Welcome Evergreen!

Happy Tuesday! MVLC's Great Memorial Day Data Migration is over, and the new system is live! You can try it out at lowell.mvlc.org. And please, let us know what you think by sending an email to mloref@mvlc.org. We appreciate your continued patience and understanding while we work to address any challenges the new system might present in the coming weeks.

It looks like we're not the only library consortium to make the switch to Evergreen over the weekend. Bibliomation in Connecticut made the switch to the open source integrated library system too! There must be something in the late spring air.

Pardon the disruption

Just a reminder, the MVLC will be migrating our data over to a new system over the holiday weekend. So, the current catalog will be disabled at the end of the day (9pm) Friday. And we'll be going live with the new system Tuesday morning. So, over the weekend we will not have any online library catalog for you to search for materials (books, audiobooks, dvds, etc) or to place requests for said materials or to request renewals. We will be open on Saturday from 9am-5pm and you can come into the library to check out books or return them but we will not be able to place requests or reserve museum passes. Also, our online databases will be affected.

We appreciate your patience while we take our systems offline this weekend to implement the new system. Perhaps more importantly, we appreciate in advance, your patience with us as we learn to master the new system. This upgrade, along with any large system upgrade comes with unforeseen challenges and a natural adjustment period for all users (staff and patron alike) and we want to thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Friends Booksale isn't over yet...

Thanks to the dedicated volunteers and Greater Lowell bibliophiles, the Annual Friend's Booksale this past weekend was a great success. But those of you who missed it (or those of you who want even more!), don't forget there's a Second Chance Sale coming up this Saturday from 9am-1pm at the Senior Center. The Friends want to sell everything...so there will be even better deals than before. You'll want to stop by.

Library will be closed on Memorial Day - Monday, May 30, 2011

In observance of Memorial Day, the Library will be closed Monday, May 30, 2011. The library will reopen 9AM Tuesday, May 31, 2011.

Fresh Fish Anyone?

For those seafood lovers out there (I'm looking at you, Linda Greenlaw event attendees). Here is some exciting news from the City Manager's Blog:

"Cape Ann Fresh Catch (CAFC)- Community Supported Fishery (CSF) will be joining this year’s Lowell Farmer's Market LOWELL FARMERS MARKET with a fresh seafood deliveries set to start at the beginning of July. The fish is locally caught, fresh and delicious and the price is right—this program offers a sustainable and fun way to try something interesting and new this summer! Along with unparalleled freshness and flavor, this fish also comes with an added benefit: peace of mind...Deliveries are scheduled on a weekly or bi-weekly basis and as whole fish or fillets to best suit your family’s needs. You can pick up your fish at THE LOWELL FARMERS MARKET at JFK PLAZA on FRIDAYS from 4-6pm. Please see the CAFC website for more information on the program and to sign up for the new season: www.capeannfreshcatch.org. The program has gained national press attention, for more see this article in Saveur Magazine.

Before CAFC can come to Lowell, at least 50 people must express an interest in signing up by emailing Lowell@capeannfreshcatch.org be sure to spread the word so this great program can come to Lowell!!!"

The New Library Catalog will Go Live May 31st

Here's an update on the New "Evergreen" Catalog:

The Pollard Library along with the other libraries of the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium, will be launching a new catalog over Memorial Day weekend. The current catalog will shut down at the end of the day on Friday, May 27, 2011. Patrons will be able to check materials in and out at the library from 9am-5pm on Saturday, May 28th but they will not be able to search the catalog or place holds on materials or book museum passes over the course of the Memorial Day weekend. Access to some online databases may also be disrupted. The new system is scheduled to go live on Tuesday, May 31, 2011. Access to the statewide Virtual Catalog was shut down May 17th.

Any holds previously placed on materials should carry over to the new system. Users will find that their personally-created lists in the bookbags will be available in the “My Accounts” area of the new catalog. Library users will enjoy some new features with the Evergreen system, such as the ability to share their bookbags with others, more flexibility in creating user passwords, and the ability to update their street and e-mail addresses. Patrons will also have more flexibility and control over their catalog searches with the new system, including setting account preferences to search the Pollard Library only or MVLC as a whole. If you want to try it out here is a link to the demo version of the new catalog -- (FOR TESTING PURPOSES ONLY).

Coming attractions over the next few months include an improved catalog design, a feature allowing users to track their reading history, and a version of the catalog usable on mobile devices.

The Merrimack Valley Library Consortium will be the first large library system in Massachusetts to use Evergreen. The move to Evergreen is part of a larger project that will see MVLC, along with two other Massachusetts’ library consortia, NOBLE and C/W MARS, using Evergreen by early 2012. These three library networks encompass approximately half of the public libraries in the Commonwealth along with a number of academic libraries. The project includes locally-sponsored development funded with a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and by participating libraries.

We appreciate your patience while we all get used to the new system and work to utilize the great new features. If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to ask a librarian or email mloref@mvlc.org.

Philip Roth wins the Man Booker International Prize

It was announced today that Philip Roth has won the International Man Booker Prize. This is a biannual prize given to a writer for their body of work as opposed to the annual Booker Prize given for a single book.

Philip Roth is the author of many many books including Pulitzer Prize winning American Pastoral. Some of his other famous novels are Portnoy's Complaint, Goodbye, Columbus, and the series of novels featuring favorite fictional narrator Nathan Zuckerman (American Pastoral was one of these). Roth was one of only three writers to have his works canonized in their lifetime by the Library of America series. And he's not stopping yet, his latest book Nemesis was published just last year.