June 5 2008 Kent County, Maryland, Public Library Goes Live with Evergreen

Norcross, GA - June 5, 2008

Kent County Public Library in Chestertown, Maryland has gone live with Evergreen(tm) ILS Software. In preparation, Equinox Software Inc. and Alpha-G Consulting have partnered to provide comprehensive migration services and support, including database expertise, consultation, and system configuration.

KCPL is the first public library in Maryland to migrate to an open source ILS, and according to Public Services Librarian, Karen Collier, “It took a visionary director and a dedicated staff for us to embrace an open source ILS as quickly as we did, but we're confident Evergreen is the right choice for us, and that other libraries in Maryland and elsewhere will be coming to the same conclusion. We're very excited about the future.”

The migration was handled by a partnership between Alpha-G and Equinox Software, Inc. Alpha-G is an acknowledged expert in the legacy system previously used by the Kent County Public Library and Equinox is the commercial supporter of Evergreen. John Craig, President of Alpha-G, pointed out that this was the first migration to Evergreen from this particular proprietary system and said "This was complex process to map the data and practices from the two systems. It took long hours working with the Equinox team to resolve fundamental conceptual differences in the two systems' methods of recording circulation activity. In the end, it turned out to be pretty much a trouble-free migration."

Mike Rylander, Equinox's VP of Research and Design, agreed: “We have done quite a number of migrations in the last few years but this was our first from this legacy ILS. John's widely acknowledged expertise was invaluable to us to make this migration go as well as it did. There are always problems in migrations because it is not a simple process, but it went well. We look forward to a busy future with Alpha-G.”

Craig echoed this sentiment: “Alpha-G is looking forward to what we believe will be an effective partnership for our company and for any of our clients who wish to switch to an open source solution.”

Kent County Public Library serves the 19,500 citizens of rural Kent County on Maryland's scenic Eastern Shore. The library's main branch is in historic Chestertown which is surrounded by a rich tapestry of farmland and the Chesapeake Bay. Home to the Schooner Sultana, Chestertown provides a link to the maritime heritage of the Chester River and the Chesapeake Bay. The library also has branches in the towns of Rock Hall and Galena.

The Library’s Website is at http://www.kentcountylibrary.org/

About Evergreen

Evergreen is an enterprise-grade open-source ILS initially created to support Georgia PINES, a consortium of over 270 public libraries. Since its debut in September 2006, Evergreen has received significant attention from around the world, including the reception of a Technology Collaboration Award and grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Additional Evergreen implementations include a growing consortium in British Columbia, Canada, and new implementations planned for Indiana and Michigan. Evergreen was designed from the ground up to be a flexible, fault-tolerant system capable of supporting libraries of all sizes. Boasting a myriad of standards-compliant methods to access and control data, Evergreen is a robust platform that evolves with the needs of even the most complex library system or consortium.

About Equinox Software, Inc.

Libraries interested in joining the open-source software revolution often face concerns over where to find the technical expertise to take advantage of their desired software products. Equinox Software Inc., based in Norcross, Ga., is a firm dedicated to working with libraries in all aspects of Evergreen, the enterprise-grade, open-source Integrated Library System (ILS).

Founded by the original Evergreen designers and developers, Equinox offers a wealth of experience and expertise in Evergreen development, support and integration. Equinox specializes in customized packages designed for the specific requirements of individual libraries and consortia. Instead of one-size-fits-all support, Equinox works closely with libraries to ensure Evergreen is implemented in the manner that best fits their individual needs. In addition to support, custom development and integration services, Equinox offers complete Evergreen hosting packages for libraries wishing to outsource their ILS infrastructure needs.

About Alpha-G Consulting, LLC

Alpha-G Consulting has expertise in library automation, data migration, database programming and administration, and related technologies. Alpha-G puts its expertise to work to solve its clients most vexing library and computing problems. Founded in 2001, Alpha-G now has more than 250 customers in North America, Europe, and Australia.

Press contact: Corinne Hall, corinne@esilibrary.com, 678-269-6113

For more information on Equinox Software, please visit http://www.esilibrary.com.

For more information on Alpha G Consulting, please visit http://www.alphagconsulting.com

Evergreen is open source software, freely licensed under the GNU GPL. Evergreen and the Evergreen Logo are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of the Georgia Public Library Service