The Lee Library

Introducing ...

The Lee Library, along with all the other member libraries of the CWMARS network, will migrate over the Memorial Day weekend to a new library software system called Evergreen.

What is Evergreen?

Evergreen is an open-source library software system originally designed by the Georgia Public Library Service and now in widespread use throughout the US, Canada and other countries.

Why is CWMARS Migrating to Evergreen?

Open source software is freely available – free to download, free to use, free to adapt and improve. Development and maintenance are supported and paid for by library consortiums. This move to Evergreen is designed to improve services to library users.

The Evergreen Online Catalog — Better in Many Ways, e.g.

• A powerful, flexible search capability (from basic to advanced), with many features to help you refine and categorize search results.

• The Western and Central Mass. collections are now fully integrated. A single search will return results from both collections.

• You may define your own username, instead of having to type those long account numbers.

• Customizable features and preferences to help you manage your account, and share lists with others through links or RSS feeds..

Read more about the Evergreen Online Catalog.

When is this Change Happening?

The current library software system (called Millenium) will be shut down on Friday, May 25th at 6pm. The Evergreen system will go online on Tuesday, May 29th. The Lee Library will be closed on Saturday, May 26th.

What You Need to do before May 26th

• IF you have kept a Reading List in your Millenium patron record and you want to keep the data, you need to export it separately on your home computer. Reading lists WILL NOT be exported into your Evergreen patron record.

  There is a button in your Millenium record to request "Export List".   Items in the list can be exported with "Brief Display" (only the Author, Title, and Published fields), or "Full Display" (All the information in an item's record).   The list can be sent to an email address or saved or printed as a text file.

What Will (and will not) Change in your Evergreen Patron Record AFTER May 29th

• Your current patron card and account number WILL NOT change. However, you WILL need to bring your card with you in order to do any library transactions.

• Your PIN (password) WILL need to be redefined, by you or by library staff. When Evergreen goes online, your PIN will default to your LASTNAME (i.e. in upper case letters). You or the staff will be able to redefine it.

• IF your patron record is linked to other records in your household, those links will need to be redefined by library staff after the May 29th cut-over. We ask for your patience while we carry out this work.

Evergreen Catalog Training Sessions

The Lee Library will be offering live training sessions at the Gallery on how to use the Evergreen Online Catalog. The first set of these 1 1/2 hr sessions (to be followed by later sessions) is as follows:

• Wednesday, May 30th at 2pm.
• Saturday, June 2nd at 10:30am.
• Tuesday, June 5th at 6pm.

Evergreen Catalog Training Videos

The Lee Library will be developing a set of training video clips on all aspects of using the Evergreen catalog for searching and requesting library network items, and for managing a patron's account. These will be announced when available.