Public Information Network for Electronic Services

Last updated
Public Information Network for Electronic Services
PINES logo.gif
Established1999
Location Georgia, USA
Branches283
Collection
Size10,598,805 (2016) [1]
Access and use
Access requirementsParticipating library system
Circulation17,264,835 (2016) [1]
Members1,860,321 (2016) [1]
Other information
Budget$1.1 million [2]
DirectorElizabeth McKinney
Staff8
Website https://pines.georgialibraries.org/

The Public Information Network for Electronic Services (or PINES) is the nearly statewide library consortium and its online library catalog of the Georgia Public Library Service. By June 2017, the catalog consisted of books from 284 library facilities in 143 counties across the U.S. state of Georgia with a collection size of 10.6 million items, all of which are searchable by anyone with a PINES library card which can be obtained free of charge from any PINES-participating library. [3]

Contents

The PINES system effectively turns most of the state of Georgia into one huge library. PINES cardholders are able to request an interlibrary loan from any affiliated library, and the single statewide library card grants access to the hundreds of branches associated with the service. PINES also manages the booking of rooms, the use of remote self-check machines, allows automated search and retrieval, as well as supports RSS and Schema.org standards. [4]

PINES developed the open-source software Evergreen, an integrated library system which it and other library consortia use to manage their online catalogs.

History

PINES development

In 1998 a white paper was created exploring the feasibility of a statewide public library card for Georgia. As Georgia had consistently ranked among the lowest states in public library funding per capita it was agreed that a universal library card could be of great benefit to the residents of Georgia as long as the affiliated libraries were unified under one single integrated library system (ILS). [5] It was also believed that by establishing a state-wide library cost to individual library systems would be lowered as they wouldn't need to maintain their own integrated library systems, and certain tasks could be centralized through the state saving additional time. [6]

By 1999 PINES became a reality, administered by the current Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS). It initially was used as a Y2K state-funded project to address needs of public libraries without Y2K-compliant ILS computer services. These libraries, mostly rural, were deemed not to have programs that would survive into the 21st century. Some libraries were still not automated as well. The PINES initiative would give these libraries access first, bringing their services into the modern era. [6] Looking to complete the project before the year 2000, on April 8, 1999 the initial contract to develop the ILS was awarded to KPMG partnered with the SIRSI Corporation and Sun Microsystems.

In December 1999 the new software was finished and ready for deployment. In that same month Phase 1 of PINES went live with 98 affiliated libraries. For the next two years other libraries saw the success of PINES, and rather than replace their outdated ILS with a new independent one, requested to join the statewide system. In 2001 Phase 2 of PINES went live with an addition 111 libraries joining the service. [6]

Evergreen development

In 2004 the GPLS decided not to renew their contract with KPMG/Sirsi after being advised that under the current software no more libraries would be able to be added to the system. As a result the GPLS explored the possibility of creating their own software, and on June 4, 2004 a press release by the state librarian outlined a two-year development plan for a new PINES ILS software called Evergreen. [6]

The new ILS was completed and ready to go live in September 2006. On September 1, the Sirsi ILS was taken offline, and by September 5 Evergreen was up and running. Due to the success of Evergreen it was awarded the Mellon Award for Technology Collaboration in 2007 by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. [7] [8]

Since its initial release, Evergreen is now used in over 1,800 libraries around the world, including the highest-circulating library in the United States, the King County Library System. [9] [10]

List of library systems within PINES

See also

There are several library systems in Georgia outside of the PINES system. Most of those are in the Atlanta metropolitan area, but the library systems of the Columbus metropolitan area are also outside of the PINES system. In February 2018, the Live Oak Public Libraries of the Savannah metropolitan area joined the PINES consortium. [11]

Related Research Articles

Integrated library system

An integrated library system (ILS), also known as a library management system (LMS), is an enterprise resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned, orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed.

Evergreen is an open-source integrated library system (ILS), initially developed by the Georgia Public Library Service for Public Information Network for Electronic Services (PINES), a statewide resource-sharing consortium with over 270 member libraries.

SirsiDynix is a United States company which produces software and associated services for libraries.

Sara Hightower Regional Library System

The Sara Hightower Regional Library System (SHRLS) is a system of 6 public libraries in the Northwest Georgia region serving Chattooga County, Polk County and Floyd County. The headquarters of the library system is located in Rome, Georgia at the Rome-Floyd County Library.

Clayton County Library System

The Clayton County Library System (CCLS) is a public library system consisting of six branches in the north central portion of Georgia, south of Atlanta. Its six branches serve 65% of the county population, making it one of the highest attended library systems in Georgia per capita.

