ABOUT THE RESOURCE
TYPE:
Case Study
DATE:
December 2010
DOCUMENT LANGUAGE:
English
OTHER LANGUAGES:
The EIFL-FOSS ILS project provided an opportunity for libraries within the EIFL network to evaluate and potentially migrate to a free and open source software (FOSS) integrated library system (ILS). It promoted direct engagement with the FOSS communities of a chosen ILS. We hope it also laid the groundwork for a mutual support network across EIFL for further libraries investigating migration to a FOSS ILS.
Following a general call for participation in early 2008, 7 sites were selected that represented a wide range of libraries and regions. One of three pilot projects was implemented in Armenia.
A project in the Fundamental Scientific Library of the National Academy of Sciences was led by Library Director Dr. Tigran Zargaryan, who wished to investigate a move to a FOSS ILS system from the ExLibris ALEPH system which required substantial technical knowledge to administer and had significant costs involved in licensing fees and maintenance and support contracts. After extensive trials also with Koha, Evergreen was chosen purely on a technical criterion that could not have been guessed without trials, namely that it handled much more successfully records in Armenian and Russian script.
2010 Update
The team at the Fundamental Scientific Library of the National Academy of Sciences, Armenia have improved their Armenian version of the Evergreen user interface – their work has now spread across all 29 libraries of the National Academy of Sciences. A Russian localization of Evergreen has been produced.
Resources
- Full Armenia Evergreen Case Study (Download below)
- Armenia Evergreen Handout (including 2010 update)
What is the Evergreen?
Evergreen is an open source Integrated Library System (ILS). Evergreen includes circulation and cataloguing features, OPAC, SIP2.0 support for interaction with management software and search/retrieval through Z39.50.
Evergreen also features the Open Scalable Request Framework (OpenSRF, pronounced 'open surf'), that allows developers to create applications for Evergreen with a minimum of knowledge of its structure. Operates on Debian or Ubuntu Linux servers. It is operable in English and issued under a GNU General Public License (GPL)
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