FAQ

The Evergreen Integrated Library System [ILS] is a complex database program in which libraries may store patron, bibliographic, and item records and transaction records. The Evergreen ILS is available as an open source product. To find out more, please visit the Evergreen Project website.

The founding pilot libraries researched available open source clients and determined that the Evergreen ILS was the most compatible with the needs of participating libraries. For more information, please visit the Evergreen Indiana History page.

Anyone may use the Evergreen ILS software without joining a consortium. Evergreen Indiana offers members many other benefits in addition to sharing software and materials, including tech support, free staff trainings, access to millions of records, purchasing discounts, and much more! Check out the Member Resources page to discover all the additional perks of membership.

Since 2016, member libraries have been charged an annual fee based on a tiered system reflecting a percentage of their annual expenditure. The following table represents the tiered fee structure approved by the Council in June 2014 together with current rates; these rates are subject to change annually. Funds are used to expand services and reduce reliance on grant funding.

Annual Membership Fee Rates 2023
A 3% increase over 2022 fees was approved on June 14th, 2022 by the Executive Committee.
Tier	Annual Fee	Maximum Annual Expenditure
1	$0	$50,000
2	$574	$100,000
3	$1,147	$200,000
4	$1,721	$300,000
5	$2,869	$500,000
6	$4016	$750,000
7	$5737	$1,000,000
8	$7458	$1,500,000
9	$9179	>$1,500,000

Additional costs to the member library generally include hardware (see below for recommended hardware), staff time, additional INfoExpress deliveries (if needed; additional day subsidized for members), a broadband internet connection, and barcoding materials (library cards and item barcodes).

There are over 129 public, school, institutional, and special libraries active in the Evergreen Indiana consortium. For a complete list of member libraries, please visit the Member Libraries page.

Visit the Join Evergreen Indiana page to discover how to become a member library in Evergreen Indiana.

Evergreen Indiana’s customized client is available at https://evergreen.lib.in.us/eg/staff/.

Evergreen Indiana is currently running a customized version of Evergreen 3.7.1.

Evergreen Indiana has regularly scheduled buying pools to allow for the purchase of library cards from PSI Graphics at negotiated rates. Dates and order forms for these buying pools are located in the Evergreen Indiana calendar. Orders may be submitted outside of pool dates

Barcode labels can be purchased from PSI Graphics at a negotiated rate at any time during the year using the order form provided here.

In 2022, the EI Executive Committee voted to expand the definition of “Evergreen Indiana Library Card” to include library cards with appropriate consortial branding. Evergreen Indiana Library Card Standards can be viewed here. These standards provide guidance and necessary graphical elements when designing locally customized cards for your Evergreen Indiana member library.

Please note that locally customized cards are not eligible for negotiated rates from PSI Graphics and vendor relations are the responsibility of the library seeking to obtain customized cards.