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G2S Project Code: 2020-GA-86236
State: Georgia
Fiscal Year: 2020
Grantee
Georgia Public Library Service

Project Director
Director Name: Elizabeth McKinney
Director Phone: 404-235-7141
Director Email: emckinney@georgialibraries.org
General Information
Title: PINES Project
State Project Code: GA98146-9092600
Start Date: 10/01/2019
End Date: 09/30/2021
Abstract: PINES is the public library automation and lending network for public libraries in Georgia. PINES has 302 member libraries with patrons in all 159 counties, including 1.9 million library cardholders.  PINES created a statewide “borderless library” that provides equal access to information for all Georgians.

During this fiscal year, the courier service kept many of our users enriched and entertained during a very isolated and lonely year. The total number of loans for the year was down from the previous year by around 100,000 items, however, many of our libraries were completely closed for 1-3 months during this period. The creation of curbside pickup features in the ILS allowed libraries to resume services in a way that was safe and effective for everyone. Other shifts in our usual services, such as the implementation of a student card and eCard services, allowed for wider use of library services in a time when many libraries were not open or had restricted services.

State Goal: Access
Budget Information
LSTA
MATCH-State
MATCH-Other
Total
$1,061,607.40
$1,543,219.57
$0.00
$2,604,826.97
Intent(s)
Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.
Collection Development & Management
Activities
Activity Details
Title: Overdue Notice Service
Narrative:

The Georgia Public Library Service sends out overdue notices for all PINES member libraries.  If an email address or phone number does not exist for the ILS to send a notice for the first attempt at notification, Unique Management attempts to call the user and subsequently sends a 10 or 30 days overdue notice to the patron. This service coupled with a pre-minder service (generated by the ILS) and a quarterly report of overdue materials has assisted our libraries in keeping the total percentage over overdue materials at or below the national average. This in turn makes more material available to our statewide patrons. 




Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Planning & Evaluation
Mode: Retrospective
Format: Third party
Other: Overdue notices sent for all member libraries


Quantity
Number of evaluations and/or plans funded: 1
Number of funded evaluation and/or plans completed: 1


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: Yes
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 302
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0
Activity Details
Title: Courier Service
Narrative:

The Georgia Public Library Service provides courier services to each of Georgia’s 62 public library systems headquarters 5 days per week. The ease of placing a hold on materials is evident in the number of holds and transits of  materials is evident in the volume. With a total of 1,404,988 transits, the courier service made resources easily accessible and cost effective for our patrons.  

The price per piece for the transit of PINES materials is about .35 per piece. This is significantly less than the cost for sending an item via USPS reduced rate programs. Sharing of resources is important for eliminating limited access to materials for educational and professional needs as well as personal enrichment.


Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Planning & Evaluation
Mode: Prospective
Format: Third party


Quantity
Number of evaluations and/or plans funded: 1
Number of funded evaluation and/or plans completed: 1


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: Yes
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 407
Academic Libraries: 26
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0
Activity Details
Title: PINES ILS Services
Narrative:

GPLS developed the Evergreen Integrated Library System software specifically for use in PINES libraries. PINES offers Georgia’s public libraries and residents a state of the art shared system, and that takes a great deal of technical expertise behind the scenes. 

Emerald Data Networks offers specialty software development and support, PINES-specific software development and special projects in order to create and maintain features and workflows requested and required by PINES member libraries. Participation in the Evergreen Development Initiative provides an opportunity for libraries and consortia running Evergreen to maximize their resources by pooling funds to sponsor new software features and bug fixes. Membership in this initiative allows the PINES community to participate in and add their voice to core code development and large community based projects. 


Through the services of Syndetics and EBSCO/Novelist, PINES additionally provides additional modes of discovery for library materials within and outside the PINES catalog. These services benefit library users by improving the user’s ability to locate and evaluate specific title of interest, the precision of resource sharing and access to underutilized portions of the statewide collection.


Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Creation
Format: Digital


Quantity
Number of items digitized: 0
Number of items digitized and available to the public: 0
Number of physical items: 0
Number of open-source applications/software/systems: 1
Number of proprietary applications/software/systems: 0
Number of learning resources (e.g. toolkits, guides): 0
Number of plans/frameworks: 0


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: Yes
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 302
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 8
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0
Activity Details
Title: PINES Student Card
Narrative: Automatically creating student library accounts with data provided by the school district decreases barriers to access for students and reduces staff workload. PINES has developed a method for importing student data from school districts in order to automatically create accounts without manual intervention by library staff. This card allows K-12 students unlimited access to electronic resources and 5 checkouts of library materials with no fines or fees.

