Evergreen in 45 minutes

1
Evergreen in 45 minutes

• Introducing Evergreen
• eIFL-FOSS open source ILS workshop
• June 10, 2008
• Dan Scott

2
Agenda

• History
• Some sample Evergreen systems
• Current capabilities
• Development roadmap
• Architecture
• Some ideas for hands-on sessions

3
History

• Y2K crisis
• Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) forms PINES
  consortium
• Proprietary library system can't handle 250
  branches
• GPLS decides to build their own open source
  library system in 2004
• September 2006 Evergreen goes live

4
Sample Evergreen systems

• Georgia PINES
• 9.6 M items, 1.8 M patrons, 275 branches
• Handles peaks of 12,000 circs / hour
• British Columbia Sitka
• University of Prince Edward Island
• 360,000 items, single-server system
• Conifer
• 5 M items, 250 K patrons, 4 universities 10
  small partners

5
Cataloguing (1.2)?

• Cataloguing
• Full MARC editor with context-sensitive help
• MARC21 import from Z39.50 command line
• Unlimited MARC templates
• Authority validation
• Bucket operations
• Merge bibliographic records
• Delete or edit records and copies
• Transfer copies to a different call number
• Export records

6
Circulation (1.2)?

• Duration and fine rules based on item type,
  patron type, location
• Pre-cataloged and non-cataloged items
• Robust off-line circulation including patron
  registration
• Holds
• Bib record, call number, and item-level holds
• Hold freezing and thawing
• Hold protection (prevent holds on new items)?

7
Reporting (1.2)?

• Access to any element or transaction
• Filters and aggregate functions
• Scheduling, email notification
• Excel, CSV, and HTML output

8
Catalogue (1.2)?

• Every URL can be shared
• Easy to customize look and feel
• Themes for colour
• Skins for behaviour, text
• Plain old HTML and JavaScript
• Basic catalogue (slimpac) supports
  accessibility, mobile devices

9
Catalogue (1.2)?

• Search
• Sort by relevance, publication date, title,
  author
• Limit to author, title, subject, series, keyword
• Spell checking for low or no results
• Results
• Content enrichment supports covers, table of
  contents, reviews, author biographies
• Group results by format and edition
• Browse nearby results by call number
• RSS feeds

10
Development roadmap

• 1.2 already available
• 1.4 summer 2008
• Move circulation rules into the database
• Internationalization
• SRU / Z39.50 server
• 2.0 winter 2008
• Academic reserves
• Acquisitions
• Dynamic authority support
• MARC import
• Serials

11
Internationalization

• 1.2
• All data is stored in Unicode (UTF-8)?
• Catalogue (via DTD)?
• 1.4
• Translations stored in gettext PO format
  (complete)?
• All in-database strings (complete)?
• Staff client (80 complete)?

12
Acquisitions

• Tracking and notification from request through
  item delivery
• Sharable selection lists
• Currency support
• MARC order record loading
• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) support for
  EDIFAC, Tradacoms, ANSI X12
• Development version visible at http//acq.open-ils
  .org

13
Serials

• MARC Format for Holdings Data (MFHD) support
• regularity patterns, issuances, holdings
  statements and textual summaries
• Per-library subscriptions, check-ins, predictions
• Bonus improved e-resource management as URLs
  become full per-library objects

14
Entity relationships
Bibliographic records (MARC record)?
Organization units
Organization type
Call numbers
Users
Profile
Copies (Barcodes)?
15
Architecture
Apache
open-ils.
open-ils.
Staff client
open-ils.
open-ils.
Gateway
Web service
open-ils.cstore
Web browser
open-ils.rstore
16
A little about OpenSRF

• OpenSRF is a protocol that supports the
  development of highly scalable distributed
  applications
• In a nutshell
• OpenSRF applications register themselves with an
  OpenSRF router
• All communication is JSON-via-XMPP (Jabber)?
• C, Perl, and Python are client / servers
• Java is client-only

17
Technology

• Linux operating system
• Apache 2 Web server
• Jabber server (typically ejabberd)?
• PostgreSQL database server
• Mozilla XUL-based staff client
• Languages
• Current applications are Perl and C
• Python and Java are also supported

18
Why not Windows?

• Staff client does run on Windows
• New functionality is simply a higher priority
• Lack of porting expertise in the project
• libdbi/libdbi-drivers for database connectivity
• open-ils.cstore and open-ils.rstore applications
• Apache mod_gateway for HTTP-gtOpenSRF
• But... we do have a student working on
  standardizing the build process...

19
Hands on session ideas (1)?

• Circulation
• Create some patrons
• Localize phone, zip code validation rules
• Circulate some items
• Modify circulation rules
• Place record/call number/item holds
• Internationalization
• Translate some strings (1.2 vs. 1.4)?

20
Hands on session ideas (2)?

• Cataloging
• Import records via Z39.50
• Add call numbers and copies
• Create new records from template
• Create a new template!
• Catalogue
• Searching bookbags
• SlimPac tips and tricks
• Modify look and feel
• Define and index some new fields

21
Hands on session ideas (3)?

• Administration
• Modify the organization hierarchy
• Modify the patron hierarchy
• Create new copy locations and item types
• Create some reports
• Import bulk records, holdings, and patrons
• OpenSRF guts
• Use srfsh for some example requests
• Walk through some of the source code