November 6, 2023 – 3.11 Upgrade and more

Software Upgrade Postponed

The Evergreen admin team has made the decision to postpone the upgrade from its current 3.9.1+ to 3.11.x until the weekend of January 27&28.  This decision was based on the slow recovery of Infoexpress and the issues that is causing for our member libraries.  We believe that additional time will also allow for testing of some new interfaces by EGIN library staff members.  We are also working toward having the servers offline for a shorter period of time to cause less of an impact on library service.  As we get closer to the date, there will be better estimates on just how long the servers will be down.  To summarize, we will NOT be upgrading November 17-19 and have postponed until January 27-28.

Aspen Discovery Implementation – Next steps and call for library logos

We are moving steadily toward the scheduled deployment of the Aspen Discovery service, a modern library search experience for your library patrons.  If you have not done so already, please fill out the Aspen Discovery – Services Survey.  This will help us with the first round of integration of resources into the discovery layer.  We have also begun the process of creating a custom search portal for all member libraries.  To aid in that process, each library should supply a high-quality, full-color version of their logo in .png or .svg format of at least 500px at its smallest measurement.  Please send logos as an attachment to coordinator@evergreenindiana.org with the email subject ADS – library logo.

Aspen Discovery Train the Trainer Invitation

In addition to the technical aspects of the Aspen implementation, we are also preparing for the training aspect.  Our support provider, Equinox Open Library Initiative, will be doing high level training of individuals who are interested in acting as training liaisons to their colleagues in the Evergreen Indiana Library Consortium.  If you are a person with a high level of comfort in the website visual configuration environment with at least a passing knowledge of CSS and web content management systems (like WordPress, Joomla, or Wix), and would be interested in both being part of the first round of learning about using Aspen for your library as well as a willingness to help train staff members at other member libraries, please email me at coordinator@evergreenindiana.org.  We will be forming a core group of 8-12 “trainers” to work with our administrative team and Equinox to deploy broad training across the consortium.

Evergreen Indiana Administration Office – Closed Dates Reminders

The Evergreen Indiana admin office will be closed on Tuesday, November 7 for Election Day and Friday, November 11 for Veterans Day.  Please continue to submit Infoexpress delivery reports during that time since we’re not sure if NOW will be honoring ISL scheduled closed dates or not.