Flint River Regional Library System

The Flint River Regional Library System (FRRLS) is a collection of nine public libraries in the Atlanta metropolitan area of Georgia. The library serves the residents of the following six counties: Butts, Fayette, Lamar, Monroe, Pike, and Spalding.

The Azalea Regional Library System (AZRLS) is a collection of ten public libraries located partially in the Atlanta metropolitan area and Central Georgia. It is headquartered in Madison, Georgia and serves the counties of Greene, Hancock, Jasper, Morgan, Putnam, and Walton, of which 32% of the population are members of the library.

Athens Regional Library System Public library system in northeast, Georgia, U.S.

The Athens Regional Library System (ARLS) is a consortium of 11 public libraries across five counties, comprising the Athens – Clarke County metropolitan area as well as Franklin County in northeast Georgia, United States.

The Chattooga County Library System (CCLS) was a public library system consisting of two libraries in Chattooga County, Georgia, United States, in the northwest region of the state. On 1 November 2020, the library system merged with the Sara Hightower Regional Library System. The library headquarters and main branch is located in Summerville with a second, smaller branch in Trion.

The Cherokee Regional Library System (CRLS) is a public library system consisting of four libraries in the counties of Walker and Dade, Georgia. The central library, the Lafayette-Walker County Public Library, is located in LaFayette, Georgia.

The Newton County Library System (NCLS) is a consortium of three public libraries in Newton County, Georgia. The system has libraries in both Covington and Newborn, Georgia

The Piedmont Regional Library System (PRLS) is a consortium of ten public libraries serving the counties of Banks, Barrow, and Jackson, Georgia.

The Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System (GCHRL) is a consortium of eight public libraries working together to serve the populations of Columbia, Burke, Lincoln, and Warren counties in east Georgia.

Troup-Harris Regional Library

The Troup-Harris Regional Library (THRL) is a public library system serving the counties of Troup, and Harris, Georgia. The central library, LaGrange Memorial, is located in LaGrange, Georgia.

Live Oak Public Libraries

The Live Oak Public Libraries are a consortium of sixteen public libraries in the Savannah metropolitan area and Hinesville – Fort Stewart metropolitan area of Georgia. The library provides services for Chatham County, Effingham County, and Liberty County. The library headquarters are located in the Bull Street Library in Savannah, Georgia, which is one of two Carnegie libraries in the system.

Catoosa County Library

The Catoosa County Library is a single branch public library system serving Catoosa County, Georgia. The library branch is located in Ringgold, Georgia.

Chattahoochee Valley Libraries

The Chattahoochee Valley Libraries (CVL) are a consortium of public libraries serving the Greater Columbus Area of Georgia. The library system consists of seven branches over four counties, Muscogee, Chattahoochee, Marion, and Stewart, Georgia. The headquarters of the library system is the Columbus Public Library located in the county seat Columbus, Georgia.

Lake Blackshear Regional Library System

The Lake Blackshear Regional Library System (LBRLS) is a public library system covering the four counties of Sumter, Crisp, Dooly, Schley, Georgia. The Lake Blackshear Headquarters Library is located in Americus. The system is also home to the second oldest Carnegie library in Georgia, located in Cordele.

Georgia Public Library Service

The Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) is the state agency for libraries in the U.S. State of Georgia and a unit of the University System of Georgia. The service was initially founded in 1996 after the inception of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), and in July 2000 moved from the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education (DTAE) to the Georgia Board of Regents and University System of Georgia. Julie Walker is the current State Librarian.

Starkville-Oktibbeha County Public Library System

The Starkville-Oktibbeha County Public Library System is a public library system serving Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. The library consists of three branches with the headquarters library, the Starkville Public Library, located in Starkville, Mississippi.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "PINES Consortium Data for 2016". PINES. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "PINES Fact Sheet 2016" (PDF). Georgia Public Library Service. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "PINES: Georgia's Statewide Library Card". Georgia Public Library Service. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  4. ↑ Isard, Robin (January 28, 2015). "Confessions of a systems librarian". opensource.com. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "Capital Expenditures (per capita) (most recent) by state". StateMaster. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Walker, Julie; Veatch, Lamar (August 13, 2009). White Paper PINES/Evergreen/Equinox (PDF). Georgia Public Library Service. p. 12. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Hamby, Rogan (December 12, 2007). "Evergreen Wins Mellon Technology Collaboration Award". Evergreen. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "Georgia libraries win award for Evergreen". Midwest Collaborative for Library Services. December 12, 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Evergreen Libraries" . Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "Open Source Reality Check". Library Journal. August 16, 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Dikes, Danni (19 January 2018). "Live Oak Public Libraries joins PINES Network in February". WSAV. Savannah, Georgia. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
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