As of September 30, there were 15 school districts in 8 different library systems participating in this program.
Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Planning & Evaluation
Mode: Prospective
Format: In-house


Quantity
Number of evaluations and/or plans funded: 15
Number of funded evaluation and/or plans completed: 15


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: Yes
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: Targeted
Geographic community of the targeted group: Urban
Suburban
Rural
For what age groups: 6-12 years
13-17 years
For what economic types: Economic Not Applicable
For what ethnicity types: Ethnicity Not Applicable
Is the activity directed at families: No
Is the activity directed at intergenerational groups: No
Is the activity directed at immigrants/refugees: No
Is the activity directed at those with disabilities: No
Limited functional literacy or informational skills: No
Is the activity category not already captured: No


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: ATHENS REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEM
Address: 2025 BAXTER STREET
City: ATHENS
State: GA
Zip: 30606
Name: CONYERS-ROCKDALE LIBRARY SYSTEM
Address: 864 GREEN STREET
City: CONYERS
State: GA
Zip: 30012
Name: ELBERT COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM
Address: 345 HEARD STREET
City: ELBERTON
State: GA
Zip: 30635
Name: LIVE OAK PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM
Address: 2002 BULL STREET
City: SAVANNAH
State: GA
Zip: 31401
Name: NORTHWEST GEORGIA REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEM
Address: 310 CAPPES STREET
City: DALTON
State: GA
Zip: 30720
Name: PIEDMONT REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEM
Address: 189 BELL VIEW STREET
City: WINDER
State: GA
Zip: 30680
Name: THOMAS COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM
Address: 201 NORTH MADISON STREET
City: THOMASVILLE
State: GA
Zip: 31792
Name: UNCLE REMUS REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEM
Address: 1131 EAST AVENUE
City: MADISON
State: GA
Zip: 30650
Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important outcomes or findings not previously reported:
This year, PINES was able to devote more effort to the student card project. It started with a few participants, built a community, and then let it increase by word of mouth. The onset of COVID and limited number of school resources available due to school closures also contributed to the growth of this project. One of the biggest challenges we faced was working with school district personnel to safely transfer student data to the PINES system for card creation. Talent and availability during the summer months has delayed the addition of a few school systems. Careful and tactful assistance of school personnel as well as careful scheduling are important factors that we consider as we move forward.
Please briefly describe the importance of these outcomes and findings for future program planning:
It's clear that schools and public libraries can align resources for the same goal: improved literacy for K-12 students. PINES will continue to seek ways to streamline the process, both for PINES libraries and schools.
Explain one or two of the most significant lessons learned for others wanting to adopt any facets of this project:

Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort in managing this project:
No
Explain:

Do you anticipate changing the types of activities and objectives addressed by the project:
No
Explain:

Was an evaluation conducted for this project:
No
Was a final written evaluation report produced:
Yes
Can the final written evaluation report be shared publicly on the IMLS website:
No
Was the evaluation conducted by project staff (either SLAA or local library) or by a third-party evaluator:
Third-Party
What data collection tools were used for any report outcomes and outputs:
Review Surveys
Interviews
Focus Groups
Did you collect any media for the data:
What types of methods were used to analyze collected data:
Qualitative Methods
Other:
How were participants (or items) selected:
Targeted Sample – We selected based on a desired characteristic, e.g. age.
What type of research design did you use to compare the value for any reported output or outcome:
Comparison for a reported output or outcome to another, non-randomly selected group not participating in project: The report compares PINES and non-PINES libraries on several key points, including technical and governance issues.
Exemplary: Yes
Exemplary NarrativeThis fiscal year has been an anomaly among all others. The theme and learning opportunity for this year of many obstacles would certainly be “rethink and redirect”. We were forced to rethink and redirect our services on ever-changing health information provided at the national, federal, state and local levels with the information from many of these in direct conflict with each other.
Project Tags: ILS open source, software development, resource sharing