EvolvePlus Blog

What is the Summer Reading Club?

The Summer Reading Club is a FREE school holiday program with activities designed especially for children and young people.

Public libraries across Australia invite children/teens and families to join the Summer Reading Club, which is led by State Library of Queensland and in partnership with ALIA. The theme for this year is: Adventure. The campaign will officially run from Monday, 1 December 2014 to Saturday, 31 January 2015.

EXCERPT FROM THE SUMMER READING CLUB NEWSLETTER - JUNE 2013
"Last year, 864 public library branches across Australia participated in the delivery of the Summer Reading Club program; 35,576 children registered and an estimated 234,468 books were read. These results demonstrate that the Summer Reading Club is an excellent program for engaging children and young people during the summer school holidays."


My Reading List

Are you one of the many libraries that will run a Summer Reading Club this year? Are you looking for a more creative way to track reading than the traditional paper-based reading logs you ask your participants to complete?

Why not use the 'My Reading List' platform to run your reading club?


How It Works

Our tools will allow you to set up your library reading club program, complete with prizes/awards management, mediated reviews and certificate printing, in a few simple clicks!

Ask participants to sign up to your program, and you're off! Using 'My Reading List', kids and young people will be able to track their reading, complete book reviews, read reviews by their peers and print off nice summary reports and certificates.

Your participants will have fun and benefit from all the built-in 'My Reading List' features, and your library service will benefit as the administration is fully automated.

Just Released! - A completely new wireless battery operated people counter unit that can be positioned in any remote location to register people traffic on an hourly basis. The valuable collected data can be transferred on to any common USB memory stick and then uploaded into special viewing software on your PC Workstation.

This will now allow you to gain hourly attendance figures from all your entrances complied into the one viewing application without having to worry about networking interference and dropouts between the counters/routers.By simply connecting a USB memory stick to the counter, the entire counter memory is automatically transferred across on to the USB. The viewing software is designed only to import new data when the USB data file is opened.

With our new battery operated USB stick counters - every entrance/exit of your building/area can be now covered.


For more info visit: http://www.evolveplus.com.au/people-counters?layout=edit&id=41

The VuFind Discovery Layer enables libraries to provide patrons with a unique web 2.0 experience with a mobile phone interface often missing in traditional library system OPACs.

EvolvePlus develops a range of LMS drivers for real-time integration between VuFind and the library's LMS. One of the popular integrations  we have developed is between the Amlib library system and VuFind.

Based on customer feedback we continue to enhance the Amlib LMS driver for VuFind, and have recently released the following new features:

The Micro Display People Counter with its dimensions of only 85x53x16mm is the smallest People Counter in our range. Whether it’s used to help a retail store determine their sales conversion ratio or a library keep track of their visitor count, the Micro Counter will help almost any type of business operate more efficiently.

The incredibly small size of the Micro Display People Counter makes it easy to mount to virtually any wall or doorframe of up to 5 metres wide. The low power usage of the counters ensure that the single battery only has to be replaced once a year.

The People Counter sensor has a side fire beam which means it will be installed flat on the wall or door frame. The display can be read easily and counts reset to zero via a special tool which is provided.

This Counter can be setup in minutes and requires no ongoing maintenance.

Further details can be found from our information page.

Contact us for terrific pricing on the Micro Display People Counter.

What is the Summer Reading Club?

The Summer Reading Club is a FREE school holiday program with activities designed especially for children and young people.

Public libraries across Australia invite children/teens and families to join the Summer Reading Club, which is led by State Library of Queensland and in partnership with ALIA. The theme for this year is: Investigation. The programme will officially run from Monday, 2 December 2013 to Friday, 31 January 2014.


My Reading List

Are you one of the many libraries that will run a Summer Reading Club this year? Are you looking for a more creative way to track reading than the traditional paper-based reading logs you ask your participants to complete?

Why not use the 'My Reading List' platform to run your reading club?


How It Works

Our tools will allow you to set up your library reading club program, complete with prizes/awards management, mediated reviews and certificate printing, in a few simple clicks!

Ask participants to sign up to your program, and you're off! Using 'My Reading List', kids and young people will be able to track their reading, complete book reviews, read reviews by their peers and print off nice summary reports and certificates.

Your participants will have fun and benefit from all the built-in 'My Reading List' features, and your library service will benefit as the administration is fully automated.

EvolvePlus will be exhibiting at SWITCH 2013 at the Australian Technology Park, Redfern Sydney from Monday 25th to Tuesday 26th November 2013.

Visit us to take a look at our extensive range of library technology products that we have available for 2013 including:

• VuFind Open Source Discovery Layer and EvolvePlus Discovery Gateway
• EvolvePlus ILS (Integrated Library System)
• RF People Counters with Remote Data Viewing
• ResearchPlus Knowledge and Request Management
• My Reading List - Summer Reading Club

The 2013 NSW Public Libraries Conference & Exhibition will focus on our communities - creating libraries that both meet and anticipate their evolving needs.

