Evanced Thinking

We've Moved!

2010-04-01T14:43:00.004-04:00

Hello Everyone-

We moved out blog! You can now find it at http://evancedsolutions.com/blog/

See you there!
Christine Ayar Illichmann
Coordinator of Customer Experience
Evanced Solutions

A Tale of Two Marathons - A Great Summer Reader Concept

2010-03-03T12:43:00.002-05:00

As you know, we are always trumpeting about the many ways Summer Reader can be used beyond summer reading. Teen Tech Week, Teen Read Week, spring and winter break programs, and so much more. But the folks at the Hopkinton Public Library in Hopkinton, MA may have taken the cake this time - they are sponsoring a Reading Marathon and EVERYONE is invited to participate!

The Story
In 490 BC Greece was invaded by the Persian Army. Legend has it that as the city of Athens sent troops to support the city of Marathon, where the invasion was to occur. When the Greeks won the battle, a messenger ran the distance from Marathon to Athens with news of the victory. The event served as inspiration for the 26 mile marathon race, introduced at the 1896 Athens Olympics, and originally run between Marathon and Athens.

This year celebrates the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon and the historic run taken by that messenger.

Hopkinton, MA is not only the start point of the famous Boston Marathon (run in April) but also is the sister city of Marathon, Greece.

The Program
With the support of the Hopkinton Athletic Association, the Boston Athletic Association and a host of local organizations and businesses, the Hopkinton Public Library is celebrating the marathon with a reading marathon of it's own.

VIEW THE SUMMER READER PAGE MADE BY THEM HERE!

Readers are encouraged to read 26 hours or 26 books. Upon sign up, entrants were issued official race numbers just as they would do in a marathon and also received rubber bracelets and official tee shirts. Participants can read multiple marathons, and upon completion of each marathon, can participate in a medal ceremony to receive their prize.

Librarians Denise Kofron and Susan Marshall knew that Summer Reader would be the best way to manage such a major reading event. "We talked about the marathon concept, and we knew it was something we could do," explained Denise. "We immediately called Maureen Ambrosino (their contact through the State of Massachusetts for Summer Reader) and she was happy to help and we set it up very quickly!"

The program has been incredibly successful and has readers participating not only from Hopkinton and surrounding communities but also from Greece, Rhode Island, Virginia and Kansas. There's still time to participate and say you've completed a marathon! We highly recommend you check out this impressive program.

For more information:
The Hopkinton Library
http://www.hopkintonlibrary.org/hopkinton/
Massachusetts Summer Reading with link to Hopkinton
http://www.readsinma.org/hopkinton/
About the Battle of Marathon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marathon
The City of Marathon
http://www.marathon.gr/en/
The official homepage of the Boston Marathon
http://www.bostonmarathon.org/

Claudia Loves Evanced!

2010-03-02T14:16:00.003-05:00

The "We Loved Evanced" video competition is now closed from further entries. Claudia Hackworth, our Senior Account Manager had her own ideas about why our customers love us and she enlisted a bit of help from...well, you'll see.

Click here to see some of the reasons you (and Claudia!) love Evanced.

Sorry Claudia, staff members aren't eligible for any prizes, but this one is too good to not share!

Summer Reading Ideas Abound!

2010-02-23T17:51:00.002-05:00

We loved this blog post:
http://aclayouthservices.blogspot.com/2010/02/mini-conversations-early-bird-src.html

It was written by the folks at the Allegheny County Library Association Youth Services Division and gives a roundup of ideas they have for promoting summer reading!

The ideas focus on this year's Collaborative Summer Library Theme: "Make A Splash: Read!" But can be made to fit whatever your program theme may be.

We love the idea of placing a "secret clue" each week on your Summer Reader site, which encourages participants to keep coming back.

What fun ideas do you have for summer reading? We can't wait to see!

Here it is: Summer Reader Version 8

2010-02-17T15:39:00.004-05:00

We are happy to announce the release of Summer Reader Version 8 for 2010. New features include Facebook integration, new reports features and capabilities, added prize configurations and changes to the program setup page. Click here for a full list of new features visit or you can view the pre-recorded webinar “What’s New for 2010" to learn more.

All Evanced customers that are current on their maintenance or subscription payments are eligible for this upgrade at no additional charge. The upgrades can be done at any time and require almost no downtime (a few minutes in the worst case scenario). All of your data and programs will be preserved without problems (though we do suggest just in case you do wait until any live and open off season programs you might be running are complete before scheduling your upgrade). On February 20 the manual will be ready for the newest version of Summer Reader and can be found at: http://www.evancedsolutions.com/manuals.asp

To schedule your upgrade you need to do only 1 of the following 3 things:
1 - Email Evanced Support ( support@evancedsolutions.com) that you would like to be upgraded as soon as possible and at anytime.
2 - Email Support that you want to be upgraded as soon as possible but during a certain time of day window (please specify e.g. "Before 9AM EDT").
3 - Email Support that you would like to be upgraded on a certain date during a certain time window (again please specify Date & Time Window). For this option you must give us at least a 5 day cushion to be sure we can accommodate that specific date and time.

Please note that upgrades are performed between Monday through Friday 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM EDT.

If you are part of the Statewide licenses in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Arizona, or New Jersey your upgrade is being coordinated through your state library system and you do not need to contact us to be upgraded.

We’re happy to hear your feedback, suggestions for Summer Reader changes for 2011 and to take questions you may have. Please contact us at support@evancedsolutions.com or 888-519-5770. You can also talk with other members of the Evanced Community at http://forum.evanced.info/.

FAQ: How Do I Edit A Single Date in A Recurring Event?

2010-02-11T10:56:00.004-05:00

Introducing: Frequently Asked Questions by Larry Woodhouse, Evanced Training Coordinator. Every few weeks, Larry will be responding to the most asked question or questions he is receiving in training webinars and will pass those answers on to you!

Q: How Do I Edit A Single Date in A Recurring Event?

A: There are actually about three different ways for doing this. One of the easiest is to go the event calendar from the staff side by clicking on “Calendar/Registration”. Locate and click on the event on the actual date. Then click “Edit Event” at the bottom of the page. This opens the event date in Edit Mode and you can change the Event Time, Location, Description, etc. But you are only affecting this one date in the event series; the other dates will remain as they are.
As an alternative, go to Add/Edit/Archive and locate the recurring event. It will show all the dates that the event takes place. Click on the date that you want to edit. Again, this opens that specific date in Edit Mode. The changes you make will affect that date only. The rest of the event series will not be touched.

Lastly, you can also uncheck “Combine Recurring Events” and click Search. This separates the event into its individual dates. You can now select the individual date and makes any changes this way, too.

Please note, however, that if you change certain information for an individual date, such as the date or the time, and then make a change to the entire recurring event, it may overwrite the change you made to the single date. Should you edit a single date in the series and then, sometime later, make a change to the entire recurring series, you will see a warning message when you click Save. The message will look like this:
“There are individual events within this recurring series which have different properties than the series. Click ‘Cancel’ to go back, or ‘OK’ to proceed with overwriting them.”

Most of the changes you make to the individual dates will not be overwritten, but the possibility exists and so the message is there as a warning that it might happen.

As always, please contact us at support@evancedsolutions.com if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Larry Woodhouse
Training Coordinator
Evanced Solutions
support@evancedsolutions.com

BranchAnywhere

2010-02-09T13:56:00.005-05:00

So as I alluded to yesterday we are officially announcing the coming release of our new U.S. designed and U.S. built BranchAnywhere library materials vending solution. The prototype of which we will unveil at PLA 2010 in Portland, OR next month.

We are leading the design in conjunction with an Indiana based machine builder that we have a long history with, and a local developer and provider of Library Self Check systems (so that we have good and proven SIP2 communications for most ILS systems at launch). The units will be built here in Indiana and will be optimized to the needs of North American Libraries.

A few highlights:
(More details to come, including some BIG ideas that will really differentiate our system from other options on the market)

Machine will be optimized to support multi-collection types, meaning it will support MOST common library materials of various sizes: bigger/thicker fiction/non-fiction, DVDs, paperbacks, books on CD, Playaways, and even children's picture books.
- Capacity will vary depending on collection desires:
- We are planning at least a Std Unit which will have a mix of 4 sizes/types and have a total collection limit of about 325-350 items.
- A DVD "heavy" unit which will be over 500 items and will heavily lean towards DVDs
- A "Book Only" version which won't have DVD slots but could have other Audio/Visual and capacity will be under 300 items
Because of the nature of the design of the machine MUCH LARGER capacities will be possible but will require a larger footprint
Standard footprint will be about 4.75' deep by 6.5' wide by 7’ tall
(though our prototype machine is a little wider than this)
The software and User Interface are being developed to focus on ease of use and "ATM like" usability. Since the total collection size will typically be under 500 items the feedback we've gotten is a fully catalog search approach is overkill. We looked at a lot of the commercial vending solutions user interfaces for inspiration about how to keep it simple. We are also working in conjunction with a User Interface Design Expert to help make this the best interface possible.

We’ll be unveiling our working prototype at PLA next month. Our approach is that we have the great basis for the machine but we want lots of input and feedback from librarians around the country to help us really make this the best product to meet the real needs of the libraries we serve.

More exciting details to come...

BIG Announcement and a request.

2010-02-08T11:38:00.005-05:00

I'm going to build up to this one as it is a really big deal for us here at Evanced. Later this week I will be officially announcing our latest new product offering (BranchAnywhere). It's a Library Materials Vending solution (something we initially explored approaching just as a reseller earlier in the year). We've been working on our own solution now, and it's a huge venture and investment in terms of time and money but I think our approach to it will be welcomed by Libraries particularly in North America.

Though we'll be announcing this exciting new product, we are NOT finished with it. We won't be until we find out from all of you how it really should work and be designed. What we'll be announcing and then later showing at PLA 2010 in Portland (OR) is merely our initial working prototype. Call it rather polished starting point for discussion about how these systems should be designed and built. Even though our personal experience has deep roots in automation and specialty machines we know we can't design this in a vacuum and get it exactly right. Therefore, we are actively seeking everyone's input into the best ideas and approaches. We are all very excited to start hearing what everyone thinks.

I'm planning to post something every day this week about BranchAnywhere so stay tuned.

Thanks

Rob Cullin

CSO / Co-Founder

Summer Reader 2010 - Bug Hunt Wrap Up!

2010-02-03T09:08:00.002-05:00

What a great contest this year!

We had slightly fewer contestants but even more bug submissions. What a Great job! The participants really worked hard at it this year and we appreciate their efforts.

I know, I know, I’m stalling. All you really want to know is who won, right? OK here goes……

1st Place, winning a $300 Amazon Gift Certificate:

York County Public Library

2nd Place, winning a $150 Amazon Gift Certificate:

Contra Costa County Library

3rd Place, winning a $60 Amazon Gift Certificate:

Manhattan (KS) Public Library

I think the staff at York County may need to get a hobby. ;-D They were submitting bugs right up until 10:00 PM Sunday night. Good thing our developers don’t sleep much.

I thought about pushing the end of the contest out a week, but our developers are football fans and you should have seen the look they gave me when I mentioned it! We are in INDY after all.

GO COLTS!!!

I hope the contestants all had fun participating this year, we certainly had a great time running the contest. We always get some great feedback and insight into how libraries are using our products. Hopefully everyone can appreciate the results.

Thanks again for a great contest!

A little bit of code can go a long way...

2010-01-25T16:24:00.002-05:00

toward helping your Summer Reader program become a great success. You'll notice that on the right side of the blog, there is an RSS feed entitled "Winter Reading: On a beach somewhere..."

The RSS feed shows the newest book reviews being written by participants in our Winter Reading program which is open to all library staff members across the country.

RSS feeds and widgets are a great way to get the word out about programs, events, and your summer reading program. You can post them to your library blog, Facebook page, website, and other locations.

If you have questions about RSS or XML feeds or are interested in learning more about our widgets, contact Support at support@evancedsolutions.com

Bug Hunt - Let's meet our contenders!

2010-01-12T11:21:00.002-05:00

Well the Summer Reader 2010 Bug Hunt has been kicked off, and let me tell you folks, things could get heated!

In case you don't remember how the last Bug Hunt went, here's a review:
1st Place -- York County Library (VA) -- $300 Amazon Gift Card
2nd Place -- Contra Costa County Library (CA) -- $150 Amazon Gift Card
3rd Place -- High Plains Library District (CO) -- $60 Amazon Gift Card

That competition was down to the wire - we had last minute bug reports flying around like crazy!!!

So let's see this year's lineup:

Manhattan Public Library - Kansas
Harris County Public Library - Texas
Contra Costa County Library - California
York County Public Library - Virginia
Westerville Public Library - Ohio
Maricopa County Library District - Arizona

Two of our top contenders are back for another round! Will the experienced bug hunters prevail or will one of the rookies lead the pack? Check back for point reports and updates! This could become a nail biter!

Summer Reader 2010 Sneak Peek

2010-01-05T14:50:00.002-05:00

It's here! The Summer Reader Sneak Peek! Throughout the month of January, our Head of Training, Larry Woodhouse, will walk you through some of the changes coming with Summer Reader.

You can view the calendar and sign up here: http://host.evanced.info/lib/eventcalendar.asp

While you're at it, consider joining the Bug Hunt Contest - a great way to play with Summer Reader before anyone else can see the new version and a chance to win prizes.

You can learn more about the Bug Hunt and sign up for it here.

Six Months Worth of Crazy Holidays and Potential Programs

2009-12-28T11:46:00.004-05:00

Happy Holidays everyone! We hope that the season is treating you well and that you've had a bit of time to relax. As you ease out of the food and sugar coma you've been enjoying the last several weeks, it's time to start thinking about programs for 2010.

This post is going to focus on interesting or wacky holidays happening over the next six months. These are the holidays you might not get a reminder from ALA about or might not consider for a potential program!

January - aka National Thank You Month
January 23 - National Handwriting Day
January 23 - National Pie Day
January 26 - Australia Day

February - aka American Heart Month
February 2 - Groundhog Day
February 4 - National Girls and Women in Sport Day
February 8 - Boy Scouts Day
February 21 - Single-Tasking Day
February 22 - Academy Awards
We're ready for our close-up, Mr. Deville!
February 26 - For Pete's Sake Day
A day dedicated to wondering "Who the heck is Pete, anyways?"
February 28 - Floral Design Day

March - aka National Nutrition Month
March 2 - Fun Facts About Names Day
March 7 - Genealogy Day
March 16 - Black Press Day
A great opportunity to learn about the impact of African-American writers in the media
March 19 - Absolutely Incredible Kid Day
March 20 - Great American MeatOut
A day focusing on the benefits of vegetarianism
March 24 - American Diabetes Association Alert Day
March 31 - Bunsen Burner Day
Not to knock the greatness of the Bunsen Burner, but I can't really imagine what
celebrating this holiday would involve.

