Open-Source ILS Migration Project Announced for PA Public Libraries
By David Rapp Sep 8, 2010The Health Sciences Libraries Consortium (HSLC)/Access PA, which manages the largest statewide union catalog and interlibrary loan system in Pennsylvania, announced plans to begin migrating a small group of public libraries to the Evergreen open-source integrated library system (ILS) this year.
The larger aim: to migrate all public libraries in the state, though presumably the larger libraries, if they take part, would be the last to move. The project would be following in the footsteps of other major Evergreen migrations, such as those which encompass large numbers of smaller libraries in Georgia (Georgia PINES) and Indiana (Evergreen Indiana).
First steps
Joseph Scorza, the executive director for HSLC/Access PA, told LJ that HSLC estimates that 150 libraries statewide—about one-third of the total—will migrate to Evergreen over the next three years. The first pilot library will be selected shortly, he said, and will begin its migration later this month.
Scorza cited cost-savings as "one of the major reasons for the program," even though the extent of the projected savings remained unclear. He also noted Evergreen's flexibility and customizability as potential benefits.
So far, HSLC has received letters of intent from 39 public libraries and eight private-school libraries. (A separate Evergreen system is currently planned for schools.)
In preparation, HSLC also consulted with representatives from the aforementioned Georgia PINES and Evergreen Indiana library consortia, which both use Evergreen ILSs.
Larger vision
Scorza told LJ that the eventual aim is a migration project of truly statewide scope. "We want to have all 477 [public] libraries participating in the Evergreen system," Scorza said. "However, they are all independent libraries so there is no assurance they will all participate. It would probably take at least six to seven years to get everyone on."
Some libraries have also recently installed new ILSs, Scorza pointed out, so those libraries would likely not be ready to switch for at least a few years.
The two largest public-library systems in Pennsylvania, the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, are interested in Evergreen, Scorza said, but it is "not yet certain what form their participation will take."
First migrations
Although HSLC was founded by four scientific/medical libraries, it has grown to manage broader projects such as The Power Library (databases), the Access PA Digital Repository, and the Access PA Union Catalog. HSLC had also been helping to provide a shared proprietary ILS for a group of small libraries, partially subsidized by Pennsylvania's Office of Commonwealth Libraries (OCL).
Due to budget losses in the last two years, Scorza said, it had become difficult to continue that program. "We expect that the cost efficiencies of the Evergreen system will permit these and other libraries to participate at a cost level which is reasonable," he said.
The initial group of public libraries that will migrate to Evergreen currently shares an HSLC-managed Innovative Interfaces (III) Millennium ILS in Philadelphia. The new, shared Evergreen system will also be hosted in the city. HSLC has signed a data-enhancement and training contract with Evergreen developer Equinox for the current project.
The new ILS will use a discovery interface based on open-source VuFind software. VuFind was developed in Pennsylvania by Villanova University's Falvey Memorial Library.
The Access PA Union Catalog contains the holdings of some 3000 libraries statewide, and is based upon III's INN-Reach system. Scorza said that HSLC will develop software for the Evergreen system to enable automatic updates for the Access PA catalog, using an API available from III.
Working with state task force
HSLC is working on the Evergreen migration project in coordination with the ongoing Statewide ILS Task Force of the OCL, which includes members from library systems across Pennsylvania. The task force concentrates on developing technical standards and administrative recommendations, which Scorza said the HSLC has been "observing as best we can."
The task force will also assist in establishing a separate, not-for-profit organization to oversee the migration project by the end of this year, which will begin accepting new migration applications from libraries in 2011. That organization may choose its own contractor for the project, Scorza said.
