?
The Google Chrome Frame plugin allows
the Internet Explorer browser to use the
same javascript engine that the
comparatively faster Google Chrome
browser uses. Since Evergreen uses a lot
of javascript, this can speed things up
for Internet Explorer users visiting the
catalog. It's not required, though. And
if you do install it and want to
uninstall it later, that's fine, too.
We're still getting details on this, but
some information can be found
here.
I thought I
placed a hold on an item but I don't see
it listed when I log in to my account.
Click on the
Place Hold link in the record of
the item. Log in with your library card
number and password.
You will see a screen with your
information and information about the
item. Click on the
Place Hold
link at the bottom of the screen to
complete the process.
What if I have
more questions?
Our
Reference Librarians are available
to help you with this transition. Please
call, visit, email, IM, or chat with us
with any questions you may have. Please
note that if you use the
Ask a Librarian chat service, you
may get a librarian from another state
who may not have all of the information
about the new Evergreen service.
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