April
April 2 - International Children's Book Day
April 7 - No Housework Day
I am a huge supporter of this particular day. This should be a national holiday.
April 11 - Baby Massage Day
April 16 - National High Five Day
April 18 - National Adult Autism Awareness Day
April 24 - Global Youth Services Day
April 29 - National Dance Day

May - aka National Egg Month
May 1 - Save the Rhino Day
May 4 - National Teachers Day
May 6 - Beverage Day
May 10 - Peace Day
May 12 - International Nurses Day
May 13 - International Librarians Day
Just kidding, but that would be really interesting, wouldn't it?
May 13 - Tulip Day
May 14 - National Chicken Dance Day
Because we all need a little more Chicken Dance in our lives...
May 15 - Armed Forces Day
May 20 - Flower Day
May 24 - National Escargot Day
May 30 - The Bucket's Got A Hole In It Day
Teach kids how to sing "There's a hole in the bucket..." as a program and then send them
home. Their parents will thank you, I'm quite certain.

June - Featuring National Shampoo Week, June 7-13
June 1 - International Children's Day
June 2 - National Day of Italy
June 6 - Doo-Dah Day
I have no clue what this day is about. I found it on a calendar. Let me know what you make
up!!!
June 8 - Upsy-Daisy Day
June 19 - World Sauntering Day
We just don't saunter like we used to, do we? A little relaxed, slow walking would be good
for us...
June 30 - Meteor Day

Let me know if you have any other fun ideas! And definitely let me know if you choose to build any programs for the days above!

Happy New Year -
Christine Ayar
Coordinator of Customer Experience
cayar@evancedsolutions.com

The "We Love Evanced" Video Competition

2009-12-21T14:16:00.005-05:00

We get a lot of positive emails from customers telling us how much they love us and our products. We really appreciate it and all the kind words make us a very happy software company.

So, for the holidays (whatever holiday might be most important to you) we'd like to introduce:

The "We Love Evanced!" Video Competition!

Here's the short synopsis:
You, your library staff, or folks you know that use our products a lot and love them, create a 3-5 minute video using a free 30-day trial of Camtasia Studio from TechSmith. Use the video to tell what you love about Evanced, our products, our adorable staff, etc. etc. etc. Download it to YouTube and send us the link by March 1, 2010.

Three fabulous almost-celebrity librarian judges will deem which video is best based on creativity, content, and originality.

The winner receives (drumroll, please):

A free copy of Camtasia Studio from Techsmith
A free one year subscription for a new or existing Evanced product
A $1000 scholarship to attend the American Library Association Annual Conference 2010 in Washington D.C.

Yeah, it's kind of a big deal.

But, here's the not so short version of the competition - which we recommend you read carefully!

CREATE a 3-5 minute video about why you love Evanced Solutions and/or our products. You might do a video about:

you favorite product features
things you like about our company
a positive customer service experience
descriptions of how Evanced products make scheduling, room reservations, or summer reading easier for you and your staff
or a million other potential topics related to why you love us

DOWNLOAD the video release form by clicking here.

SIGN the release form (to be technical, a Director or Assistant Director with clearance to do so must sign it). Send the form in to our offices at: Evanced Solutions 7830 Rockville Road, Suite C. Indianapolis, Indiana 46214.

DOWNLOAD a free 30 day trial of Techsmith's Camtasia Studio software at http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp. (or use the video editting software of your choice)

CREATE a video in any format you wish. It can be funny, it can be serious, it can be a PowerPoint or claymation or pictures or whatever else you prefer. Work your creative mojo - there are no limits on your creativity! We just want you to tell us what you love about Evanced.

UPLOAD your video to YouTube and send the link to Christine Ayar, our Coordinator of Customer Experience at cayar@evancedsolutions.com

WAIT while our almost-celebrity librarian judges view, laugh, cry and enjoy the ultimate in cinematic self-expression and creativity.

DO A HAPPY DANCE if you find out you're the winner when your name is announced at the Public Library Association Annual Conference March 23-27, 2010 in Portland, Oregon.

Here's some of the fine print.

Videos are not accepted for competition without receipt of the signed release form.
Videos deemed inappropriate or containing lewd content will be disqualified. And we'll tell your mama on you.
Videos can be submitted by an individual or as a team.
Library consortiums are not eligible as a whole, however, individual libraries within a consortium may submit a video and win software for their library only.
States participating in state-wide Summer Reader are not eligible (i.e. an individual library within one of the states may win, but that will not qualify the entire state for free software!)

Have questions? Email Christine Ayar at cayar@evancedsolutions.com

Tool Set for Events Integration

2009-12-21T09:41:00.004-05:00

We got a lot of comments to our post about Worthington's Drupal integration. Suggestions about additional CMS systems and such. While we certainly will look at what we can do to assist in those areas we are not likely to be deploying any new such CMS integration widgets ourselves in the next 6 - 9 months. However we are certainly open to supporting customers and other integration partners who want to do their own integration with our systems.

Here is a link to information on our Knowledge base explaining how our XML tool set works. This is the same tool set that libraries such as Worthington (OH), Howard County(MD), Orange County (FL), and King County (WA) have used to create their custom integrations. Support for the use of these tool sets is included in the support of your software so our team can help if you get stuck or have some trouble with any of those features.

Bug Hunt is BACK!

2009-12-17T10:47:00.003-05:00

It’s that time of year. It’s cold outside, the holidays are in full swing, and
Evanced Solutions is releasing the newest version of Summer Reader in
Beta.

We’ve been working diligently to incorporate your suggestions for making
Summer Reader even better.

The new version of Summer Reader (V8/2010) will be releasing to Beta in
the 1st week of January. In addition we will be registering library teams for a
Summer Reader 2010 bug hunt. Just like with our previous contests, the
team that collects the most points for submitting bugs, omissions, etc. will
receive prizes.

Here are the rules:
- When you contact Support, we will create a new site for your team based
on an upgraded copy of your live site.
- Each Site can be an individual or team (1 Team per Customer)
- We will have a special place on our Support Forum where bugs will be
reported (a basic format for the bug reporting will be listed there).
- The points system is as follows:
- 1 Point Bug – A bug that is more a suggestion for operation. An “It
Really should work like this!” comment. These are not really classified
as bugs, but we felt they are important enough to include in the list.
- 2 Point Bug – A bug that is an inconvenience or nuisance. Not a
major failure but a problem none-the-less.
- 4 Point Bug – This is a doozey! This is a bug that stops a significant
portion of the program from running correctly. Just about any kind of
error message or screen would fall into this category.

The first site/team/library to report each bug will be given credit. The bugs
will be posted to the support forum so you'll know what has already been
submitted.

The teams that get the most points (earned by finding and reporting bugs)
will receive prizes:
- 1st Prize: $300 in Amazon gift certificates (broken down for teams)
- 2nd Prize: $150 in Amazon gift certificates (broken down for teams)
- 3rd Prize: $60 in Amazon gift certificates

To register your library/team for this contest visit our Events Calendar at:
http://wwwtheurlgoeshere. Please sign up for the January 6, 2010 event.
Please note this is not a webinar, but the registration for the contest
itself.

A couple of clarifications on the contest:

This contest will be in addition to our own internal testing. Our testers will
submit bugs into the same forum in order to prevent overlap. All
participants’ Beta systems will be updated on a regular basis and all systems
will be updated at once.

We'll notify participants when updates are posted. Contest will begin January 6th, 2010 by which time everyone’s system will be upgraded and posted (we’ll do these as close together as possible).

Contest will end at Midnight on January 31, 2010, where the final counts and
winners will be posted. We’ll try to post updates on progress and standing
about once a week through the contest.

The new released version of Summer Reader will be made available on or after February 15th, 2010 We probably will still have some updates leading up into March (mostly non-core issues, some reporting enhancements, and add-on features like Facebook integration)

The upgrades in the beginning of January will be done primarily for libraries
who sign up to participate. You CAN request an upgrade to the Beta and
NOT participate in the contest; however these updates will not be completed
until later in January. Please email Support (support@evancedsolutions.com)
to request your upgrade.

The bug hunt is a great way to get a jump start on your community summer
reading program while also giving you chances to win prizes. Upon
completion of the Bug Hunt, you can export your bug hunt site so that you’ll
be ready for Summer Reader. Building it a little at a time while participating
in the contest is easy to do, and exporting your program takes only minutes.
We aren’t setting any rules on how you want to handle prizes on your end.
You can use the prize for your library or yourself but we leave compliance
with your own library’s policies up to you.

We’re sorry to say that state wide implementation participants,
unfortunately, are not eligible to participate in the Bug Hunt.

If you are a multi-branch system you can have more than one
location/branch participating though as a part of a single team. We realize
that this gives a somewhat more inherent advantage to bigger libraries. We
are keeping a close eye on the contest to make sure that this doesn’t
happen. In previous Bug Hunts, it seems that the winnings have been fairly
even across library size and type.

Please click here to sign up your team or yourself for the Bug Hunt.

Warm Up With Winter Reading!

2009-12-17T09:47:00.004-05:00

Did you hear about our Fall Reading Program? Ninety-four librarians from across the country read books, magazines, websites and more and tracked their minutes and hours using Evanced Solutions’ Summer Reader product. At the end of the three months, great prizes were offered including Amazon gift cards, book marks, and pens!

Have you wanted to try Summer Reader? Want to win great prizes just for doing what you love to do - read? Then join us for Winter Reading! Sign-up December 21,2009 through January 8, 2010**. Reading logs are open on January 9 and close March 12. The theme is “On a beach somewhere…” so join us as we imagine warm places during these cold months!

**Edit: Sign up begins now and runs through February!

Read for 1500 minutes (25 hours) to qualify for a fun prize! If you read 2400 minutes (40 hours) or more, you'll qualify for the prize plus be put into a drawing for more prizes. We'll be announcing the drawing prizes after January 9.

We had a lot of positive feedback from our last reading program. Kim Drake from the Quincy Public Library (IL) summed it up best saying, "The best part of the program was the hundreds of fabulous reviews. I found a number of new books to read and enjoyed the comments made by those who read the same book or author as I did. I sincerely hope that as many (or even more!) people participate in the winter program."

So what are you waiting for??? You can sign up by clicking here.

Sacramento Public Library Offers A Unique Spin on Events

2009-12-16T16:57:00.003-05:00

If you've been considering other ways library users can interact with the Events calendar on a branch-by-branch basis, take a look at the Sacramento Public Library's website.

Visit www.saclibrary.org

Instead of clicking "Events" (which takes you directly to their Events calendar), click on "Locations".

After selecting a library branch, you'll see a series of menus at the top. Click "Programs" in that menu.

From that spot, any branch program list can be accessed simpy by clicking a library branch name and then clicking "Programs".

Events that require signup provide a link directly to the event sign up form.

To learn more about how to implement a similar concept for you library Events calendar, contact Suppot at support@evancedsolutions.com

Going Paperless with Evanced

2009-12-16T12:18:00.002-05:00

Information about “going green” and taking steps to help the environment is everywhere right now. More and more, we’ve seen and heard from our customers that using Events, Room Reserve and Summer Reader helps to reduce the amount of paper used in libraries. Over time, minimizing paper usage saves time, money, and people power.

So, why go paperless and how can Evanced help?
In the case of libraries, going paperless can reduce confusion. How many of you have or have had “the binder”. It’s that big binder that you use to manage your meeting rooms, your events sign up lists or your summer reading forms. Have you ever LOST that binder? It creates sheer chaos – people run around as if the building is on fire!

Customers have reported that Evanced’s Events software has helped to manage program registration, but also assists with the administration of wait lists and reminder notifications. And when the program is completed, instead of worrying about a paper attendance sheet, attendance can be tracked online.

Room Reserve reduces the amount of forms that library staff members must keep track of and reduces the documentation that the public must fill out in order to request a room. Paper-based room reservation processes often involve making several copies for library users, staff members, and management. If the original or copies are lost, it can create frustration and confusion, not to mention that a valued library user may accidentally lose the reservation they wanted! Room Reserve manages all documentation and makes it available online, allowing for easy access for staff from virtually anywhere.

Henderson (NV) Public Libraries noticed a reduction in the quantity of paper they used after switching to Events, Room Reserve and Summer Reader. The change helped make their processes more efficient, benefiting their staff, the public and the environment. You can read more on our blog, which featured the Henderson Public Library in September 2009.

Summer Reading, the Paperless Way
The transition to a web-based summer reading program can not only reduce paper usage, but also improve the opportunities of busy library users to participate in summer reading.

- Be proactive about encouraging library users that have Internet access at home, work or school to use the Summer Reader program. Team up with area schools to have a Summer Reader sign up day, using media center computers and computer labs. Constant accessibility, access to great book reviews and the ability to build a reading list are just a few of the benefits.

- For those without computer access, encourage them to create a paper log. Use teen volunteers to help input the logs into Summer Reader, thus helping teens keep busy but also allowing anyone to participate in your program.

- If possible, have a “Summer Reader Log Only” station at your library – make that computer a quick stop for library users who may choose to stop by to log in their reading hours daily or weekly.

- Teens tend to adapt quickly to Summer Reader and love the ability to interact with their peers. Children love physical confirmation of their reading goal – certificates, stickers, small prizes and more. Use our certificate feature to build certificates that children and their families can instantly print when they reach a particular reading goal.

- The many prize management options available in Summer Reader make it easy to carefully manage prize distribution. Staff members can track, view, and distribute prizes without using any paper. Summer Reader manages prizes across branches, making it difficult for less scrupulous library users to visit multiple branches to collect multiple prizes if they are not deserved.

If you’d like to learn more about using Evanced Solutions’ products to reduce paper usage, contact our Coordinator of Customer Experience, Christine Ayar at cayar@evancedsolutions.com

Congratulations to the Novi Public Library

2009-12-15T22:55:00.003-05:00

Evanced Solutions would like to congratulate the Novi Public Library in Novi, Michigan on their new library! The building is set to open in June 2010.

The bigger building features recycled materials, green-tinted reflective glass in windows, water-efficient fixtures, and energy efficient light fixtures among many other “green” offerings. Other highlights include landscaping that helps to conserve water and landscaping featuring local plants that thrive in Michigan's climate.

Novi Public Library uses Events, Room Reserve and Summer Reader. As their library grows, their ability to manage their new building using the products will grow and change as well. The library currently uses Events to manage five meeting rooms. The new library will have eight meeting rooms and spaces that will be managed in Events, in addition to many unmediated study areas.

If your library is set to expand and you’d like more information on ensuring your Evanced software helps you manage your new spaces, contact our Coordinator of Customer Experience at cayar@evancedsolutions.com."

Drupal and Evanced: A Money-Saving Combination

2009-12-15T12:28:00.001-05:00

Increasingly we’re seeing emails that begin with “We’re a Drupal shop and want to use Evanced products too…” Here at Evanced we’re excited by the potential of Drupal and what libraries are doing with it.

