The Brackett Library transitioned to a new, more simplified and updated system, effective Dec. 7, along with the release of its new website on Dec. 21. Systems librarian Brenda Breezeel and Library Director Jean Waldrop are working to get everyone acquainted and adjusted before introducing the new system.
This new system, OCLC WorldShare Management Services, provides its patrons with one account rather than multiple. Patrons can renew books, use interlibrary loans and search databases and physical holdings all with one account. The campus library had been using its previous system since 2001. ExLibris Voyager was developed in the ’90s and was made primarily for print collections.
“The functionality it provided for us helped us manage the business of the library,” Breezeel said. “In the evolving library world, we are not just managing physical items anymore, we are managing a lot of digital items.”
A new COVID-19 friendly update to the system is a virtual browsing section that allows you to see what books, DVDs and magazines are on the shelf without entering the library itself.
Breezeel and Waldrop had been requesting a new system for seven years. A request was submitted and approved two years ago to receive the funding for the transition costs. They said that eliminating the extra pieces and having one source that takes care of all of the technical aspects of the library saves everyone a lot of time and money in the long run.
“It will be much more user-friendly,” Waldrop said.
Breezeel and Waldrop had to research what system would best fit the needs of the Brackett Library. It was a six month process to move all of the information and records from the old system to the new system.
Everyone’s daily jobs in the library have changed with this new library system. The demands of the future of technology will be more easily met with this new system. Library workers will be able to devote less time to the tedious aspects that they previously dealt with and now prioritize other needs for the library.
The new system is exciting for those working with it, as well as the public interface getting a huge facelift by the company that is set to be launched this summer.
“More big things to come,” Waldrop said.
