Regardless of whether it's feasible in a Windows VM environment or not, I really think that Evergreen is too complicated to set up and maintain for someone who doesn't have a strong skillset in system administration. A hosted ILS would be a better option, but a lot of tiny libraries can't afford that either.
Personally, if I were in Ben's position, I would investigate some of the library automation system offerings that are designed specifically for small libraries. Does anyone have any experience with Surpass? I haven't used it, but it looks like it was designed for tiny libraries (less than 5000 items) and has a standalone license option for running on a single non-networked PC: http://www.surpasssoftware.com/surpass-sl.html. Terran McCanna PINES Program Manager Georgia Public Library Service 1800 Century Place, Suite 150 Atlanta, GA 30345 404-235-7138 [email protected] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Ehle" <[email protected]> To: "Evergreen Discussion Group" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2015 11:26:53 AM Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Help for a tiny library? We ran everything in VirtualBox for a long time. Is it the PC hardware you object to? Or just VM's in general. On Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 11:24 AM, Mark Ehle <[email protected]> wrote: > When you have quad-core PC's with 8gb of ram, the difference is not that > much. I've run production VM's on my PC in a pinch and our staff never > knew. > > What do you suggest Ben does? > > > On Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 11:12 AM, Rogan Hamby <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Hi Mark, >> >> There is a big difference between running a production system on a >> desktop VM and playing with it. Running Evergreen in Virtual Box is common >> for developers, documenters, etc.... >> >> And it's important for those who don't have a systems background that a >> VM in a server environment and throwing up a VM on a desktop with limited >> resources are very different things. >> >> On Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 11:00 AM, Mark Ehle <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Not at all dubious, Rogan. We run Sirsi Symphony as a VM and have been >>> for years. We pretty much don't run our servers on anything else *but* >>> VM's. It's just how things are done now. I've run Evergreen in Virtual Box >>> (totally free) on my PC to play with it and it works just fine. Given a >>> decent enough PC,mainly enough memory, I'm sure you could run Evergreen on >>> a VM for a few clients for a small library. >>> >>> On Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 10:49 AM, Rogan Hamby <[email protected] >>> > wrote: >>> >>>> Hi Ben, >>>> >>>> This was alluded to but to be clear, Evergreen isn't Windows software. >>>> Evergreen was built to run on Linux and is commonly run on Debian though I >>>> know it's used successfully on other distributions as well. Honestly, as >>>> much as I love to spread the love of Evergreen from what I can infer from >>>> your post I don't think this would be the right direction for you. >>>> >>>> Running a production system on a VM is dubious though possible but then >>>> connecting clients, doing the configuration, etc... these are going to >>>> require a big investment of time and energy on the part of staff. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Sat, Jan 17, 2015 at 6:25 PM, Ben T. <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hello All, >>>>> >>>>> I volunteer for a tiny library that is growing. At this point we're >>>>> looking for a way to manage our check-outs/returns some way more efficient >>>>> than paper and pencil. Evergreen seems like it could be a good solution >>>>> for us, however we are not able to afford a server at this point nor a >>>>> subscription (we basically have no money). Is there any way (hopefully a >>>>> simple one) to run Evergreen just on a single Windows (7) machine, keeping >>>>> the catalog and patron information locally? >>>>> >>>>> Sincerely, >>>>> Ben >>>>> Librarian Volunteer >>>>> Kendall Clawson Library >>>>> >>>>> p.s. I am decently tech savvy, but not VERY tech savvy. I won't be >>>>> able to do any major amount of coding on my own. >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> >>>> Rogan Hamby, MLS, CCNP, MIA >>>> Managers Headquarters Library and Reference Services, >>>> York County Library System >>>> >>>> “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to >>>> suit me.” >>>> ― C.S. Lewis <http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1069006.C_S_Lewis> >>>> >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> >> Rogan Hamby, MLS, CCNP, MIA >> Managers Headquarters Library and Reference Services, >> York County Library System >> >> “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to >> suit me.” >> ― C.S. Lewis <http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1069006.C_S_Lewis> >> > >