The Worthington Libraries (Ohio) has integrated their Events calendar with their website which uses Drupal as its content management system. You can view their calendar at http://www.worthingtonlibraries.org/calendar. What you’ll see might surprise you. The front end is powered by Drupal, but the back end is Evanced Solutions’ Events product and uses all of the filtering, registration, and management features available.

For Kara Reuter, Digital Library Manager at Worthington Libraries, the choice to use both Drupal and Events was an easy one. “We chose Drupal because it’s a really powerful content management system and can be extended in almost any way you can imagine. Lots of other libraries are using Drupal these days, so there’s a good community we can turn to for ideas and support.”

Worthington Libraries wanted to keep the look and feel of their website, while taking advantage of the functionality Events has to offer. As Ms. Reuter explained, “We chose Events because every time we looked at a library’s online calendar that offered all the features we wanted, it was Events. And the ability to integrate Evanced Solutions’ Room Reservation [software] is essential for our library.”

The development team at Evanced is excited by the possibilities Drupal offers and is working closely with the Worthington Libraries. For Kara Reuter, this collaboration made the switch to a Drupal-driven website even easier. “We love that Evanced has been so open to our ideas and supportive of our efforts to create our Drupal+Events mashup.”

Worthington staff and patrons have given positive feedback on the calendar, which created a look and feel that was constant across both the website and calendar. “Our staff and patrons have definitely commented on the calendar. They’ve given us positive feedback about the pull down menus that allow you to specify just what kind of event you’re looking for,” she explained. “What I love is that the calendar is perfectly integrated in to our Web site in terms of look and feel – I think visual consistency is really important in terms of user experience. Plus, the power of Drupal allows us to create the “Today at the Library” block on the homepage – it’s completely dynamic and as the day progresses the events drop off so that you’re only seeing what’s coming up. We can also pull in event lists on other pages, such as on our Book sale page: http://www.worthingtonlibraries.org/visit/services/booksales (see right sidebar).”

Are you an Events customer that is using Drupal or considering Drupal? Worthington Libraries is seeking partner libraries to help them to prepare their Evanced Events Importer module for release at drupal.org. To learn more contact Kara Reuter at Worthington Libraries, kreuter@worthingtonlibraries.org.

Winter Bake Off!

2009-11-20T09:38:00.004-05:00

I couldn't help but share two wonderful findings that might help you as you plan upcoming library programs.

December 28 is National Chocolate Day (I've also heard that this is in October - so you may have to celebrate twice...darn.)
and
January 23 is National Pie Day.

Wowza! I see a baking competition or at least a couple of fun book displays in your library's future.

That said, we're thinking about a blogpost that will provide programming ideas to all of our Evanced friends. The question becomes, how far in advance would you like us to publish the article so that you can see the ideas and decide if you want to use them? Take the poll below and let us know!

~ Christine Ayar
Coordinator of Customer Experience
Evanced Solutions

Sign up for our Book Discussion!

2009-11-16T14:35:00.005-05:00

Did you get a chance to participate in our Fall Reading Program during the past few months? If not, you still have one last chance to jump in to the fun.

We'll be hosting a book chat online on Monday, November 23 at 8 PM CST. Join as as we talk about "Everything Is Miscellaneous" by David Weinberger.

You can sign up through our Events calendar and we'll send you all the information you need to attend!

Raking Up the Reviews

2009-10-27T10:49:00.004-04:00

Our Fall Reading program has been going on for almost two months now and it's a busy program!

Library staff members from across the country are reading books, watching movies, and reviewing materials using our Summer Reader software. Just like any reading program, there are great prizes available to those participating!

You can see their book reviews by clicking on the RSS feed in the right hand column of this blog. We're talking no-holds barred book reviews - these participants don't spare a book or author if they don't like what they read! PERFECT for deciding what you should get in the next books and materials order!

There are 238 reviews written as of this moment, so you won't be short of reading material!

The Whole Enchilada

2009-10-21T12:05:00.006-04:00

When an Evanced customer buys all of our products at once, or buys additional products to add to their current products, I often remark "Whoa, they got the whole enchilada!"

We try to make our software easy to use and easy to set up. We've had small libraries report that they've set up an instance of Summer Reader in less than a half day. But when you take on all three of our products at once, it can get a bit overwhelming - where do you begin? What's the best start point? What is the highest priority? Who should take on the tasks?

Enchiladas are great but if you eat too many, you might get heartburn. That's also true with getting new software. If you try to tackle too much new software at once, you might not feel great. No software should cause you heartburn and we have a lot of tools and resources to help you!

Here is a short primer in helping you tackle your new software subscriptions - especially when you get The Whole Enchilada.

Keep in mind that the following information will help your library if you subscribe to one module, or all of them.

1 - Use our Implementation Checklist - you can pick up a copy here: http://drop.io/implementationchecklist

2 - Create a timeline, figure out priorities. If you have Summer Reader, Events and Room Reserve, it may be in your best interest to determine what your next big priority is. If you have a bit of time until Summer Reading starts, then set up an in-house reading program for staff. That way they can get a feel for the software on the patron side, and summer reading administrators can get an idea for the product on their side. While that program runs, you can set up Events and Room Reserve.

3 - Divide and Conquer. Create committees, lean on staff. If you have an overwhelmed IT department, they don't necessarily have to set up the software. With a bit of understanding on how websites work and with a copy of the user manual, any staff member can create a complete events, room reservation, or summer reading module. And if they get stuck they can...

4 - Call us. Pass out our phone number and email to staff. You can reach us at support@evancedsolutions.com or by calling 888-519-5770.

5 - Talk to the Evanced Community. Visit our support center and discussion boards at http://evanced.support.info

6 - Take the webinars. They're free. They're live. Larry, the head of training, is great - he's funny and he moves sessions along quickly but doesn't rush the learning process either. And we won't try to sell you more stuff. No, seriously. We just want you to learn how to use the software well.

7 - Enjoy - and dare to think outside the "box". You can call us to get ideas on how to use the software to the max and get maximum value from it. We have a library that uses Room Reserve to manage their car pool. Never would of that of thought on my own, what about you? Email me (Christine) for ideas and help at cayar@evancedsolutions.com

So, enjoy the Whole Enchilada!

Christine Ayar

Coordinator of Customer Experience

Evanced Solutions

Teen Read Week Logo

2009-10-16T12:42:00.005-04:00

We're cutting it a bit close, but if you're interested in that .sponsor image for the heading on your Summer Reader software for Teen Read Week, here it is:

YALSA has many great resources for you to use for Teen Read Week that can be seen at:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/trw/trw2009/home.cfm

To receive the above graphic in a larger size, email Christine at cayar at evancedsolutions dot com or email Support at support at evancedsolutions dot com.

Happy Teen Read Week!

Banned Books Week and Teen Read Week

2009-09-28T14:46:00.003-04:00

Hello Beautiful Evanced People -

First off, it's Banned Books Week! I hope you're all taking the time to celebrate our freedom to read! What am I saying! Of course you are! We're librarians...it's what we do! In case you need any extra information for the week, here is the link to the ALA Banned Books Week Page:

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm

I know I'm wearing my Banned Books bracelet. I love the comments people make about it.

"Alice in Wonderland was a banned book?!?!?!?!"

In other news, it's going to be Teen Read Week soon - October 18-24. It's not too late to drum up a Teen Read Week reading program using your Summer Reader software. Here is the official Teen Read Week homepage with more information:

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/trw/trw2009/home.cfm

In the coming week we'll be posting a graphic you can use for your Teen Read Week Summer Reader page!

Happy Reading!

Christine - Coordinator of Customer Experience - Evanced Solutions

Currently Reading: A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson

Talk Like A Pirate Day Is Great But...

2009-09-21T15:28:00.002-04:00

Ahoy Mateys! We hope that you scrubby land-lubbers enjoyed National Talk Like A Pirate Day! T'was a day to celebrate with a mug of grog and a hearty laugh - not to mention a pirate speak translator or two. We like this one, ourselves - http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

We have to admit that we think we found an even better holiday! NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY! We're sorry to yell, but we can hardly withhold our excitement.

Now truth be told, the staff of Evanced sometimes struggles with punctuation, grammar and even...gasp...spelling. We certainly try to do our best, but we find ourselves re-reading quite a bit to make sure we get things right.

So, on September 24, we will be celebrating National Punctuation Day and we hope you will too!

Please pardon the overuse of ellipses and exclamation points - they are my punctuation weakness.

Now back to our regularly scheduled Evanced blogging.

Christine - Coordinator of Customer Experience

Case Study: In A Tough Economy, a Solution is Found

2009-09-16T11:42:00.008-04:00

The Henderson Libraries (NV) Experience

It's clear that public libraries are being impacted by the economy. Increasingly communities are turning to libraries for information and entertainment. At the very same time, libraries are struggling to defend their budgets as cuts are made to compensate for financial instability at city, county, state, and even federal levels.

As the number of library users increases, the number of library staff members often does not. In such a situation, library staff members are taking on additional tasks. Suddenly, the question becomes not only "How do I save money?" but, "How do I save time?"

For the Henderson District Public Libraries (Nevada) and other libraries, the answer has come from Evanced Solutions. Using Events, Room Reserve, and Summer Reader has increased the time staff members can devote to other projects.

Events, Room Reserve and Summer Reader provide public libraries with web-based tools to help them manage events calendars, room booking, and all aspect of summer reading programs. Each event can be purchased on its own or together to help libraries manage their interactions with their communities quickly and effectively.

For Joy Gunn, Virtual Branch Manager for Henderson Libraries, Events and Room Reserve have cut down the time needed to add events to the library website. "The Events calendar and Room Reserve modules definitely help cut back the time I used to devote to keying in information for events on our website. The ability to have one central calendar for all events, room bookings and staff meetings had undeniably helped our staff," explained Joy.

Events also saves times for patrons, by letting them know automatically their status for class sign up. Library users don't have to wait for busy staff members to sign them up for events as Joy explains, "Using Evanced Solutions products has greatly cut staff involvement when registering patrons for events. With patrons having the capabilities to sign themselves up online, our staff has more time to devote to other projects. "

The Events function not only serves library users, but also makes staff training sign up easier. By marking events as private and only allowing staff access, staff members are able to view a library system training calendar and can sign up for training events at times and locations that are best for them. The function allows administrators and training staff to keep attendance and ensure that all library employees are receiving the training they need.

Sign up for Events became so easy, that library user sign up for library events actually increased for Henderson. Laurie Orton, head of the Malcolm Library in the Henderson Libraries system noted that her computer class sign up became easier to manage and that more library users were signing up to participate. “My attendance at computer classes more than doubled from one year to the next because of the use of the waiting list as and easy access to patron contact info,” Laurie explained. “If they missed one class, I called to confirm their attendance at their next scheduled class. If they couldn’t confirm, I cancelled them and added the first person from the waiting list. I had far fewer no shows for classes that this way.”

An added cost savings of Summer Reader was the ability to monitor the how prizes were being distributed to the public. At Henderson Libraries, the prize management function became a valued function of the software “as…some unscrupulous patrons would try and receive multiple summer reading prizes” but visiting multiple branches in the system.

For staff and community members alike, the easy to use event registration is a time saver, allowing a simple form to be filled out quickly and easily. he ability to sort by similar events, and an ability to view events by key work or branch are just a few of the features that help both staff and library users.

The ability to create custom questions allows for library staff to gather statistical information easily through all three products and run reports in moments. By saving reports as excel files, they can be reviewed and shared with the click of a button.
The reports feature eliminates the need to spend money on paper and staff time, but quickly creating reports with the click of a button.

Evanced Solutions offers an option to host its products for libraries or allows libraries to buy the software and host on their own server. With the purchase of the software there is an annual fee that covers updates and support services. Many libraries choose to let Evanced host their products, thus eliminating the cost of purchasing additional servers and allows busy library IT departments to work on other projects that their institutions need.

Training and customer support are always free to Evanced Solutions’ customers. As new employees are hired by libraries or software upgrades are made, staff can be trained easily or simply get a quick refresher. The option to join live webinars or view previous recorded sessions allows libraries to provide training on a schedule that fits their needs, but still provides a personalized experience.

How the Numbers Add Up: A Case for Great Cost Savings
Below you’ll find a breakdown of the hours associated with typical events and room reservation tasks. Based on a population of 15,000-100,000, the difference in time savings is clear:

A cost savings analysis demonstrates the potential for time savings when Evanced Solutions products are used to manage room reservations and events.

To view the Henderson Libraries Events and Room Reserve calendars, visit them online! Henderson Events Calendar: http://events.hdpl.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp

Or contact us at sales@evancedsolutions.com or at http://www.evancedsolutions.com

Warm Up With Winter Reading

2009-09-15T12:25:00.004-04:00

What?!?! Am I CRAZY??? Summer reading just ended! Don't just let your Summer Reader subscription sit on the server - we want you to use it to the max.

You know you're already thinking about winter programming, so why not consider a winter reading program too? Imagine all those bored children and teens waiting out their winter vacation - prime time for reading, using technology, and library fun.

Many libraries have had a lot of success with programs that run for a much shorter time span than traditional summer reading programs. Counting gaming time and even letting YouTube watching count adds a new twist to reviews and opportunities for interaction. Allowing library users to use the reviews feature to rate library events provides feedback for you and also creates interest in library events.

If you need additional ideas for Winter Reading, you can contact me at cayar@evancedsolutions.com

Christine - Coordinator of Customer Experience - Evanced Solutions

Indiana Library Education Units are now available!`

2009-08-31T09:48:00.004-04:00

Are you a librarian or library staff member in Indiana? Do you own our products and attend Evanced Solutions webinars? Then you're going to be very happy!

Evanced Solutions has teamed up with the Indiana State Library to offer Library Education Units (LEU) for our webinars. Each of our one hour webinars now counts for 1 Technology LEU.

To ensure that you receive the credit for your attendance please:

make sure you click "yes" on the registration form when we ask you "Is this for State of Indiana LEU Credit?"
let the event trainer know that you are a staff member at an Indiana Library when you log in for the webinar
take the course and then kick back* - we'll send you a certificate that you can then pass on to the Indiana State Library ask proof of attendance

*If your boss catches you "kicking back" don't blame us. We'll deny we ever said anything - we don't care if it is in writing!

We look forward to seeing you at a webinar soon!

Wrapping Up Summer Reading

2009-08-28T12:58:00.003-04:00

Ah, it's that time of year! You can sense that Fall is just around the corner, for some of you school has already begun, and you're still cleaning up bits of crumbs and glitter from the Summer Reading program wrap up party.

But what about your Summer Reader site? Our trainer, Larry Woodhouse, has the course for you. Join Larry in a webinar as he walks you through the necessary steps to extract your Summer Reader data and clean things up for a fresh start next year.

