LIBRARY AUTOMATION PROJECT FACTS

DEFINITIONS:                                            

PWRL currently operates the library on a now out-dated card and paper system.  To efficiently manage the collection and provide the level of service users expect and demand, the Library needs to complete an automation project. Automation for the library includes having the library’s inventory records    converted from a manual card file into a standard computerized format and the purchase and implementation of a library automation software package. The software would support the new database, automate Library circulation functions, provide a computerized lookup for library materials at all eight PWRL locations, and give access to PWRL’s 115,000 item library catalog, via the Internet, to anyone with a computer and Internet access.

 STANDARDS:

The Standards for Kansas Public Libraries, developed by the State Library of Kansas as a management guide, defines PWRL, with a service population of 21,770, as a Major Service Center II. The standards state that a Library of this size “should utilize an integrated library automation system to manage circulation and cataloging and to provide a public access catalog.” It is the goal and desire of PWRL to comply with this standard to ensure that each person served receives quality  information in a timely manner.

LIBRARY GOAL:

 The goal is to provide access to the library’s 115,000 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.

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 - Currently patrons searching the card catalog in Alma, Eskridge, or Onaga will only find materials held locally. Patrons seeking materials at Alta Vista, Harveyville, Olsburg, and Westmoreland have no easy way of knowing what PWRL owns beyond what they see on the shelf. In an automated library, keyword searching of the     library’s complete holdings is made both possible and easy. Patrons can take full advantage of PWRL’s shared  collection of 115,000 items and not have to settle for just what happens to be on the shelf in front of them.

CIRCULATION - In an automated library, staff and patrons can check the real time status of any item the library owns. Patrons can access their  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 at the most convenient PWRL  location. None of this is possible using the library’s current manual processes.

 WHY AUTOMATE NOW:

DEMAND - PWRL has successfully managed  for many years using a manual paper system to track all collection and circulation transactions. That system no longer addresses the needs of modern information seekers in the fast paced and busy society in which we all live. The fact that a patron can’t walk into a PWRL location and immediately learn what books the library owns and where they are located is 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 over the past three years. This is a significant change for the library and these upgrades now provide the backbone necessary to support an automated library system.

SERVICE - The library’s automation goal is designed to 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 is basically seeking the opportunity to make the most of what the   library has by updating the way we go about the business of getting the right information to the right person at the right time.

 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.