What to expect with new library system, continued...

In a previous post we indicated that our new library system coming in August will support email reminder notices of materials coming due. Another nifty function of the new system will be the ability to limit your searches of the online catalog in many different ways, among which will include limiting searches to items that are currently available. The idea behind this function is to help you find only what's currently on the shelf for the immediate taking in the library and not what's checked out and therefore not of immediate interest.

New Integrated Library System Coming in August

One of the tremendous advantages of being a member of a multi-library consortium is that, by pooling our resources together, we can bring you the latest and greatest in resources that would otherwise be very difficult to provide. Recently, we were able to expand our online request service so that you could place requests on any requestable materials available at any of the 11 consortium libraries, and not just the Hooksett Library, this thanks to our consortium membership.
The good news does not stop there. We are happy to report that, after a year's worth of research and planning at the consortial level, we are going to be able to markedly improve how we serve you technologically. That's because we are going to convert to a whole new integrated library system (ILS), which comes with a more user-friendly, state of the art, online catalog and a lot of behind the scenes stuff that will help us serve you better. Our target conversion date is sometime towards the end of August. We'll keep you posted as things develop. By all means contact us if you have any questions before then.

Expanded Request Service

We've made it even easier for you to get the material you want by expanding our online request service. Previously, your requests made in our online catalog applied only to Hooksett Library holdings. And, if we didn't have the item, you had to contact us and make an interlibrary loan request or drive to a GMILCS library which had the item and pick it up there. Now, your requests extend to holdings in all participating GMILCS libraries. In addition, if we don't have the item you're looking for, but a participating GMILCS library does, all you have to do is request it online in the "All GMILCS" catalog, and you'll even be able to choose the pick up location for the item. If you'd like to find out more about this expanded service, watch the short presentation here.