There's still room in the September sessions, so visit our calendar and look for Summer Reader: Wrap Up.

http://host.evanced.info/lib/eventcalendar.asp

New Report Option Available in Summer Reader

2009-08-10T13:52:00.002-04:00

Doug the official master and keep of all things Summer Reader* here at Evanced has built a new report option into Summer Reader version 7.157.

The new report is called “Random Drawings Report” and it creates a report to show who is eligible for a random drawing prize. This allows staff to see who has not received a random drawing prize is an easy way to get that information rather than looking thru each drawing in the RD history or looking for them in program management.

I think that's helpful, especially since many of you are now wrapping up Summer Reading and trying to figure out the last of the prizes!

If you want this report and have not gotten the newest upgrade, please contact support at support@evancedsolutions.com

*I personally think that should go on his business cards, but apparently everyone at the office likes "Developer" better. My comedic genius is soooo underappreciated!

Christine - Coordinator of Customer Experience

Got Spell Check?

2009-07-27T12:07:00.003-04:00

We're often asked about a spell check feature in our products. While we aren't there yet, there are plenty of great spell check options that exist in web browsers or can be easily added to your web browser.

Some spell check systems don't allow you to check through web forms (like the ones used to create an Event or Summer Reading program), but the options you'll read about here do work with web forms. As always, if you use other tools that help you, comment to this post and share your knowledge!

Google Chrome users:
The Google Chrome Additional Settings website can tell you more about spell check -
http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95604

Internet Explorer Users:
It was pointed out to me recently that the spell check in IE8 is compatible with web forms. However, if you are in love with an older version of the browser, consider adding ieSpell, a great little download that makes spell checking web forms very easy:
http://www.iespell.com/

Firefox Users:
Firefox 3 doesn't spell check web forms, but the Washington Post wrote up a great article that tells you how to tweak the browser settings so it will:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042402929.html

ALA and Evanced Adventures

2009-07-12T23:57:00.003-04:00

ALA 2009 has been an exciting and busy conference.

The GoLibrary materials vending solution has generated a great deal of interest especially with libraries seeking to expand the number of branches they have on a limited budget. GoLibrary is a vending solution much like an ATM machine. Books and media can be loaded into a machine and library card holders can check them out. There are three types of machines - including one that can be installed into an exterior or interior library wall and two stand-alone units.

Our Twitter Hunt has been immense fun and has caused random outbreaks of high-speed sprinting as conference attendees tried to find Christine Ayar, our Coordinator of Customer Experience. In case you haven't heard, anyone who follows us on Twitter (we're @evanced) can win prizes. Once a day between July 11 - 14, Christine will tweet a picture and clue to her location. The first person on location wins a great prize. We've had two winners so far - including @netmom (Jean Armour Polly - Liverpool Public Library, NY) and @laguz28 (Allen Bettig - Glenview Public Library, IL) are our first two winners. Jean won gourmet brownies (they are incredible brownies and well worth the hunting) and Allen won a $100 gift card for Amazon. Want to see what we give away next? Follow us and find out!

There have been a ton of great events but so far one of our favorites was a Book Mobile Parade! We haven't been able to download our pictures yet, but will share them when we do. In the meantime, check out great book mobiles here.

Knowing Christine is the Key to Twitter Hunt!

2009-07-06T14:44:00.002-04:00

Okay, I need to get this new webcam ready so people know what I look like for the Twitter Hunt at conference.

Huh, why won't it take a picture? It should just be this button right here...

Okay, well, this looks like it should work...

Or not. No that can't be right...

Hey! That's it! That's me - Christine Ayar, Coordinator of Customer Experience for Evanced Solutions. When I tweet clues to my location and you find me in Chicago, you'll win great prizes! Just follow @Evanced to keep track of what's going on! Contest begins July 11 and runs until July 14.

See you at ALA!

Okay, now I have to make sure my cell works...

Twitter Hunters - Start Your Engines!

2009-06-30T10:51:00.004-04:00

Or put on your comfortable shoes - because it's almost time for the Evanced Twitter Hunt!

July 11-14 we're giving away great stuff at conference - but we're doing it in a whole new way. Follow us on Twitter @Evanced and once a day we'll send out a clue (or clues) telling you where you can find a hidden prize or where you can meet up with Christine (our Coordinator of Customer Experience) to win things like:

- Canvas tote bags loaded with books, swag, chocolate and more (you'll actually want to use the tote bag again - yes, really, you will!
- One year free subscriptions to your choice of Events, Room Reserve, or Summer Reader
- Brownies - not just any brownies, but Fairytale Brownies
- A $100 gift certificate for Amazon.com

When we tweet, we'll send a clue to a location. It might be in the conference center, it might be somewhere in Chicago. In the clue, we'll let you know whether you should be looking for Christine. No trampling Christine in fits of Twitter hunting frenzy, folks.

Keep an eye on your cell phone - first person to the prize is a winner. Second person and third person to get to Christine, well, you probably won't get anything. So it's good to be first!

We'll be posting mugshots of Christine in the coming days so you know who to look for.

For additional info, read this past post:
http://evanced.blogspot.com/2009/06/announcing-ala-conference-twitter-hunt.html

Announcing the ALA Conference Twitter Hunt Giveaway

2009-06-12T12:10:00.003-04:00

Here at Evanced, we are big followers of @tonyhawk on Twitter. In addition to being an amazing skateboarder and an excellent Twitter user, he also does some really fun giveaways using Twitter.

We were so inspired by his giveaways, that we will be hosting some giveaways of our own at Annual Conference in Chicago.

To participate, you will need to follow us on Twitter - we're @Evanced. Don't have a Twitter account? Then follow us at http://www.twitter.com/evanced

Everyday we'll be tweeting a clue or picture of a clue to the location of a great prize or prizes! First person there is the winner! Locations may be in the conference center or in Chicago - but we promise the travel time will be worth it! Think free software, delicious treats, and gift certificates to Amazon plus Evanced swag that is usable and fun! (No stress balls, we promise. If you have found a realistic use for stress balls, please let us know...)

Contest runs July 11- 14! See you in Chicago!

For more information on Tony Hawk's use of Twitter, check out this video on CNN's iReports: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-249560

Evanced Announces Fall Reading for Library Staff Members

2009-06-09T15:25:00.003-04:00

After managing another summer of summer reading and making it through the annual Summer Reading Party and Shin Dig, you need a break.

Wouldn't it be nice if someone had a fun, easy fall reading program for YOU??? Well, look no further - Evanced Solutions would like to announce its Fall Reading Program. Prizes, book discussions, and fun giveaways await you this fall as you relax after a summer of hard work!

Details will be posted prior to ALA Annual Conference, but until then, there is one big issue that must be addressed.

"Fall Reading Program" is dreadfully boring sounding. Do you have ideas for fun fall reading theme? List your ideas as a comment to this post by June 16 and the Evanced team will vote on the theme they like the most!

Here are some ideas I've had:
"Coffee Cafe" - coffee and tea themed prizes
"Travel the World by Book" - travel inspired prizes

You can see why I need a little help! So leave your comments and lend a hand!

Summer of Service Graphics Now Available (Plus Great Links)

2009-06-08T14:33:00.010-04:00

Here are two variations on the Summer of Service .sponsor image for placement in your Summer Reader software:

To obtain the above graphics, contact Support at support@evancedsolutions.com

In addition to the Summer of Service links that we gave in our last post, here are helpful links to place on your Summer Reader Summer of Service Page:

Kids Health Volunteer Page: http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/volunteer.html

Get Involved Volunteer Opportunity Search Engine: http://www.getinvolved.gov/

The Do Something Volunteer Search Engine: http://www.dosomething.org/volunteer

Habitat for Humanity: http://www.habitat.org/cd/local/

Volunteer Match: http://www.volunteermatch.org/

Network for Good: http://www.networkforgood.org/volunteer/

Don't forget to list local contacts and web addresses as resources. Local community clean up days, food drives, and other events are also great to list on your Summer Reader or Events page.

Are you ready for Summer of Service?

2009-06-05T12:28:00.006-04:00

Many of you probably received the email from ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels about the White House initiative "Summer of Service". In his email, Keith asks libraries and librarians to brainstorm how they can use teen volunteers at the library and also encourage service participation in the community.

If you didn't get the email, contact me at cayar@evancedsolutions.com and I will forward it to you.

Here at Evanced we've been trying to determine how we can help libraries during the Summer of Service. Here are a few ideas:

Create a Summer Reader page dedicated to helping teens log service hours. Instead of book reviews, encourage them to do service reviews where they talk about their experiences and what they did. At the end of the summer, they can print out their reviews to add to their high school or college portfolios.
Use the links portion of Summer Reader to link to area volunteer groups or to your library volunteer page.
Use the color coding feature of Events to highlight community volunteer events. For instance, highlight all Habitat for Humanity Events in the community in yellow. You don't need to turn on sign up or any of that, but it's a nice way of letting library users know when volunteer chances are coming up!

I'm working on a Summer of Service graphic for your Summer Reader pages today and will post that soon!

In the meantime, check out these links detailing the ALA Summer of Service initiative and review more info from the White House!

Summer of Service Page: http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/initiatives/summer.asp#Marketing

ALA Summer of Service Page:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advocacy/summerofservice/summerofservice.cfm

Have a great weekend!

Christine Ayar
Coordinator of Customer Experience
Evanced Solutions

Social Media in the Springtime - Act III

2009-05-29T14:39:00.004-04:00

Here's the last installment of Social Media in the Springtime!

Let's talk about blogging a bit. At Evanced, we clearly love our blogging. But blogging certainly has it's faults. Namely, you have to have something to blog about. And you can't be too lengthy (boring) and you can't be too brief (isn't that what Twitter is for?)

I was recently hosting a technology unconference where a librarian mentioned that if done right, a good blog can replace most, if not all, of your library website. Not recommended for large library systems, but for a smaller library it might just do the trick.

When used right, you can link your Evanced products, photographs, feeds, and other social media to your blog allowing them to interact almost effortlessly.

The most popular of blogging sites, when unconference attendees were polled, was Wordpress. Here at Evanced, we use Blogger.

If you're thinking of getting a library blog, expanding your blog, or changing your blog, you might find these articles that compare Wordpress and Blogger.

http://www.thoughtclusters.com/2009/01/comparing-blogger-and-wordpresscom.html
http://pulsed.blogspot.com/2007/07/blogger-wordpress-chart.html

And if you're looking for tools to add a new look or functions to your blog, take a look at some of these options:

For Blogger:
http://mashable.com/2009/01/16/blogger-toolbox/ (highly recommended)
http://www.allblogtools.com/
http://tools.bloggerbuster.com/

For Wordpress:
http://mashable.com/2007/08/16/wordpress-god300-tools-for-running-your-wordpress-blog/
http://www.crazyleafdesign.com/blog/top-50-free-wordpress-themes/

Do you have an interesting library blog? Have a blog you use in a unique way? Tell us about it!

Christine
Coordinator of Customer Experience
Evanced Solutions

Social Media in the Springtime - Act II

2009-05-22T10:27:00.003-04:00

Thanks for coming back from intermission. It's time for Act II, in which teens that can't seem to get into the library use the Internet to participate in a whole new way.

I recently used an interesting product called Cover It Live.

Cover It Live allows users to develop a live, interactive blog and chat. You can lead conversation online and the web interface allows attendees to comment and discuss. If you're worried about content, there is even a feature that lets you accept or deny comments as they are made. Another neat feature is the ability to show pictures, videos, and create polls for users to take on the spot! You can also use the software to monitor tweets about your event/book club/conversation.

So if you are looking for something unique to do with teens or adults that just can't seem to get to the library, Cover It Live might be the answer. I've used it for conferences and discussion, but I have a feeling it would be a big hit with a book club or conversation group.

Give it a try - I'd love to know what you and your users think.

Christine
Coordinator of Customer Experience

Case Study: Prince William Public Library System

2009-05-21T10:26:00.011-04:00

It was a small advertisement that led to big changes in the way Prince William Public Library System (Virginia) managed the 3,600 plus teens in its summer reading program.

Thousands of Summer Reading Participants – One Easy Solution
While flipping through a library periodical, Cathy Chang, Associate Director of Prince William Public Library System, saw an advertisement for Summer Reader – the web based summer reading management software from Evanced Solutions. After emailing Evanced and later attending a webinar, Cathy purchased a software subscription for her library system and her summer reading program took a new and improved course.

“We tried to create our own software program [in-house],” Cathy explained, “but it was clunky and staff intensive.”

The staff intensive nature of their former in-house program made it difficult for library staff to manage reader participation and extract statistics about their program. Using Summer Reader’s management tools, including patron self-registration, book and events reviews, prize drawings, and quick report generation, Cathy and her staff were able to respond to reader participation more quickly, and the easy-to-use patron interface increased teen participation – both day and night.

A Teen Friendly Summer Reading Site
“When the kids saw Summer Reader and its tools, they embraced them right away. The teens love being able to log in, it’s available 24 hours a day, and they can pick up their prizes at anytime because we enabled the prize features in the website”, said Cathy.

Teens quickly gravitated to the review feature and in the first year of using the product, the library had over 3,000 book reviews. “We thought that with Facebook and Twitter and all these other things, [the teens] would abandon reviews, but they didn’t. They love to write reviews and it’s nice because we know that the kids are writing and participating in a safe environment. The staff can easily review what they write and we can make a note that says “Spoiler Alert” if they tell a lot about a particular book and might spoil the end for other readers,” added Cathy.

6th-12th graders from the Prince William Library System write reviews of various detail and length. The newest version of Summer Reader 2009 allows readers to add titles to a reading list if a book review piques their interest.

A Staff Time-Saving Solution
Saving time and money was an unexpected but positive feature of using Summer Reader. “The staff wanted to save time,” Cathy explained, “Especially with this economy; we need to save staff time and Summer Reader helps us with that.”

The ability to create statistical reports quickly and easily has been a big help to the Prince William Public Library System. By running reports such as the book review report, library staff can easily obtain a list of the titles participants are reading to determine whether their purchases and collection development policy are matching reading trends. This feature decreased the amount of time the staff was taking to sort reviews and view reading trends.

Libraries and Schools Team Up
Summer Reader’s features don’t just help the library, they help community schools too. Local schools have asked the library staff to help them track summer reading statistics so their middle schools students can “compete to read” over summer break. And high school teachers are allowing students to print out their book reviews from Summer Reader and submit them for book report credit.

It was this review feature that demonstrated to the Prince William Public Library System just how responsive Evanced Solutions customer service is. When students asked if they could search for the book review they wrote by first name or title, Cathy called the Evanced Solutions support team. “We asked if that was a possible feature and the programmers came back and created it,” Cathy said, “Now it’s a standard feature of the software. It’s nice to see a company that’s responsive to suggestions for developments”.

