FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9/14/2011

CONTACTS:

Marsha Grove
Director, Champaign Public Library
217/403–2050

Debra Lissak
Executive Director, The Urbana Free Library
217/367–4057

The Urbana Free Library and the Champaign Public Library are working together to create their own library catalog, bringing residents of the two cities an easier way to find materials from the two libraries they use most.

The two libraries will continue to be among the 594 members of the Illinois Heartland Library System and participate in the sharing of materials throughout the system, as well as onsite lending to borrowers from other libraries. Urbana and Champaign patrons will still have access to the system-wide catalog and be able to borrow from libraries throughout the system and across the country.

Having their own catalog will give Champaign and Urbana the flexibility to offer the newest innovations and tailor the catalog to the particular needs of patrons of large public libraries. Champaign Library Director Marsha Grove noted that it is not uncommon in Illinois for libraries to have their own catalog while participating in a larger library system. “The Bloomington Public Library, a member of the northern RAILS system, is one local example,” Grove said. “You’ll also find it more often in the Chicago area.”

Improvements coming with the new catalog will include the ability to save a search for a particular author or topic and receive automatic e-mail notices when new items arrive that match that search. Patrons will be able to save their reading history, a benefit many have asked for, and save lists of items to read in the future. The libraries also plan to introduce a mobile app, giving patrons an easy way to reserve and renew library items on their cell phones.

The new catalog comes from software vendor Polaris Library Systems, a leading provider of library technology whose clients include the Denver and Phoenix public libraries. It is expected to launch by the end of the calendar year.

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