LIBRARY AUTOMATION PROJECT FACTS

LIBRARY GOAL:

 Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library has achieved its goal to provide access to the library’s 100,000 item collection through an online catalog with real-time item status and patron hold and  request capabilities that can be used by both staff and public over a standard Internet connection. After months barcoding the collection, and years of preparation and planning, PWRL's new online catalog went live in early October 2008. As we move forward we begin to realize some of the benefits of our new system, and look back with thankfulness to those who helped us achieve this important goal. We encourage everyone to Log-on today and check it out!!

LOCAL IMPACT:

ACCESS - In an automated library, patrons and staff can immediately see what material the library owns, where the material is located, what is available for check out, when materials currently on loan will be available for use, and how many people are waiting to borrow any given item. This real time information is available at any time to anyone with access to a computer with a standard Internet connection.

SEARCHING - Patrons using any of PWRL's eight locations (St. Marys, Alma, Eskridge, or Onaga, Alta Vista, Harveyville, Olsburg, and Westmoreland) may now search all of PWRL's resources, and the statewide subscription databases, with a simple keyword search. Using he online catalog, patrons can now take full advantage of PWRL’s shared  collection of 100,000 items and they not have to settle for just what happens to be on the shelf in front of them.

CIRCULATION - Using the new automated system both staff and patrons can check the real time status of any item the library owns. Patrons may access their online accounts to see when items they have checked out are due. When a patron searches the catalog and finds an item they want, they can request the item and have it held for them at any of PWRL's eight locations. None of this was possible using the library’s outdated paper system.

 WHY AUTOMATE:

DEMAND - PWRL had successfully managed  for many years using a manual paper system to track all collection and circulation transactions. That system no longer addressed the needs of modern information seekers in the fast paced and busy society in which we all live. The fact that a patron could not walk into a PWRL location and immediately learn what books the library owns and where they are located was a major stumbling block in the library’s effort to meet growing patron expectation and demand.

TECHNOLOGY - Computers, internal networks, and high speed Internet connections have been secured and installed at all PWRL locations. This process began in 2003, and the computer hardware and software available for public use has increased significantly in the intervening years. This was a significant change for the library and these upgrades now provide the backbone necessary to support our new automated library system.

SERVICE - The library’s goal to become automation was initiated with the belief that this critical upgrade would ultimately benefit anyone with an information need. As more and more companies go into the business of selling information, the importance of maintaining and sustaining public libraries where accurate and authoritative information is free of charge to anyone who needs it becomes increasingly clear. PWRL basically sought the opportunity to make the most of what the library had by updating the way we went about the business of getting the right information to the right person at the right time. We can now do that job faster, and more efficiently, thanks to this important upgrade.

 LIBRARY FACTS:

• The Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library is the only two-county public  library in Kansas.

• PWRL is established under K.S.A. 12-1231 et. seq. The library is supported by a mill levy on the two counties, excluding Wamego and the part of Manhattan in Pottawatomie County. The division of the budget between the two counties is based on population and valuation. 
  

• PWRL is headquartered in St. Marys with branches in Alma, Eskridge, and Onaga; and Mini Libraries in Alta Vista, Harveyville, Olsburg, and Westmoreland.
  

• The Library has a collection of about 115,000 items including some unique local history titles that are available exclusively at PWRL. The library's direct service area supports the information needs of a population of 21,770 persons in Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee Counties and covers 1,612 square miles. 
  

• PWRL provides the following services: books for adults and children in regular and large print; audio books in fiction and non-fiction; more than 140 different magazines and newspapers; A small educational video collection; Story Time for pre-schoolers; Summer Reading Program for grade school and younger children; microfilm-reader printers to view the complete run of all local newspapers; copier and fax machines; public access computers with Internet access, software applications and printing capabilities; wireless Internet access at Branch locations; reference services and Inter-library loan.