Marketing and Design for Summer Reading Success
Cathy credits high participation in the summer reading program to the software, but also to the marketing of their program and the design of their Summer Reader webpage. Cathy and her staff used direct links from the library homepage to the Summer Reader site and additional links in the library’s email newsletter to increase teen participation. Making special outreach visits to schools to demonstrate the software and working closely with media center specialists also helps their program grow every year.

By collaborating with the local government television channel, the library has been able to create “shows” that tell the community more about their summer reading program and events. And most importantly, the layout of their site is filled with fun graphics and vivid colors to ensure that it is inviting to teens. “If we don’t used bright colors or if the Summer Reader colors we choose are dull, the teens make sure they let us know!” laughed Cathy.

Reaching Out to a Variety of Readers
While Prince William Library has focused on using the Summer Reader product for teens, other libraries across the United States (and now even across the world) create a variety of pages for different age ranges and needs. With the software, children, teen, and adult reading programs can be run independently of one another. Libraries also use the software to manage interest groups and to manage and promote other reading programs such as winter reading, Teen Read Week, etc.

View the Prince William Summer Reader Site
View the Prince William Library System Reader Site by visiting them online at http://host.evanced.info/pwc/sr/homepage.asp

A Look at Other Summer Reader Sites
View the slideshow below to see other Summer Reader sites:

Learn More about Summer Reader
If you’d like to learn more about Summer Reader and other Evanced Solutions products, contact Evanced at sales@evancedsolutions.com. Sign up for a free (and pressure-free) webinar by visiting us online at http://www.evanced.info/lyp.

Social Media in the Springtime...A Blog Post In Three Parts

2009-05-19T12:09:00.004-04:00

Sounds like some sort of high-tech musical, doesn't it?

With Summer Reading just around the corner (next week for some of you!), it's time to consider your social media game plan. It's not just teens who are on Facebook, not just 20-somethings that are on Twitter and you'd be surprised at the library users who are embracing social media.

Here are some Social Media tips to help you freshen things up for the Spring Time!

Twitter
If you want to send Tweets out at consistent times/days, consider Hoot Suite -http://hootsuite.com/ - a great tool to help you preschedule tweets and even measure your tweet effectiveness.

Do you try to make story time a "kids only" event? Or want parents of teens to know what's going on at activities? Tweet photos of what's happening so they can keep track of what their child is doing - and have something to ask their teens about when they talk to them next! (It depends on your teen/parent crowd if that's something they'd be in to!)

"Jimmy, what did you did at library gaming night?"
"Nothin'."
"Really? Because I heard you were playing the drums like a wild man in Round Two of the Rock Band tournament..."
"Oh, well, yeah, there was that..."

Here are some photo sharing sites to get you started:

Twitpic - http://twitpic.com/
ImageBay - http://new.imagebay.com/
SnapTweet - http://snaptweet.com/
Img.ly - http://img.ly/
Yfrog - http://yfrog.com/

Facebook
I have a confession. Sometimes...I'm still confused by the "new" Facebook. So, let's help each other on this one; I know we can get through it.

I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here - there's a great article from Smashing Downloads that talks about the 10 tools and applications to enhance your Facebook Experience

And the lovely folks at Mashable posted a great article about top business tools on Facebook - some of which are very library friendly.

So the curtains will now close on this act of "Social Media in the Springtime". Stay tuned for more info coming soon! And be sure to friend us on Facebook and Twitter (Evanced)

Getting Through Tough Times @ Your Library

2009-05-18T13:37:00.004-04:00

Back in March 2008 I wrote a brief article that listed ten ways libraries can help people get through tough economic times. What I didn't anticipate was the gangbuster response the article was going to get - from Texas to New York and back across to Washington state - the article has been reused, rehashed, and rewritten! It's been great. You can use it too, if you'd like!

You can view the original article on my personal blog:
http://mylibraryideas.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/get-through-a-recession-your-library/

Or on the I Love Libraries website at:
http://www.ilovelibraries.org/news/topstories/toughtimes.cfm

So if libraries help the community get through tough times - who helps the libraries? Well, it goes without saying that there is a bit of reciprocation from most communities by way of tax dollars and/or financial contributions. However, we want to let you know that we're here to support you too.

Here are ideas of how Evanced Solutions can help your library in tough times:

1) If possible, consider charging a small fee to organizations using library meeting rooms. You might only want to charge for-profit groups, or groups that require a lot of post event cleanup. If you're interested in using Room Reserve to help with that process, let us know. We can help you set up the fee feature in Room Reserve and provide you with ideas of how other communities have done something similar.

2) Use your software to the max. Our software is very flexible and has a ton of features. Contact me (Christine) and I can help review what features you are using, and let you know about ones that you're not! By using the software to its potential, you're not only increasing your return on investment, but you're allowing your staff to spend time doing other things they need to do while our software helps take care of the rest.

3) If you have software questions or are stuck on how to do something, contact us. Call our Support team and get the answers you need. We recommend that you pass out our contact information to your entire staff. We don't charge for support and we are always happy to help. You can call Support at 888-519-5770 or email them at support@evancedsolutions.com

4) Use our free training to learn more about our products and all of the features they offer. Take a look at what we're offering and see if there is a class that might help you! Visit the training calendar for more information.

Have a great week!
Christine - Coordinator of Customer Experience
cayar@evancedsolutions.com

I WENT Bald for the Cause

2009-05-15T13:31:00.005-04:00

As some of you may know my 10 month old nephew Willem died in 2007 of childhood leukemia. His parents (my brother-in-law Ted, and sister-in-law Chris) decided to start a St Baldrick's Day team to help raise money and awareness for childhood cancer, by shaving their heads. I've joined their efforts and their team and put what hair I had left on the line (or to the shears) for this great cause.

The mission of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation is to raise awareness and funds to cure kids’ cancer by supporting cancer research and fellowships. This foundation will receive 100% of the proceeds of this fund raiser, and you can donate to this worthy cause in Willem's name and in support of my soon to be bald head here.

My before and after pictures are shown above. Thank you so much to those who were able to donate. I raised over $1,000 for the foundation. It's not to late to contribute to this worthy foundation but if nothing else just peruse the St Baldrick's website to learn more about issues involving childhood cancer.

You can also learn more about our nephew Willem from his CaringBridge site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/willembolan There are pictures there of the rest of my family that shaved that day too.

Thank You!

Rob Cullin

CSO / Co-Founder

Evanced Solutions

Planned Maintenance - May 15 - 10:00 PM - Midnight

2009-05-13T15:20:00.000-04:00

We want to let you know that on Friday, May 15 from 10:00 PM until 11:59 PM, our software might be down interemittently while server work is completed. This only applies to those customers whose software is hosted by Evanced.

We do not expect it to take longer than that, and you may find no change in your service during that time, but just in case it is spotty, we want to let you know not to panic!

If anything changes, we will be sure to keep you informed.

Christine Ayar - Coordinator of Customer Experience

How about the Maintenance/Custodial Department?

2009-05-11T11:05:00.002-04:00

I was at the Long Island Library Conference last week and met a lot of great people! The theme was "Going Green" and the topics ranged from making your library LEED certified to developing off-the-wall teen programs.

While I was visiting with folks, I met the Head Custodian for a library that uses Evanced Solutions Events and Room Reserve products. He was part of the team that chose the product (he asked for something that would help he and his staff get the weekly setup schedule) and was a big part of the final decision to go with Events and Room Reserve.

He mentioned that he prints out the set-up requests each daily and posts them to a bulletin board. He also has a link on all of the public computers that custodial staff members can click on to view the calendar and log in under a specific "custodial staff" log in.

How does YOUR custodial or maintenance staff log in to Events and Room Reserve? Do they use printouts? The email function? Do they go online to view the calendar?

Let us know! Comment here or email me at cayar@evancedsolutions.com

~ Christine Ayar, Coordinator of Customer Experience

Drive Traffic to Your Events, Room Reserve, and Summer Reader Pages

2009-05-04T11:24:00.003-04:00

Every library wants to increase traffic to their library website. When used correctly, social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter can lead people to your site.

There was a great article posted last week on FrogLoop.com that discussed the 10 Thing Every Nonprofit Should Know About Social Media and Online Communications.

It's a list of handy tips and ideas that can drive additional traffic to your Summer Reader, Events, and Room Reserve websites. Advertise events, let people know about your available meeting rooms, and build excitement about summer reading!

Not sure about the Social Media trend? Then use the FrogLoop Social Media ROI calculator to determine the value of social networking tools.

~ Christine, Coordinator of Customer Experience

Creating Summer Reader Pizzazz

2009-04-24T11:47:00.001-04:00

Yes, you read that correctly - I just said pizzazz.

Summer Reader is a great forum to show a little creativity and to create a site that draws library users in. We provide a few pre-set color combinations, but what if you want to do a bit more? Here are some of our favorite links to graphics and color palettes to help you make your Summer Reader site stand out.

iStockphoto (pay-for service) - http://www.istockphoto.com/index.phpYou have to buy a bundle of "credits" from iStockphoto, the lowest cost bundle of credits being $18 for a pack of 12 credits. The Pay-As-You-Go feature is ideal for smaller libraries that don't purchase new graphics frequently. Take advantage of the Dollar Bin to really stretch your credits. Great for making the Sponsor image in Summer Reader.

Shutter Stock (pay-for service with an exception!) - http://www.shutterstock.com/Shutter Stock has high quality graphics, but depending on your budget, the prices might be prohibitive. One great feature is the "Free Graphic of the Week" and "Free Vector Image of the Week". Take advantage of those to use in your Sponsor Image!

Stock Exchange (pay-for and free) - http://www.sxc.hu/This site sometimes takes a lot of searching, but you can find gems that are both pay-for and free. Again, a great resource for the Sponsor image.

Flickr - Creative Commons (free) - http://www.flickr.com/creativecommonsUse the great images found on the Creative Commons Flickr page to use on your Summer Reader page. Watch the usage licenses carefully to protect artists' rights!

Colour Lovers (free) - http://www.colourlovers.com/Need help deciding on a color palette or are you in need of a background design for your Summer Reader site? Check here! Beautiful color palettes provide perspective on what colors match each other best. And Color Lovers members combine colors and design into beautiful designs that can be set to your background (be sure to use the background image repeat option to fill the background of the Summer Reader page).

Font Freak (free) - http://www.fontfreak.comFont Freak offers hundreds of free fonts that are perfect for creating the Sponsor graphic. It can be tricky to get to the fonts, so follow these directions: Go to the site, click "Enter Here", then click "No Thanks, I'll download them one by one" (unless you want to purchase the full pack of fonts), then on the far left under "Free Fonts" you will see links to Fonts, New Fonts, Dingbats. Click on any of those three depending on what you are searching for.

Happy Font Hunting! Hope these help you in your quest for Summer Reader pizzazz!

Let us know how it goes and what you come up with - and please share great resources you use by posting in the comments section of our blog.~ Christine - Coordinator of Customer Experience

I'm going BALD, to help cure childhood cancer...

2009-04-13T13:56:00.006-04:00

As some of you may know my 10 month old nephew Willem died in 2007 of childhood leukemia. His parents (my brother-in-law Ted, and sister-in-law Chris) decided to start a St Baldrick's Day team to help raise money and awareness for childhood cancer, by shaving their heads. I've decided to join their effort and their team and put what hair I have left on the line (or to the shears) for this great cause.

At the right is my "before" picture from PLA 2008 (the day before Kim and I got married). I'll post the "after" picture in May after I'm as bald as "Homer" (the cartoon character not the classics writer). Thank you so much in advance to anyone who chooses to donate, and if nothing else just peruse the St Baldrick's website to learn more about issues involving childhood cancer.

You can also learn more about our nephew Willem from his CaringBridge site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/willembolan

Thank You!

Rob Cullin

CSO / Co-Founder

Evanced Solutions

Bug Hunt Winners Share How They Used Their Winnings

2009-04-09T17:12:00.005-04:00

We recently received a note from Manhattan Public Library (Kansas) sharing with us what they purchased with the $300 Amazon Gift Certificate they won as 1st Place Winners of our Bug Hunt Contest. Manhattan shared the first place spot with York County Library System (Virginia).

Here's what they wrote us:

Just thought I would send you and your staff a little note to show you what we purchased with our $300 from the 1st Bug Hunt Contest. We had such a fun time shopping on Amazon but ultimately found what our library needed to make its Game Nights even better.

We bought 2 more remotes to bring us up to 4. We bought 3 nunchuks to complete our collection of 4. We got Mario Kart with a wheel and an extra wheel. Guitar Hero Aerosmith with guitar and game. Smarty Pants and Marvel Comics. We were so glad that there were some sales and that helped us purchase as much as we did.

Thanks for everything.

Teri Barton
Manhattan Public Library

It brought a little tear to our eyes here at Evanced. Being able to host a Bug Hunt contest was fun - but hearing that we've been able to help bring Mario Kart to one more library in the world, well, we were overwhelmed. To Manhattan Public Library and all of the participants in our Beta Testing Bug Hunt Competition, thank you. To the teens at Manhattan Public Library who will be rocking out to Guitar Hero - Aerosmith Edition...the only person who can sing 'Walk This Way' better than us is Steven Tyler. Let us know when you want a showdown.

Thoughts from PLA Symposium 2009

2009-04-04T10:02:00.009-04:00

I had the opportunity to attend the PLA Spring Symposium this year and have attended the "Libraries Connect in the 21st Century" workshop. The presenters were Meg Canada - Web Services Librarian from Hennepin County Library (MN) and Leonard Souza who is from the New Media Marketing arena. The presentation was good and had lots of good nuggets about new technologies mostly focused on Social Networking and how to manage and monitor your organization's place and image in the new Social Media world. Presentations can be found at: www.pla09.tumblr.com

Specifically some tools I've found interesting:

tumbler.com (a new hybrid blogger somewhere between Twitter and a traditional Blog)
vimeo.com (kind of like YouTube but less "cluttered" and works with tumbler.
Yahoo Pipes
Pandora Radio (Web based radio service that tailors songs to your taste)
imeem (Web based radio where you pick the songs)
Jing.com (A free screencasting recording service - built by Camtasia but with few editing options)
Some extremely funny short YouTube videos from Allen County Public Library (IN) : youtube.com/user/askacpl (look for the ones that are titled "iACPL X.0")

Meg also mentioned a regional "phenom" called Social Media Breakfast which she described as Rotary for Social Media "Geeks". They are free and in many cities in America. I'll have to check out if there is one in Indianapolis...

I know Kim Bolan (my wife) was also presenting next door. She was involved in a Libraries Design for the 21st Century. I'm not sure yet of the address for their presentation but I'm sure she'll post it at indielibrarian.blogspot.com which is her blog.

Claudia and I both head to the SirsiDynix CODI/UUGI conference which starts on Monday April 6th. We'll be doing a first unveiling of the new GoLibrary - Materials Vending solutions at this conference. Once we return we'll be doing our more general launch but basic information is now posted on our website (click our logo on the right).

Our blog had a minor face lift...

