Contact: Phil Hearn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The Starkville-Oktibbeha County Public Library System is joining a Mississippi State-based consortium that will greatly expand user access to holdings, streamline services and save money.
The university-based system--which includes the Starkville, Maben and Sturgis public libraries--has agreed to merge its holdings with the 12-year-old Golden Triangle Regional Library Consortium.
"The Starkville-Oktibbeha County Library System is looking forward to offering the expanded access to resources that joining this consortium will enable us to bring to our communities," said system director Ginny Holtcamp. "Delivery of materials in the Golden Triangle Region will greatly enhance our services to patrons."
Mississippi State and Mississippi University for Women in Columbus established the consortium in 1993, jointly purchasing a library automation system and merging their patron and bibliographic databases into one centrally located system housed at MSU's Mitchell Memorial Library.
Joining the consortium since that time have been Starkville High School, Starkville's Armstrong Middle School and the Tombigbee Regional Library Consortium, which includes 10 public libraries in Clay, Monroe and Webster counties.
"The consortium has proven to be more fiscally effective as the cost and maintenance of the system is divided among the libraries," said Mary Helen Waggoner, director of the Tombigbee system. "Our system would not have been able to provide the latest in technology or the staff to maintain such a system."
Stephen Cunetto, administrator of systems for MSU Libraries, said member libraries share access to a single server located at MSU that contains all of the patron, bibliographic/authority control, serial, and acquisitions records. He said each repository will continue to maintain its own policies regarding lending rules, loan periods, fine amounts and grace periods; and each institution agrees to provide reciprocal borrowing for all members.
"Through the reciprocal agreement, patrons from all libraries can borrow materials from other member libraries, either by checking out the materials in person or by requesting that the material be sent via a courier to their local libraries," he said. "Having access to all holdings greatly increases the chance of finding an available copy in one of the surrounding libraries."Cunetto said consortium membership fees are used to support ongoing maintenance of the system, including purchasing equipment and supplies for the server, buying additional modules and obtaining advanced training.
Some of the benefits realized by individual consortium members, he said, include: access to holdings of 17 libraries, sharing expertise of personnel, training assistance, pooling of financial resources, and the "daily, weekly, monthly, and annual care and feeding of the online system."
"The consortium provides an excellent example of libraries working together, not only to make better use of their financial resources, but also of their personnel," said Cunetto. "By working together, these libraries provide their patrons with a larger, easily accessible pool of resources."
For more information, contact Cunetto at (662) 325-8542 or scunetto@library.msstate.edu.