Upgrades for Events, Room Reserve (6.7) and Summer Reader (7.0) are now available. Request the upgrade by contacting support at support@evancedsolutions.com.

You can read more about the changes to Events and Room Reserve by reading the article on our blog.

Learn more about Summer Reader updates and see Summer Reader sample sites by clicking here.

Beta testing new releases of software is always kind of fun. But to make it really fun, we turned beta testing into a competition and we asked any customers who were willing to participate to join us in testing our software. The rules were simple: find various bugs that might occur. When those bugs were found, they were reported to our Support Department who then assigned points based on the complexity of the bugs.

In October we announced the Events and Room Reserve Bug Hunt Contest. The competition was a close one right up until the end! We declared two ties - one for first place, the other for third place. First place winners had their choice of a Wii Gaming System or $300 in Amazon Gift Certificates. Third place winners won $60 Amazon Gift Certificates. Our winners were:

First Place: The "Wildcats" from the Manhattan Public Library (KS) and The "Book Bugs" from York County Library (VA)
Third Place: "Team Westerville" from the Westerville Public Library (OH) and The Clearwater Public Library (FL)

In January, Evanced Solutions announced a Summer Reader Beta Testing Contest. The contest allowed libraries to set up test Summer Reader sites using Summer Reader release 7.0. It was an intense contest and the six competitors really got into it! First Place winners were awarded a $300 Amazon Gift Certificate, Second Place received a $150 Amazon Gift Certificate, and Third Place received a $60 Amazon Gift Certificate. After several weeks of hunting, we tallied the points and announced our winners:

First Place: York County Library (VA)
Second Place: Contra Costa County Library (CA)
Third Place: High Plains Library District (CO)

Thank you to all those who participated. You helped make the new releases of Summer Reader, Events, and Room Reserve a great success."

Evanced Solutions announced today that Pennsylvania and Arizona have joined Massachusetts as statewide Summer Reader customers. Summer Reader is a cost-effective web-based management tool for summer and year-round reading programs and interest groups.

“These statewide initiatives are a huge cost savings for libraries, and allow a more streamlined leveraging of summer reading resources to help libraries across participating states” says Co-Founder Rob Cullin. Arizona, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have licensed Summer Reader for at least all of their state’s public libraries and, in some cases, some of their school libraries. To date, over 600 libraries covering more than 3,500 locations will be utilizing Summer Reader to help manage their summer reading programs and connect with their readers through a dynamic but managed online system.

For additional information about version 7 of the Summer Reader product as well as news about statewide initiatives, visit the Evanced Solutions blog at http://evanced.blogspot.com and the Evanced website at http://www.evancedsolutions.com.

Evanced Solutions is introducing two new products through corporate partners Distribution Technologies DISTEC AB and WebClarity Solutions.

Affordable Library Expansion: Evanced Solutions has just signed an agreement to distribute and service the GoLibrary product line from Distribution Technologies DISTEC AB, a Sweden-based company.

GoLibrary represents a completely new form of library service – an automated library vending machine. One machine handles the process of storing books and other media, handling loans, accepting returns, and performing basic administration. Everything is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week without manual intervention. GoLibrary offers a cost efficient way for libraries and communities to increase service and can be implemented in many locations where a traditional library could not operate.

Stay tuned to the Evanced Blog http://evanced.blogspot.com, where we will be posting more information during the second quarter of 2009. Eager to learn more? Then contact us directly at sales@evancedsolutions.com or 888-519-5770.

Staff Scheduling Solution: Evanced Solutions has partnered with WebClarity Solutions, based in Ontario, Canada, to bring you PeopleWhere, a new staff scheduling product developed exclusively for libraries.

PeopleWhere is a powerful, easy-to-use staff scheduling software solution that allows libraries to focus on fulfilling scheduling needs and managing time-off requests, even letting staff submit their requests for approval first. It also identifies where personnel are located in addition to tracking their skills and knowledge assets.

If you’re interested in learning more about PeopleWhere, contact us at sales@evancedsolutions.com or 888-519-5770 to find out more. To register for a free PeopleWhere webinar visit www.peoplewhere.com.