2009-03-27T12:43:00.002-04:00

We changed our blog to make it wider and a bit easier to read. Blogger IBS, who runs "The Blogger Guide", provided the information that helped us with the edit. He only asked that we post his blog in return, and we are happy to do so:

http://bguide.blogspot.com/

Highly recommended if your library blog needs a fresh or updated look.

Evanced Launches An E-Newsletter

2009-03-24T12:35:00.002-04:00

If you're looking for Evanced news and information, you can now receive it right in your email inbox. We are happy to announce "Evanced Ideas" our e-newsletter. We'll be sending it quarterly to those on our mailing list. If you'd like to sign up for our mailing list, contact Christine Ayar at cayar at evancedsolutions dot com.

Read the most recent issue of the newsletter by clicking here:
http://www.evancedsolutions.com/announcements/newsletter2col.html

We'd love your feedback, so feel free to let us know what you like or dislike about the newsletter and features you'd like us to add. If you have a story idea, send that along too!

We've gotten a little backed up...

2009-03-23T13:22:00.002-04:00

With the flurry of new releases/upgrades, the expansion of Statewide Summer Reading to two new states (PA and AZ), and the general onslaught of support mostly driven by Summer Reader (which is always concentrated in Feb/Mar/April). We've gotten a little behind on support in the last few weeks. Reasons as there may be that this happened, it's not acceptable to us and we are working very hard to get our response times back to what we expect; which is prompt same day if not same hour replies when possible.

We added a new support technician in February (Mike - who's partner is a Library Director in NY btw), and have an additional support technician position now open. Mike is focused 100% on Summer Reader support for now, but once the rush of Summer Reader subsides will get up to speed on all of our products. The other position once filled will also probably focus on Summer Reader initially, until at least our backlog has been resolved.

Our support staff are working hard and absolutely doing their best to get to everyones questions answered and upgrades completed as quickly as possible. They've been putting extra time in during the evenings and weekends to get through the crunch. We (Todd and I underestimated) how much additional support was going to be needed this Spring and now we are playing catch up, but we will catch up soon. We appologize for the delay, and I promise you this is not a sign of things to come but merely a speed bump as we do our best to manage our growth with the growth of our customer base. I welcome any and all feedback on this matter or if you have particular situation that you want to bring to my attention.

Thanks

Rob Cullin

CSO / Co-Founder

rcullin@evancedsolutions.com

In Case You Missed It...

2009-03-19T11:48:00.002-04:00

We have had a flurry of activity here at Evanced! We've hosted two exciting beta testing contests, released the upgrades for Events (6.7), Room Reserve (6.7) and Summer Reader (7.0), launched state wide Summer Reader initiatives with Arizona, Massachussetts and Pennsylvania.

Here are links to our press releases to keep you up-to-date on what's been going on:

Our beta testing contest a.k.a. "The Bug Hunt" was a great success. Learn more about the two competitions we hosted by clicking here:
http://www.evancedsolutions.com/announcements/Test_winners.pdf

The contest helped us prepare for the roll out of our newest software releases. Events and Room Reserve (6.7) and Summer Reader (7.0) boast new features that were requested by our customers. Learn more about Events and Room Reserve here:
http://www.evancedsolutions.com/announcements/V6_7.pdf

and find more information about Summer Reader here:
http://www.evancedsolutions.com/announcements/SR_7.pdf

We are proud to announce that we are working with the states of Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Massachussetts to implement Summer Reader in all public libraries in those states. Additional details can be found here:
http://www.evancedsolutions.com/announcements/State_collaborations.pdf

Interested in learning more about any of the above press releases? Contact Rob Cullin at rcullin at evancedsolutions dot com.

Orange County Creates iPhone App

2009-03-17T12:45:00.005-04:00

Orange County Library System (Florida) recently launched a new iPhone app for patrons. The app allows users to view library news, search the catalog and provides access to their Events calendar - powered by Evanced Solutions Events software.

You can view the app online or via your iPhone by visiting: http://m.ocls.info/
or
view the video they created of this new feature: http://www.ocls.info/mobile/video.asp?bhcp=1

A Twist on Room Reserve

2009-03-16T18:07:00.004-04:00

When Manhattan Public Library (Kansas) faced the problem of documenting and scheduling the use of their two car motor pool, they turned to Room Reserve. By making the two vehicles private, independently bookable equipment, they were able to create a calendar of when cars would be available for staff members.

Teri Barton of Manhattan Public Libraries explains:

"One of the most useful things that we have found is keeping track of our library vehicles. We have a Dodge van and a Toyota Matrix wagon. Before we started using Evanced we had to call the secretary she had to look up a paper log at her desk to see if the vehicles were in use or not. She also had a paper calendar so the vehicles could be reserved ahead of time. When we first got Evanced we thought it would be a great idea to add the vehicles so all the staff had access to the calendar and could reserve the vehicle when making there plans to go out of town or for running in town. By using this feature it makes it easier for staff to reserve a vehicle when making plans for conferences or other outings. Our secretary is still the holder of the keys but she knows when someone will be using the vehicles by looking at the online calendar."

If you have a unique use for our products or would be interested in learning more about how other libraries use our software, contact Christine Ayar at cayar at evancedsolutions dot com.

New Summer Reader Version Released

2009-03-09T20:59:00.011-04:00

With the Beta Bug Hunt Contest complete and with the new manual ready as well we are proud to announce the official 2009 release of Summer Reader. A couple things to note:

Everyone who is current on their maintenance or subscription payments is eligible for this upgrade at NO ADDITIONAL charge. The upgrades can be done at any time and require almost no downtime (a couple minutes worst case). All of your data and programs will be preserved without problems (though we do suggest just in case you do wait until any live and open off season programs you might be running are complete before scheduling your upgrade). Click Here for a complete list of NEW features or see page 115 of the new manual (yes it's actually ready this year) which can be downloaded at: http://www.evancedsolutions.com/manuals.asp

To schedule your upgrade you need to do only 1 of the following 3 things:

Email Evanced Support (support@evancedsolutions.com) that you would like to be upgraded as soon as possible and at anytime.
Email Support that you want to be upgraded as soon as possible but during a certain time of day window (please specify e.g. "Before 9AM EDT")
Email Support that you would like to be upgraded on a certain date during a certain time window (again please specify Date & Time Window). For this option you must give us at least a 5 day cushion to be sure we can accommodate that specific date and time.

IF you are part of the Statewide licenses in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, or Arizona and YOU didn't already have the software prior to the start of your State's statewide contract then you DO NOT need to email support about your upgrade as it has already been done and your system should be on the newest version already.

For a look at what libraries are already doing with Patron Side templates this year and some screen shots from last year see this Google Doc slide show:

Summer Reader Bug Hunt Contest Final Results

2009-03-03T13:26:00.006-05:00

The final results are in from the first ever Evanced Summer Reader Bug Hunt Contest.

First Place:

York County Library (VA) -- $300

Contra Costa County Library (CA) -- $150

High Plains Library District (CO) -- $60

We appreciate the help and testing that all of the participating libraries put forward, and know that all of your work will help us make the system better for everyone.

The new version's final release will be announced this afternoon, here and via email broadcast.

Congratulations to the winners!

RSS - For Your Staff and Patrons

2009-02-13T12:00:00.002-05:00

Events, Room Reserve, and Summer Reader all use RSS to provide different types of information to your library staff and users. If you're having a hard time teaching what RSS is capable of and why your library should be implementing those features on Evanced products, you might want to take a look at this great clip:

Thanks to The Common Craft Show for a great example of what RSS can do, and to Infodoodads for featuring it on their blog!

Version 6.7 Events and Room Reserve Features

2009-02-10T11:15:00.003-05:00

Evanced Solutions begins 2009 with the launch of version 6.7 of Events and Room Reserve. Check out the new features and improvements. Contact Support with any questions.

Events
- Individual user name and password log on is now an option for staff interface
- Digg/Delicious tagging options have been added
- New Save & Preview button on Event Add/Edit page
- Username in place of login level is now displayed when using advanced logins
- Bulk process ongoing checkbox for publish and archive has been added
- A “Show Unpublished” checkbox has been added to the Events PR Report
- In EventsXML there are added URL parameters for publishing and private display.
- Link added to subscriber list, which shows directly what patron is subscribed to what notification list
- Pop-up added to notify staff when they are going to modify a recurring event series that has had modifications done to one to more individual events within the series or there are statistics tied to one or more events. This only occurs if the series dates are going to be effected by the change.
- New edit buttons under create only level on the event info/registration page

Room Reserve
- E-commerce/Online Credit Card Pay option for Room Reserve (additional cost)
- Individual user name and password log now an option for staff interface
- Username in place of login level is now displayed when using advanced logins
- "Request Cancel" page setup to handle canceling ALL occurrences of a recurring reservation
- Improved operation of Recurring Reservations page setup to properly handle editing of a reservation
- Changed reservation range to allow Month option in addition to Day option
- Added "Last Updated" info for requests/reservations in the Quick View window, next to each link

Events/Rooms Bug Hunt 1.0 Update

2009-02-05T09:58:00.003-05:00

The first ever Evanced Bug Hunt contest is over and the results are in (click here). It wa a close race and because of that our panel of judges has decided to declare 2 ties.

So TIED for First Place:
The "Wildcats" from the Manhattan Public Library (Kansas)
- Who almost led from wire to wire, and

The "Book Bugs" from York County Library (Virginia)
- Who technically just squeaked by on the last day by a single point.

Each of the first prize teams will get to choose between a Wii or $300 in Amazon Gift Certificates (broken down as requested).

We then also declared a tie for Third Place:
"Team Westerville" from the Westerville Public Library (Ohio) and
The Clearwater Public Library (Florida)

The Third place teams will each receive $60 in Amazon gift certificates.

Congratulations to all the winners!!

The Summer Reader Bug Hunt Contest is underway starting today. So you find them and we'll squash them!

Summer Reader Bug Hunt Contest

2009-01-19T14:18:00.007-05:00

On the heels of the success of our nearly completed Events and Room Reserve 6.7 bug hunt, we are now starting a Summer Reader 2009 bug hunt contest as well. Summer Readers went through some changes this year and the new release is running about 20-30 days behind where we'd want to be but with your help we can get the new version bug free long before anyone's patrons are accessing it this Summer.

The new version of Summer Reader (V7/2009) will be releasing to Beta in the next 2 weeks. Anyone that wants an upgrade is welcome to request that through our product support group. In addition we will be registering 20 (or potentially more) library teams for a Summer Reader 2009 bug hunt. Just like with the Events/Room Reserve contest, the team that collects the most points for submitting bugs, omissions, etc. will receive prizes.

The rules are similar to the Events/Room Reserve contest, but there a few differences.

- To participate you must authorize us to upgrade your LIVE site to the new Beta version by no later than February 5^th. (With the Events/Room Reserve contest we upgraded a copy of your systems not the live system. Because most libraries are not running live programs to the public at this time of the year, we felt it would be best to upgrade live systems instead. So all your current programs will be upgraded (and if you are about to start an offseason reading program it too will be affected/upgraded). If you want to participate but don't' want your live system upgraded contact support for possible options.

- Each Site can be an individual or team (1 Team per Customer)

- We will have a special place on our Support Forum where bugs will be reported (a basic format for the bug reporting will be listed there).

- The first site/team/library to report each bug will be given credit. The bugs will be posted to the support forum so you'll know what has already been submitted. Points are awarded

- The teams that get the most points(earned by finding and reporting bugs) will receive prizes:

- 1st Prize: A Nintendo Wii OR $300 in Amazon gift certificates (broken down for teams)

- 2nd Prize: An Apple Nano iPod OR $150 in Amazon gift certificates (broken down for teams)

- 3rd Prize: $60 in Amazon gift certificates

To register your library/team for this contest go to: (It’s a February 5th event on our corporate Event Calendar: http://host.evanced.info/lib/eventcalendar.asp?et=Special+Events+and+Dates&dt=mo&mo=2/5/2009&df=list (Please note this is not a webinar, but the registration for the contest itself.)

A couple of clarifications on the contest:

This contest will be in addition to our own internal testing. Our testers will submit bugs into the same forum in order to prevent overlap. All participant's Beta systems will be updated on a regular basis and all system will be updated at once. We'll notify participants when updates are posted.

Contest will begin approx February 5^th, 2009 by which time everyone’s system will be upgraded and posted (we’ll do these as close together as possible). Contest will end at Midnight on March 1^st, 2009, where the final counts and winners will be posted. We’ll try to post updates on progress and standing about once a week through the contest. So the new released version of Summer Reader will be made available on March 2^nd, 2009. We probably will still have some updates leading up into May (mostly non-core issues, some reporting enhancements, and add-on features like Facebook integration)

Point System:

1 Point Bug – A bug that is more a suggestion for operation. An “It Really should work like this!” comment. These are not really classified as bugs, but we felt they are important enough to include in the list.
2 Point Bug – A bug that is an inconvenience or nuisance. Not a major failure but a problem none-the-less.
3 Point Bug – This is a doozey! This is a bug that stops a significant portion of the program from running correctly. Just about any kind of error message or screen would fall into this category.

The upgrades in February will be done primarily for libraries who sign up to participate. You CAN request an upgrade to the Beta and NOT participate in the contest. Just email support.

We will actually upgrade your LIVE system with your real data. So be aware that what your doing is live. Any running programs will be affected. Once released your system will be upgraded to the final version and all programs you create during the Beta phase will be kept, so work towards your real Summer Programs is encouraged. (More information on a seperate Template Design contest is coming soon)

We aren’t setting any rules on how you want to handle prizes on your end. You can use the prize for your library or yourself but we leave compliance with your own library’s policies up to you.

IF the number of interested libraries exceeds 20 we will consider expanding the field some. HOWEVER libraries that do not have direct accounts with Evanced (e.g. libraries whose licenses were purchased through State wide agreements (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and (maybe NY if it still happens this year)) are not eligible to participate in the contest though they still will have access to the Beta version if they request it (all PA and AZ sites will be initially installed with the new version).

If you are a multi-branch system you can have more than one location/branch participating though as a part of a single team. I realize that this gives a somewhat more inherent advantage to bigger libraries. We weren't sure what to really do with that this time, so I promise that if the whole contest gets dominated by Big libraries/customers we'll make some adjustments(maybe some additional prizes this go around and rule changes for the next time) so the smaller libraries don't get left out or put at a disadvantage. Though it was NOT the case with the Events/Room Reserve contest which so far has been dominated by some small and mid-sized libraries.

That's all for now but if you have additional questions please don't hesitate to contact me/us and we'll get your questions answered.

Thanks
Rob Cullin (rcullin@evancedsolutions.com)
CSO/Co-Founder

Meetup at Midwinter!

2009-01-19T11:33:00.002-05:00

We're getting ready for ALA Midwinter and we hope to see you there! Evanced won't have a booth at this Midwinter conference, but we still like to meet up with you and hear what is new at your library.

