Soon, patrons of the West Plains Public Library will find themselves with significantly increased access to resources available for checkout.
Through its membership with the Missouri Evergreen Consortium, starting in April, the West Plains Public Library will expand its collection of over 75,000 materials for checkout to about 4.3 million, announced Library Manager Dr. Greg Carter.
A new library catalog and app will launch on Thursday, giving library staff about two weeks of transition time to fill checkout requests through other libraries in the consortium, said Carter.
Here’s how it works: 65 member libraries in Missouri share resources among the consortium in a similar manner to an interlibrary loan; interlibrary loans involve libraries borrowing materials from one another for patrons’ use. With Missouri Evergreen, member libraries share a cloud-hosted integrated library system, which is a software that facilitates resource sharing with ease and practicality.
“This allows patrons and staff at member libraries to request books from other member libraries as though they are two branches of the same library system,” explain Missouri Evergreen officials.
Beyond the increased catalog — which includes audio/visual materials as well as books — membership in the consortium means patrons can download a new app that will allow them to scan a book’s ISBN (International Standard Book Number, which looks like a bar code) to see if it’s in the Evergreen catalog. In addition, patrons can pay fines through the app; while the West Plains Public Library discontinued charging late fees at the beginning of 2024, fines can still be assessed for the replacement of lost and damaged books, Carter reminded.
In addition to access to Missouri Evergreen’s catalog of 4.3 million materials, patrons can still borrow digital books through Libby, Carter added.
The West Plains library’s membership in the consortium is made possible by a $31,173 Library Automation grant awarded by the office of Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and the Missouri State Library in November 2023. Staff began training for the new program in February. The library will open late on Monday, at 10 a.m. instead of the usual 9, due to ongoing training.