We hope to see you in Sydney!

Mornington Peninsula Library Service is now using EvolvePlus VuFind managed service to provide exceptional catalogue discovery experience for their patrons.

The Mornington Peninsula Library Service which is located just over an hour’s drive away from the city, on Melbourne’s ‘doorstep’, and is often described as Melbourne’s playground is made up of four service points and one Mobile Library visiting 16 sites across the Peninsula.

The VuFind Discovery Layer managed service has enabled Mornington Peninsula Library Service to replace its Amlib NetOpac / Public Access with the powerful Discovery Layer solution provided by EvolvePlus. The impressive functionality of VuFind assists Mornington Peninsula Library Service become the centre of how patrons find, manage, discuss,  and engage with media content of all kinds in an increasingly electronic age with tagging, similar title suggestions, integrated search intelligence, faceted results and seamless LibraryThing integration

Some of the highlights of the project include:
•    Smart Phone Interface (e.g. for iPhones and Android Phones)
•    Mornington Peninsula Library Service can continue to use Amlib as its LMS whilst using VuFind Discovery Layer
•    Real-time integration with Amlib Holdings and Patrons using the LMS driver developed by EvolvePlus
•    Improve Search Performance by more than 300% across large searches
•    Interactive Patron Experience

Discover VuFind at Mornington Peninsula Library Service

What is the Summer Reading Club?

The Summer Reading Club is a FREE school holiday program with activities designed especially for children and young people.

Public libraries across Australia invite children/teens and families to join the Summer Reading Club, which is led by State Library of Queensland and in partnership with ALIA. The theme for this year is: Investigation. The programme will officially run from Monday, 2 December 2013 to Friday, 31 January 2014.


My Reading List

Are you one of the many libraries that will run a Summer Reading Club this year? Are you looking for a more creative way to track reading than the traditional paper-based reading logs you ask your participants to complete?

Why not use the 'My Reading List' platform to run your reading club?


How It Works

Our tools will allow you to set up your library reading club program, complete with prizes/awards management, mediated reviews and certificate printing, in a few simple clicks!

Ask participants to sign up to your program, and you're off! Using 'My Reading List', kids and young people will be able to track their reading, complete book reviews, read reviews by their peers and print off nice summary reports and certificates.

Your participants will have fun and benefit from all the built-in 'My Reading List' features, and your library service will benefit as the administration is fully automated.

Kingston City Libraries, a vibrant city library service located along Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne's South East, are now live with the VuFind Discovery Layer managed services from EvolvePlus.

The VuFind Discovery Layer managed services enables Kingston City Libraries to replace its Amlib NetOpac / Public Access with the powerful Discovery Layer solution provided by EvolvePlus. The impressive functionality of VuFind assists Kingston City Libraries become the centre of how patrons find, manage, discuss,  and engage with media content of all kinds in an increasingly electronic age with mashups, similar title suggestions, integrated search intelligence, faceted results, "More Like This" Resource Suggestions to name a few.

Some of the highlights of the project include:

• Smart Phone Interface (e.g. for iPhones and Android Phones)
• Kingston City Libraries can continue to use Amlib as its LMS whilst using VuFind Discovery Layer
• Real-time integration with Amlib Holdings and Patrons using the LMS driver developed by EvolvePlus
• Improve Search Performance by more than 300% across large searches
• Interactive Patron Experience

Kingston Library Catalogue

ResearchPlus, the web based Research Request Tracking & Knowledge Management solution provided by EvolvePlus, now supports two way email integration.

ResearchPlus streamlines your organisation's request tracking by turning email conversations into organised request/helpdesk tickets.

Automatically Route Incoming Emails into Request Tickets

Version 2.2 features significant enhancements to the EvolvePlus ILS product with a range of new functionality and configuration options that make EvolvePlus ILS even easier to use.

Highlights of the version 2.2 enhancements and include:

Global Enhancements:

Enhanced Main Screen (Search Screen when first log into Evolve):

• Can scroll "search results", with the "top menu" and "search options" on left remain on screen
• New Export and Print option for search results
• Improved User Interface
• Improved sorting of search results
• Add status filters to Holding search (e.g. Overdue items)

Record Details: each tab displays number of records (e.g. number of messages for patron)

Preferences for each module will display in a separate section of the configuration (e.g. Catalogue preferences now grouped together)

New "Action Review" screen - which shows patron memos due for action, reserves on shelf,
Hold shelf removes,


Authority Module

Can link authorities across different tags (e.g. author 100 marc tag authority can be shared for a 710 tag - so that it exists as a single authority)

Can create groups of authorities (e.g. configure 100 and 710 tags as an Author authority group)

Link Authorities ( see / see also equivalent )


Patron Module

Add "due date" to memos

Display patron photo (where photos are store in a web folder using a common "key" as the image name)

Bulk Patron Delete functionality:

Many thanks to all the delegates who visited our stand at ALIA Information Online held in Brisbane on the week beginning Monday 11th February 2013. It was terrific to meet many new faces and catch up with known acquaintances. This was our first time exhibiting at the ALIA conference and we really appreciate the genuine interest expressed to our library technology products by delegates from all library sector delegates. Our Wireless People Counters, VuFind Open Source Discovery Layer support and EvolvePlus ILS (Integrated Library System) provided the strongest interest from the delegates.