To set up a meeting time during Midwinter, contact Christine Ayar at cayar@evancedsolutions.com. See you at conference!

Bug Hunt Contest Update!

2009-01-07T12:39:00.003-05:00

Wow...we have one tiny idea for a bug hunt contest, and the next thing we know, there is some heated competition going on! Here is the latest update on the Bug Hunt Contest, sent out via email this morning by Rick Chambers from the Evanced Support Department:

Contestants,

Way to go! The total bug count is up to 44. I didn’t think it was possible. So thank you for your hard work! We’ve set the ending of the contest at Feb. 1st at 12:00 PM EDT midnight. Anything submitted after that time will not count towards the point totals. So don’t make any plans this weekend. :)

Here are the current standings:

Looks like the Manhattan Wildcats are maintaining their lead. But don’t let up Wildcats. I happen to know that there is one team that is just getting started, and they’ve got their eye on the prize!

We’ve just performed a minor update and Credit Card Processing for Room Reserve is re-enabled. Hint…Hint!

Other changes are a little less noticeable, but for those keeping track here you go.
· fixed event type maint list
· fixed some search/recurring things in 24 hour enabled
· fixed multiple equipments and using the CC page
· streamlined, reconfigured and reworked several queries for quicker processing
· setup indexes on database relations that weren’t being hit previously

We expect another update to occur before Monday Jan. 12th. I’ll keep you updated. Thanks again for all your hard work.

A Darn Good Read Is On The Way!

2008-12-05T17:21:00.000-05:00

In the month of January your inbox will have an interesting bit of e-mail...and no it's not more spam. We're launching a quarterly e-newsletter for our customers, full of interesting tips and info to help you get the most from your Evanced purchase!

We can't guarantee Pulitzer Prize winning journalism, but we can promise it will always provide you with information that will improve your software usage!

We really would like your help before it hits the virtual presses. What would you like to see in a quarterly newsletter? Featured libraries and how they use the software? Hints and tips? New release details? What type of information do you want to be able to read quickly from our newsletter? We'd love to know!

Comment on this post or email me at cayar at evancedsolutions dot com.

Facebook Us!

2008-12-02T11:22:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but I love Facebook. Most libraries have embraced the Facebook trend as it fits in nicely with the Library 2.0 goals we all have. It's also where that elusive group of library users hangs out: teens!

Well, now Evanced is on Facebook too...or for the cut and paste crowd: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Evanced-Solutions/44240963652 . From there you can view our blog and read the discussion board. Friend us!

You can also IM us on Meebo - username: Evanced.

Just two more ways to get up-to-date information from Evanced!

Write That Down!

2008-11-24T12:36:00.001-05:00

My first two weeks here at Evanced have been very interesting! I've already been able to speak to several libraries and learned a great deal! You sure are a friendly and fun bunch. (and, might I add, you have excellent taste in software!)

If you read this before I am able to call your library, I am asking for one small favor. Start taking notes about our products! I know how easy it is to start working on something and mutter "Gee, I wish the software would do this!" or "If only it had this-and-such feature it would be great!" But then a program starts, a reference question needs to be answered, or the phone rings, and then POOF! the thought passes and work rolls on.

But if you happen to remember those mutterings - grab your post-it notes and write them down for me! When I call, I'll be asking you all about your thoughts and needs related to your Evanced software.

In the meantime, you can also contact us by submitted your thoughts to support at evancedsolutions dot com or by entering a support ticket at the Support Center.

Look What We Did!

2008-11-19T14:06:00.000-05:00

I'm often asked, throughout the course of my days, what OTHER libraries have done with the Evanced software. What's a great website integration page? Who really uses the RSS feeds well? How do libraries push people into signing off on their Meeting Room policies? And, the biggest one of all these days: What libraries have created great reports and hand-outs from Events?

It's a great question. And I know you all have done great things. But we don't KNOW about it unless you share! So I ask you to share...

-Do you have a printout of, say, Story Times? Weekly? Monthly? that you hand out?
-Do you have a great attendance report you use for quarterly or annual reports?
-Is your Event Calendar as useful on paper as it is online? How do you print?

Please send us any of your great report/printout examples, and we can share with the larger community. Then I can stop saying, "Great question! I don't know." Email me a few examples, or post them in response here, and we can all take advantage of your brilliance!

Thank you!!
Claudia

Evanced Customer Experience

2008-11-13T16:24:00.003-05:00

If you're an Evanced customer, then you know that Evanced always puts customers first. Unlimited training, timely support response, and an approachable, friendly staff are just some of the things Evanced strives to provide to customers each and every day. But here at Evanced, we want to make sure that you don't just think of us as just a software provider - we want to be your partner in making your library a fantastic place.

That's where I come in! Hi, I'm Christine Ayar and I'm the new Coordinator of Customer Experience for Evanced Solutions. I recently joined Evanced after being a library director at a small library in Michigan. My six years of experience have included work in many settings, including public, special, high school and academic libraries. I've worked in museums and archives as well, and my MLIS had a special focus on digital librarianship.

It's going to be my job to speak to each and every client this year...some of you lucky ones will hear from me twice, maybe more! My goal is to ensure that you not only use the products you purchase from Evanced Solutions, but that you get the absolute most value from your investment. I want to make sure that your library is using Evanced products to their fullest potential plus learning new ways to use the software that you may not have previously considered.

In turn, I hope that you will let me know the ways in which Evanced Solutions can serve you more effectively. Tell me your opinions, ideas, thoughts or concerns...or just say hi! Email me at cayar at evancedsolutions dot com. I look forward to meeting you!

Events/Rooms Bug Hunt 1.0 Update

2008-11-12T11:14:00.001-05:00

We still have 5 spots left in the first Events/Rooms Bug Hunt, but the 15 teams so far come from: (Just email me at rcullin@evancedsolutions.com if you want to change your team name)

Library -- Team Name
Manhattan Public Library -- Wildcats
Coal City Public Library District -- Calendar Queens
Clearwater Public Library System -- Clearwater Public Library System
Contra Costa County Library -- Duck for President
Roselle Public Library -- Calendar Girls
Akron-Summit County Public Library -- ASCPL
York County Public Library -- Book Bugs
East Fishkill Community Library -- Teamsters
Hartford Public Library --
Fayetteville Free Library -- Fayetteville Free
Westerville Public Library -- Westerville
Liverpool Public LIbrary -- The LPL SWAT Team
Johnson County Library -- JoCoDetectives
Pasco County Library System -- LEAPing in PASCO
Clark Public Library --

We are keeping registration open until at least next week when I get back from CLA. We are working on the bug submission forms/process and should have that nailed down soon. A full list of rules and requirements will accompany that. So far the response to this idea has been overwhelmingly positive even from those that don't have the time or inclination to participate. I think it is going to be a big success and I'm looking forward to working with everyone on this.

Beta Contest Additional Clarification

2008-11-04T10:19:00.001-05:00

Additional clarifications on the Beta testing contest for 6.7 Events and Room Reserve. Even if you are NOT a hosted customer and have your Events and/or Room Reserve systems stored on a local server you can still participate in the contest. When we make a copy of your data and setup your Beta instance of the software it will be hosted (and your locally installed system will be totally unaffected). Once the new version is released we will schedule with you when to update your Live locally installed system to the released version of 6.7.

Also please note that ANY customer (or individual that works at a customer site) running Events AND/OR Room Reserve is eligible to participate in the contest. It does not have to be library sponsored (especially since we will NOT be affecting live systems). Individuals who want to participate on their own are also welcome just remember the limit is one person/team per library so if more than one person from a library want to do it on their own they'll need to team up(go ahead and register we'll pair you up once we see two people from the same library registerd).

We still have 10 spots open as of "Election Day" so go vote then sign up for the Beta Contest.

A New Approach Part 3

2008-11-03T11:19:00.001-05:00

Response so far on this Beta Testing contest has been very good. We've already got 9 libraries signed up and have spots remaining for 11 more. I haven't gotten many suggestions yet on changes that might be needed in the approach so for now we are going with what I've already laid out. We'll keep registration open until at least mid-month though we'll need to cut it off at some point so we can prepare for the sites that are participating. If you have any questions or want to discuss with us more about what's involved please don't hesitate to contact us.

A New Approach Follow-up

2008-10-30T22:25:00.001-04:00

A couple of clarifications on the contest:

The upgrades in December will only be done for libraries who sign up to participate. Just in the first afternoon/evening we have 6 customers signed up so interest seems high so far.
We will actually upgrade a COPY of your real data, and make a new hosted instance for you to run your testing on. This will NOT affect your live system, and will not affect patrons. This will basically be a play space where you can do and test anything without worrying that you'll mess up your data or your system. Even if you totally corrupt your data(by your own actions or a bug in the system) we could always restore it.
We aren't thinking that Patrons would have any access to the Beta instances of your system. I guess it wouldn't be outside of the rules though to have some "Key Patrons" that want to participate trying to "break" the patron side of the system as a part of your team. I'll leave that up to individual teams to decide.
NO ONE's live system will be upgraded to V6.7 until Feb 1 at the earliest. It's possible though we feel unlikely that we would have to delay release a little beyond that if we felt that the release was not yet stable by that point. Because we've slimmed down the number of new features in this release and have already done quite a bit of testing, we feel that won't be an issue this go around but I felt we had to put it out there just in case.
IF the number of interested libraries exceeds 20 we will consider expanding the field some (especially if it helps us get a good balance of Events Only, Rooms Only, and Both Module customers because as you can imagine those three scenarios can create a variety of different issues and behaviors so we want as many iterations tested as possible.
If you are a multi-branch system you can have more than one location/branch participating. I realize that this gives a somewhat more inherient advantage to bigger libraries. We weren't sure what to really do with that this time, so I promise that if the whole contest gets dominated by Big libraries/customers we'll make some adjustments(maybe some additional prizes this go around and rule changes for the next time) so the smaller libraries don't get left out or put at a disadvantage.

That's all for now but if you have additional questions please don't hesitate to contact me/us and we'll get your questions answered.

A New Approach

2008-10-30T11:03:00.004-04:00

As things grow you often have to find new ways to approach a situation. In our case as our products have grown and evolved and we’ve made them more and more adaptable to our many customers varied needs. The downside of this is there are so many options and choices in how the system now operates, it’s become difficult to test new versions in all the various iterations and options that our customers implement. As a result we’ve come up with an idea that we hope will help us make our software more stable and reliable at release while also providing some fun competition for all. We are planning a new release of Events and Room Reserve 6.7 for Jan 30th. We will be doing a code freeze on Nov 30th, and beginning our Beta cycle at that time. The change this time will be instead of upgrading a few customer’s live systems for the Beta cycle we will be registering up to 20 sites for a Beta Testing Contest.

- Each Site can be an individual or team (1 Team per Customer)

- Each participating site will have a copy of their database upgraded to the Beta 6.7 version and then hosted on one of our servers for testing by that sites participants.

- We will have a special place on our Support Forum where bugs will be reported (a basic format for the bug reporting will be listed there).

- The first site/team/library to report each bug will be given credit.

- The teams that are credited with finding the most bugs will receive prizes:

- 1st Prize: A Nintendo Wii OR $300 in Amazon gift certificates (broken down for teams)

- 2nd Prize: An Apple Nano iPod OR $150 in Amazon gift certificates (broken down for teams)

- 3rd Prize: $60 in Amazon gift certificates

We aren’t setting any rules on how you want to handle prizes on your end. You can use the prize for your library or yourself but we leave compliance with your own library’s policies up to you.

This contest will be in addition to our own internal testing. Our testers will submit bugs into the same forum in order to prevent overlap. Everyone's Beta system will be updated on a regular basis and all system will be updated at once. We'll notify participants when updates are posted.

Contest will begin approx Dec 1st when everyone’s system is upgraded and posted (we’ll release them all at once). Contest will end at Noon on January 30th, 2009, where the final counts and winners will be posted. We’ll try to post updates on progress and standing about once a week through the contest. This contest does not affect the new version of Summer Reader 2009 which will also be released in February, though if this contest is successful we’ll consider it for the future of SR too.

To register your library/team for this contest go to: http://host.evanced.info/lib/eventsignup.asp?ID=1385 (It’s a December 1^st event on our corporate Event Calendar: http://host.evanced.info/lib/eventcalendar.asp

Libraries in Serbia

2008-10-23T08:09:00.001-04:00

I have been back now for a few weeks from a ten day trip to Serbia where I was the keynote speaker at an international library conference. Following the conference, I traveled to various libraries throughout Serbia presenting and discussing about electronic services that US libraries are offering. Here is the link to the conference website: http://bdsconference7.blogspot.com/
One thing I did not know until I went there is that our US Embassy in Belgrade is very involved in assisting and working with the libraries. The Public Affairs Office of the Embassy has worked to create American Corner Libraries within some of the libraries or cultural centers around Serbia: http://www.americancorners-sam.net/index.php.
They describe it best: "The Corners are small, American-style libraries created to increase mutual understanding between Serbia & Montenegro and the United States by making available information about America in a variety of formats. We offer books, videos, CD-ROMs, Internet Access, various programs and professional bilingual librarians trained to help you find the desired information about the United States."
Something else I found interesting is that the Serbian libraries are struggling with the same issues the we hear about from US libraries and that is how to continue to stay relevant in this Internet and electronic world. The difference is that most of their libraries, in my opinion, are roughly 6-7 years behind most US libraries. The libraries are at varying levels and are just now starting to work together through the yearly conference. There are some that are just now trying to get their catalog onto a computer, others have it in a computer and are trying to get it online, and others already have it online. The majority fall into one of the first two categories.
The people there were very nice and very in tune with the American culture. Most of the people I talked to had either been to the US or know of someone that had been to the US. They are watching our election and are very focused on our economic situation.
In all it was a very interesting trip and it was nice to see some of our tax dollars being used in a constructive and positive way. I presented at all but one of the American Corners and there were patrons there using the resources. A couple of the patrons told me how appreciative they were of American Corners libraries.
I am working on putting up a slide show. I will post again when I have it up somewhere.

Looking to Create Better Room Diagrams?

2008-09-23T10:18:00.002-04:00

If you are looking for a more sophisticated way to create Room Diagrams for integration to Room Reserve take a look at:
http://www.timesaversoftware.com/

We don't sell or warrant their application but it looks pretty handy and could be of use to more advanced users of Room Reserve. In particular if you want to create a bigger variety of room layout options for users to chose from.

PS: Another option suggested by a user in the comments is: http://www.gliffy.com/ which is evidently free, and looks pretty nice (though I haven't tried it myself)

Limiting Registration to Residents

2008-09-15T17:11:00.000-04:00

It makes me crazy when libraries don't know all the great things our software will do for them! Limiting registration is a perfect example.

