Equinox Open Library Initiative Presents 'Developing Open Source Tools to Support Libraries During COVID-19' at the 2021 ALA Annual Conference

DULUTH, Ga., June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Equinox Open Library Initiative is pleased to present the poster "Developing Open Source Tools To Support Libraries During COVID-19" at the 2021 American Library Association Annual Conference, June 23-29, 2021. The poster describes the programs, workflows, and software that Equinox designed to provide support to libraries and library staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Equinox team members Lisa Carlucci, Galen Charlton, Sally Fortin, Angela Kilsdonk, Andrea Buntz Neiman, and Mike Rylander contributed to the poster, with audio description by Sally Fortin. The digital poster presentation can be viewed on the ALA Annual Conference platform here: https://bit.ly/EquinoxALAAC21

"Equinox's poster tells the story of an extraordinary moment in time. As libraries faced the unknowns of providing library services during the pandemic, we asked, 'How can Equinox help?'" said Lisa Carlucci, Executive Director. "We reached out to our professional communities and partners to identify specific initiatives and to develop new ways to strengthen and expand our services. We shifted educational resources to remote platforms, created new professional development opportunities, and developed new workflows and tools for Evergreen and Koha."

Equinox created the SubjectsPlus guide, "Developing Open Source Tools To Support Libraries During COVID-19," to accompany the ALA Annual Conference poster presentation. Resources in the guide cover Koha ILS and Evergreen ILS topics including going fine-free, handling unplanned closures, managing items in quarantine, and configuring and using the Evergreen ILS curbside pickup module. Equinox recently announced the launch of SubjectsPlus, a user-friendly, open-source, content management system, and will be hosting a SubjectsPlus launch event immediately following the 2021 ALA Annual Conference on June 30, 2021, from 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. (ET). Registration is now open: http://bit.ly/SubjectsPlus

"I am thankful we were able to provide educational resources to help our library communities safely transition to new working environments and new service models," said Angela Kilsdonk, Product and Education Manager at Equinox. "It's particularly heartening that the work we did during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the development of the equinoxEDU open educational program."

The equinoxEDU program is now an ongoing educational initiative which delivers free and frequent opportunities for library and open source community members to learn about open source software, expand their skills, and network with library and information science professionals interested in open source software. The equinoxEDU program provides webinars, workshops, and an expanding video library. 

"Libraries provide essential services and this is especially true in times of crisis. Library staff ensure access to urgent and timely information, critically important technologies, and library collections, all of which are substantial supports during quarantine and beyond," said Carlucci. "The Equinox team extends our gratitude to the many library staff and frontline information service providers delivering library services and supporting communities worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic."

For the latest updates: https://www.equinoxOLI.org/#signup

For more information: 

Laura Barry

Communications Coordinator

Equinox Open Library Initiative, Inc.

laura.barry@equinoxOLI.org

877.OPEN.ILS (877.673.6457)

https://www.equinoxOLI.org 

https://twitter.com/equinoxOLI

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Equinox_ALAAnnual21 Poster_Press Release_202106 .pdf

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SOURCE Equinox Open Library Initiative