From our prospective, the 2013 ALIA Online Conference proved to be an outstanding success due to it being well organised, centrally located in Brisbane, superbly catered, offered a comprehensive program and showcased quality library providers.

If you attended the conference and didn't get a chance to say hello you can find out more about our product range by dropping us a line at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., downloading a brochure or call (03) 9755 6200.

EvolvePlus will be exhibiting at ALIA Information Online 2013 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from Tuesday 12th to Thursday 14th February 2013.

Visit us at Stand 79 to take a look at our extensive range of library technology products that we have available for 2013 including:

• VuFind Open Source Discovery Layer and EvolvePlus Discovery Gateway
• EvolvePlus ILS (Integrated Library System)
• RF People Counters with Remote Data Viewing
• ResearchPlus Knowledge and Request Management
• Online Reading Record

ALIA Information Online is the premier event for information professionals in the Asia Pacific region and this conference features the theme of "be different. do different.".

We hope to see you in Brisbane!

EvolvePlus supplies affordable, reliable, and user-friendly People Counting Systems to retailers, libraries, museums, and many other businesses. We offer simple People Counters with display screens showing the current number of people that have entered a building or space during a given period of time, as well as advanced Radio-Frequency (RF) Patron Counting Systems that allow businesses to view the data on a remote PC using our unique software application. With simple drop-down menus, our software allows users to view tables and graphs showing people traffic trends from an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly perspective. We even offer USB based Visitor Counters that can be connected directly to a laptop to download the data and view it via our software. Regardless of the Door Counting System they choose, our customers invariably tell us that the wireless (battery powered) component makes them much easier to install and operate.
For more information visit our People Counters product page.

The team at EvolvePlus are very excited to announce the launch of an online reading log called My Reading List. With so many public libraries across Australia preparing to launch their Summer Reading Club programs, My Reading List is on track to become a welcome savior in reducing paper wastage and freeing up valuable staff time.

EvolvePlus offers highly-accurate people counting solutions to gather valuable customer statistics - ranging from counting the volume of patrons entering the library, through to counting the number visitors entering the Council visitor centre.

The beauty of the system is in its simplicity - the battery powered and completely wireless units means no wires and allow the units to more installed almost anywhere since it doesn't need to be plugged into an electrical power point!

The RF Counters wireless transmit counting data to the Sensor Network Gateway with the web based statistical software displaying data from each location across different time intervals in table or graph format.

For more information visit our People Counters product page.

Hobsons Bay Libraries (Victoria) has become the first known Australian Public Library to use VuFind and in doing so allows users to search, browse and discover a wealth of information beyond the capabilities of a traditional WebOPAC.

The implementation and launch of the VuFind Discovery Layer has assisted Hobsons Bay Libraries to reinvigorate its community footprint and relevance. The state-of-the-art nature of the VuFind software has bred a new life into the library collection making it more visible and attractive to web users who are accustomed to that level of service.

The Vufind Discovery Layer has already become so popular with the library staff that they prefer to use it for searching over the Amlib Staff Application.

In regards to back-end administration, VuFind offers summary counts of conducted searches with breakdowns of successful and unsuccessful searches. Additionally, VuFind supplies detailed analysis of attempted search terms and popular records.

Management of patron comments and tags has become all the more manageable with the VuFind Manager application.

The discovery platform was released in conjunction with the much anticipated new interactive library website.

Congratulations to Hobsons Bay Libraries!!!

The Reformed Theological College (Geelong, Victoria) has recently completed its live implementation of EvolvePlus ILS, a leading edge web based library solution.

The implementation of EvolvePlus ILS included data migration of the college's Amlib Library System database. Using the integrated Discovery Layer students now have access to the unique web 2.0 discovery service often missing in traditional library system OPACs and have access to features such as tagging, faceted results, similar resource suggestions and can add comments/review.

EvolvePlus has launched the VuFind Manager application for the VuFind Discovery Layer. The VuFind Manager application is an essential tool to assist authorised administrators to review patron comments and tags, and can be used to locate and remove offensive tags or comments from the VuFind Discovery Layer. It also enables authorised library staff to troubleshoot the VuFind account logins and the corresponding patron credentials from the source ILS.

Key features of the VuFind Discovery Layer are the integrated social features for Patrons to interact with the library catalogue, including:

• Patrons add tags to Bibliographic records (folksonomy of descriptors or subject headings)
• Patrons add comments to Bibliographic records (incorporating patron reviews and notes)

These tags and comments then become visible to the entire community using the VuFind Discovery Layer. The VuFind Manager application developed by EvolvePlus enables libraries to ensure that offensive tags or comments can be removed from their discovery layer.