If you want to limit event registration to the residents of your community when you're part of a larger shared ILS system, it's not hard if you have a unique identifier in your library card number (i.e. the first 5 digits indicate YOUR library):

First, make sure you have authentication turned on;

Second, for each event you want to LIMIT to residents, make sure the Residency Requirement is turned ON/checked and that you require a library card number for that event;

Third - publish! The software will authenticate the card number for those unique digits, and allow registration ONLY to your patrons. EASY!!!

Let us know if we can help get you set up.

New and Exciting! The Evolution of Events

2008-09-15T13:25:00.002-04:00

I talk to lots of librarians every day. Several of you have asked me the past few weeks, So what new and exciting new module is Evanced coming up with for us? Good question.

Of course we are always improving our core modules- Events, Room Reserve, and Summer Reader. A new release for Events and Room Reserve will come out later this year, with some great new features and options.

But the big news is the evolution of Events for your City, County, or Town.

Huh??? Well, think about it: give your public ONE PLACE TO GO for, say, all Children's programs in the Library, Parks & Rec, and Public Health Departments. An Aggregate calendar, that gives every city/county department TOTAL AUTONOMY, but the ability to show the full picture of what's going on around town.

An example: http://www.lee-county.com . Click on "What's Going On Today" to see their aggregate.

Want to find out what we can do for your municipality? Show your Parks & Rec folks what a combined calendar can do? Give me a call, at 317-352-2188. I'm at Extension 109. You can email me at chackworth@evancedsolutions.com

Claudia

Google Chrome - First Impressions

2008-09-03T12:06:00.000-04:00

Well if you haven't heard Google has released its own browser called Chrome. While I won't get into the politics of whether this is good or bad for the browser market we've done a little playing with it and so far our impressions are positive. We use a lot of Javascript and Chrome runs Javascript much faster and efficiently then IE or Firefox. Overall it seems to be playing very nice with our software, even better then Firefox from what we can tell so far. This isn't an official statement of full fledged approval but we definitely like what we see so far.

Though reading through some of the fine print on their User Agreement is a little bit scary. We'll see.

Guest Posters

2008-07-24T13:00:00.000-04:00

If any of our customers, prospects, or anyone else for that matter would like to become a one time, part-time, or full time poster to our blog please let us know. We certainly welcome content from anyone that might be relevant to our customers and prospects. Topics that I'd personally love to see:

Best practices in implementation
Unique processes or work arounds and tips
Feature ideas/suggestions that you'd like others to comment on
Summer Reading success stories (even it's just a simple "Hey, we had a 200% increase in participation this year..."
Something about libraries that you just want to share

You can either post a comment here or email me at rcullin@evancedsolutions.com

V6 Manuals are posted and updated

2008-07-23T18:07:00.000-04:00

The Version 6 manuals for Events and Room Reserve have both been posted to the website. We may continue to make minor updates and changes to them but they are finalized.

www.evancedsolutions.com/manuals.asp

Evanced Helps Fight Inflation

2008-07-22T09:49:00.000-04:00

Some of you may know that we were planning to implement our first ever (in 7 years of doing business) price increase sometime this summer. We had been planning this and letting people know for about the last 9 months that this was probably coming (it would have applied to all new system sales and would not have affected existing customers).

In light of the current economic situation, budget pressures, and general overall uncertainty in the market we decided to cancel this price increase. We believe strongly in libraries and don't want to put any further pressure on their already strained budgets. And though our own overhead costs have gone up we want to do our part to help.

The Evanced Management Team

Thinking about Open Source? Things to consider...

2008-07-15T17:47:00.001-04:00

I've had a few conversations over the past few weeks with libraries that are, for one reason or another, thinking about an open source solution for their calendar and room booking needs. Needless to say, I think Events and Room Reserve beat open source options by a mile...

I understand that open source solutions are all the rage, and it makes sense for a library to evaluate what options are available. We believe (of course!) that we offer many advantages over any open source solutions that may be out there:

· Evanced software was built by librarians, for a library-specific application, and

· The advanced features of a mature product line, such as our Events and Room Reserve software, means no work on the library’s side to ‘reinvent the wheel’, and

· Our unlimited online training means that your staff will always be able to get updated training, as well as new training for new library staff, without imposing on your in-house resources, and

· The Evanced customer support team is, without question, the best in the industry – we know what version you’re on, what customization may have been made, and how to troubleshoot any problem you might have, from a question on reports to setting up advanced fee structures.

In short, Evanced understands libraries; how they work and what they need in the future as libraries’ needs change. So, go check out the options! Then consider how much time and energy and resources (both financial and people) you might be willing to commit to open source. Evanced will be here with mature, flexible solutions when you're done.

Cool Tool

2008-07-10T09:47:00.000-04:00

We are fnally settling down from our post ALA post July 4th frenzy and wanted to share some things from ALA. A cool tool that I came across if you like Word Clouds which I do is wordle.net. It lets you create word clouds from text, web pages, blogs, feeds, etc. Here is a word cloud of this blog:

and here is a word cloud of the RSS feed from our Training Calendar:

Support Forum Temporarily Down

2008-06-25T16:06:00.000-04:00

Our support forum is experiencing some issues at the moment. We are working on the problem but do not yet have an ETA on it getting it back up. Please continue to email all support questions to support@evancedsolutions.com as we are handling any questions directly while the ticketing system is offline. We'll keep you updated here on the blog.

June 24: Connection issues with our servers

2008-06-25T08:57:00.000-04:00

For those of you attempting to work with your Evanced products on the evening of the 24th: Our hosting provider had some kind of regional network disruption last night and this affected all of our servers. Our privider has triple redundancy with their connections so that if one is down, the others can cover for them but this was that extremely rare occaision when all were affected at once. The outage lasted until around 8 PM. We have been testing all the connections and today everything appears to be working normally. We're very sorry for the inconvenience.

For the ColdFusion Library

2008-05-29T11:57:00.003-04:00

I've had several conversations over the last few weeks with libraries who are using ColdFusion to design their websites, and are unsure of how or why they might integrate Events.

There are many Evanced libraries who have taken advantage of the website-building and integration tools that come with ColdFusion. The ColdFusion databases, templates, and calendars can be invaluable to a library striving to equal the more sophisticated websites online today. But often, a better,more fully realized model is needed.

The advantage of adding the Evanced Events web calendar to this excellent set of tools is this: the ability for the library to have a fully realized product (rather than a set of tools) that encompasses not only a basic, searchable calendar, but also easy data input, online registration tools (including attendance sheets, waitlists, etc), and excellent reports and statistics for attendance and registration. Our customers know what we're talking about here!

Library and IT staff can easily integrate the Events web calendar into a ColdFusion website using ColdFusion tools, as well as the XML, RSS feed and other widget tools that are included with the basic Events management system. In addition, libraries that charge fees for certain programs are able to make use of Evanced Solutions’ integrated Epay module (currently in development for a late 2008/early 2009 release), to allow for online credit card transactions.

Beyond the basic calendar, Evanced offers something no library would wish to try to re-invent: an integrated Room Reserve product to manage all public and private library rooms and spaces. The complexity of this software, and it’s seamless integration with Events that ensures no room will ever be double-booked, make the Evanced software an easy, logical option for any library utilizing ColdFusion.

Collaborative Summer Reader 2008 "Bugs" Template

2008-05-14T13:43:00.000-04:00

I spoke with the Springfield-Greene County Library District last week and they have agreed to share their Teen Summer Reading Club program design with members of the collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP). This template will only work if you have rights to use the Collaborative Artwork. Note that you must also be using the latest version of Summer Reader.

To view Springfield-Greene’s design please go to: http://host5.evanced.info/springfieldgreene/sr/homepage.asp

If you are a member of the collaborative and would like to use this template please download the instructions below:
Importing Springfield-Greene’s “bugs” Template & Configuration

The file you will be importing is:
springfield-greene_template(collaborative).txt

Great Customer Examples

2008-04-17T14:42:00.001-04:00

It seems that everyone is always looking for great implementation examples. We've had a struggle keeping up with that, but I recently started trying to collect some of our great customer examples into a Google Notebook that I can easily edit and share.

This is the link to that notebook which has links to good examples for all 3. Some of the most interesting are in the Summer Reader section. I hope to add many more for this as more come on line this Spring.

If you see or have a great example that you think I should add please let us know or post it as a comment here and we'll add it.

Rob

Ready for PLA 2008

2008-03-23T22:18:00.000-04:00

Well most of our staff heads out for PLA on Tuesday. I don't know that I've ever been as anxious for a conference as I am this one. We've spent a great deal of time and money preparing for this conference. In the last 4 months we've completely revamped our corporate brand and image. We've rebuilt our website, created new brochures, a new company newsletter/newspaper, and put a ton of work into new versions of our 3 main products. For us the culmination of this comes at PLA when we "unveil" our new look and our new versions. I hope that any of you coming to PLA will stop by our booth 101 to see all the changes and new versions.

Of course this year's PLA is even more special for me as Kim and I leave directly from PLA to fly to upstate NY to get married. Kim and I want to put out a thanks for all the warm wishes from everyone. If we don't see you at PLA we hope we'll see you soon.
Thanks
Rob and Kim

Software Recommendations Research results

2008-03-21T15:26:00.000-04:00

Below are the research results put together by Kathe Altazan from Baxter County Library in Mountain Home Arkansas. She had posted the below question on a listerv and one of our customers Tim Baird from White Plains Public Library, NY was kind enough to forward the results to us.

Could anyone recommend software to keep track of events occurring in multiple conference and community meeting rooms within the same facility?

9 Evanced Solutions
2 Peoplecube.com
2 Outlook Calendar
2 Constant Contact
1 Contact Plus
1 Meeting Room Manager by Net Simplicity
1 EventKeeper
1 Novell GroupWise
1 Reserve a Room
1 Fast Book by Event Software
1 Meeting Room Booking System (or MRBS1.2.3.)
1 Library Insight
1 Web Cal Plus
1 Dynacal

More on Recurring Events/Reservations

2008-03-15T08:33:00.001-04:00

This was originally posted as a comment to Claudia's post about recurring events, but we felt it was so good it should get it's own posting. Thank you Randal Fai at Chula Vista Public Library for sharing these additional clarifacations.

Let me extend this a little further for your perusal.
(Q) I have ten "recurring" events that's set to run every Saturday consecutively... but one of those Saturdays is a holiday (or whatever may be the reason). How do I do that?
(A) Open the "recurring event", click (to open) the specific date that you don't want displayed on the calendar (there should be a list of ten dates listed that represents the recurring dates), scroll to the bottom and select "UNPUBLISH"... then SAVE.

(Q) Using the same ten "recurring events" mentioned above... I need to move one of those events to a Friday... and the event starts at a different time. What do I do?
(A) Open the "recurring event", click (to open)the specific date that you don't want displayed on the calendar (there should be a list of ten dates listed that represents the recurring dates), go to where the date/time field are located... and make the appropriate changes... then SAVE.

(Q) Using the same ten "recurring events" mentioned above... I need to move a few of those events to a different date/time. What do I do?
(A) Open the "recurring event", click (to open) the specific dates/times (there should be a list of ten dates listed that represents the recurring dates), go to where the dates/times fields are located and select the appropriate branch... then SAVE.

(Q) Using the same ten "recurring events" mentioned above... each one of the events have a different teacher and/or subject. What do I do?
(A) Open the "recurring event", click (to open) the specific date(s) that you want to make changes to (there should be a list of ten dates listed that represents the recurring dates), go to where the description/title/instructor fields are located and select the appropriate branch... then SAVE. That should do for now....

Chula Vista Public Library
Randal Fai

Summary Settings in Summer Reader 2008

2008-03-11T16:13:00.002-04:00

Have you seen the new summary preview feature in Summer Reader 2008? You simply set, in your System Settings (it's called Program Activity Days), how long a period of time you wish to view - 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, whatever makes sense!

When you log into Summer Reader on the staff side, you'll see a great new summary of what's been happening with your programs over that period of time. You'll see new Registrations, new Reviews, new logging activity - a great Quick View of activity!

If you have permission, you can jump right into Program Setup and Review Maintenance from that Summary screen (without flipping into System Maintenance, selecting Edit Program, choosing program name, etc.). Another way we here at Evanced are trying to make your day a little more efficient.

Small Changes at Evanced

2008-03-08T08:15:00.002-05:00

Change is inevitable...sometimes good and sometimes bad...we have some good changes in store for you.

Between now and PLA we'll be rolling out a new look and some new services.
1. Our New Look: We've been working the past 4-5 months with a new marketing firm: Quinlan based in Carmel, IN. With them we've been rethinking our image, brand, messages, etc. (something every library should be thinking about too, if you haven't already). Out of that is coming a whole new look, logo, colors, themes, and messages. We realized one of the key things we help our customers with is helping to elevate the library within the community. So that becomes our central theme in our look and in our focus for the future. We'll be rolling some of that out over the next few weeks with the big unveiling happening at PLA.

2. Launching today we have a new Support Ticket system, that will help us insure that we maintain (if not increase) our high quality of support. The system will not require you to do anything different but you'll probably notice some new automated messages. The system will allow you to track the status of any support issue you have open, and access a knowledge bases of issues and solutions that others have encountered. You can access the "front door" of the support system at http://support.evanced.info/

3. Also launching today is our new Customer Forum http://forum.evanced.info/ which will allow our customers to share information, questions, ideas, really anything. We'll monitor the forum to see what value we can add to the discussions as well but its main purpose is for all of you to be able to share. One of the key impetuses for this was the new feature in Summer Reader version 6 where libraries can share their theme templates. We hope those of you that have great examples of your Summer Reader implementation will share those with others.

4. More listening: I hope this has always been one of our key strengths, but Todd and I really want to recommit ourselves to listening to you, our customers. So bend our ear, give us a call, send us an email, post a comment, just tell us how we can better help you improve your library. Even if isn't something we already do, we'd love to hear about what you need to see if we can help.

Thank you to everyone of you. We wouldn't' be here without your support.
Rob and Todd

Summer Reader V6 is Released

2008-03-03T10:13:00.001-05:00

We have released Summer Reader V6(2008). To schedule an upgrade please contact support@evancedsolutions.com

See Summer Reader V6 Test Site for more information about the new features and to play with the new version.

Deleting Individual Instances of a Recurring Event/Reservation

2008-03-03T10:06:00.000-05:00

One thing I've noticed "recurring" in the support email lately is questions about deleting individual dates within a recurring series. We did make a change to the default behavior in V5 that grouped recurring reservations. However, there is a checkbox that is in the search/filter section to the left that allows you to "un-group" these recurring reservations whenever you need to delete an individual occurance. This is true for both Events and Room Reserve.

We usually try to avoid making changes to the default behavior of the system but we felt it was well worth it in this case because the system is so much easier to use when recurring events are combined. The added benefit of this is that it's also a little more deliberate of a process to delete an event which is good as it helps reduce accidently deletions. If you have any questions or feedback about this option let us know at support@evancedsolutions.com