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 A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

facilities in 143

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

across the U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

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. The PINES system effectively turns most of the state of Georgia into one huge library. PINES cardholders are able to request an

interlibrary loan Interlibrary loan (abbreviated ILL, and sometimes called interloan, interlending, document delivery, document supply, or interlibrary services, abbreviated ILS) is a service where patrons of one library can borrow materials and receive photocopies ...

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 Schema.org is a reference website that publishes documentation and guidelines for using structured data mark-up on web-pages (called microdata). Its main objective is to standardize HTML tags to be used by webmasters for creating rich results (di ...

standards. PINES developed the

open-source software Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Op ...

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

, an

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. An ILS usually is co ...

which it and other library consortia use to manage their online catalogs.

History

PINES development

In 1998 a

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white pape ...

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

(ILS). 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. By 1999 PINES became a reality, administered by the current Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS). It initially was used as a

Y2K The year 2000 problem, also known as the Y2K problem, Y2K scare, millennium bug, Y2K bug, Y2K glitch, Y2K error, or simply Y2K refers to potential computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates in and after ...

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. Looking to complete the project before the year 2000, on April 8, 1999 the initial contract to develop the ILS was awarded to

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

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.

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

. 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 The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...

. 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 The King County Library System (KCLS) is a library system serving the residents of King County, Washington, United States. Headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, KCLS was the busiest library system in the United States as of 2010, circulating 22.4 ...

List of library systems within PINES

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

* Augusta-Richmond County Public Library System * Azalea Regional Library System * Bartram Trail Regional Library System *

Brooks County Public Library The Brooks County Public Library is a single branch public library system serving county of Brooks, located in Georgia. The library is located in Quitman, Georgia. The library is a member of PINES, a program of the Georgia Public Library Service ...

Catoosa County Library The Catoosa County Library is a single branch public library system serving Catoosa County, Georgia, United States. The library branch is located in Ringgold. The library is a member of PINES, a program of the Georgia Public Library Service tha ...

Chattooga County Library System The Chattooga County Library System (CCLS) was a public library system consisting of two libraries in Chattooga County, Georgia, United States, in the Northwest Georgia (U.S.), northwest region of the state. On 1 November 2020, the library system ...

Cherokee Regional Library System 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. ...

* Chestatee Regional Library System *

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 l ...

Coastal Plain Regional Library System The Coastal Plain Regional Library System (CPRL) is a public library system serving the counties of Ben Hill, Berrien, Cook, Irwin, Tift, and Turner in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Coastal Plains Headquarters Library is located in Tifton. CR ...

* Conyers-Rockdale Library System *

De Soto Trail Regional Library System The De Soto Trail Regional Library System is a public library system serving the counties of Mitchell, Baker and Early, in the state Georgia. The headquarters of the library system is the Camilla Public Library located in Camilla, Georgia. is a ...

Dougherty County Public Library The Dougherty County Public Library is a public library system serving Dougherty County, Georgia. The Central Library is located in Albany, Georgia. The library is a member of PINES, a program of the Georgia Public Library Service that covers 53 ...

Elbert County Public Library The Elbert County Public Library (ECPL) is a public library system made up of two branches serving the population of Elbert County, Georgia. ECPL is a member of PINES, a program of the Georgia Public Library Service that covers 53 library systems ...

* Flint River Regional Library System * Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System * Hall County Library System * Hart County Library * Henry County Library System * Houston County Public Library System * Jefferson County Library System * Kinchafoonee Regional Library System *

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, United States. The Lake Blackshear Headquarters Library is located in Americus. The system i ...

* Lee County Library * Live Oak Public Libraries * Marshes of Glynn Libraries * Middle Georgia Regional Library System *

Moultrie-Colquitt County Library System The Moultrie-Colquitt County Library System (MCCLS) is a public library system serving Colquitt County, Georgia. The headquarter of the library is located in Moultrie, Georgia. MCCLS is a member of Public Information Network for Electronic Servic ...

* Mountain Regional Library System * Newton County Library System * Northeast Georgia Regional Library System *

Northwest Georgia Regional Library System The Northwest Georgia Regional Library System (NGRL) is a public library system across the Northwest Georgia counties of Gordon, Murray, and Whitfield. NRGL participates in PINES, a public library network of 281 libraries in 140 counties through ...

Ocmulgee Regional Library System The Ocmulgee Regional Library System (ORLS) is a public library system in the U.S. state of Georgia serving Dodge, Bleckley, Pulaski, Telfair, Wheeler, Wilcox counties. The headquarters of the system is the Murrell Memorial Library, which is lo ...

* Oconee Regional Library System * Ohoopee Regional Library System * Okefenokee Regional Library System * Peach Public Libraries * Piedmont Regional Library System * Pine Mountain Regional Library System *

Roddenbery Memorial Library The Roddenbery Memorial Library (RML) is a single branch public library system serving county of Grady, located in Georgia. The library is located in Cairo, Georgia. RML is a member of PINES, a program of the Georgia Public Library Service that ...

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, ...

Satilla Regional Library System The Satilla Regional Library System is a public library system serving Atkinson County, and Coffee County, Georgia. The headquarters of the system is the Douglas-Coffee County Public Library located in Douglas, Georgia. The library system is a ...

* Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System *

South Georgia Regional Library The South Georgia Regional Library (SGRL) is a public library system consisting of six branches across the counties of Lowndes, Echols, and Lanier, Georgia. The headquarters library is the Valdosta-Lowndes County Library located in Valdosta, Geo ...

Southwest Georgia Regional Library The Southwest Georgia Regional Library (SWGRL) is a public library system serving the counties of Decatur, Miller, and Seminole, Georgia. The central library is the Gilbert H. Gragg Library located in Bainbridge, Georgia. SWGRL is a member of P ...

* Statesboro Regional Public Libraries *

Thomas County Public Library System The Thomas County Public Library System (TCPLS) is a public library system serving Thomas County, Georgia. The headquarters of the system is the Thomas County Public Library located in Thomasville, Georgia. There is one Carnegie library in the ...

* Three Rivers Regional Library System * Troup-Harris Regional Library * Twin Lakes Library System * West Georgia Regional Library *

Worth County Library System The Worth County Library System is a public library system serving the county of Worth, Georgia, United States. There is one branch in the system, the Sylvester-Margaret Jones Library located in Sylvester. In 2016 the library archived the entire ...

References

External links