Seamless library access coming soon
200,000 residents from the Wellington region will soon be able to access more than half a million books, DVDs, CDs and magazines across any one of 18 libraries in the zone, using a single library membership card. Hutt City, Porirua City and Kapiti Coast District councils along with Weltec have signed an agreement to move to a shared library system from mid 2010. Porirua City Libraries manager Brian Anderson says the transition to an integrated system will cost nothing because the libraries use the same computer technology. ?Wellington City has not come in at this stage because they use a completely different computer system, it can be extremely expensive to upgrade computer systems. ?To be honest the ultimate goal would be to have all of New Zealand joined up,? says Mr Anderson. New cards are not expected until early next year as the integrating of catalogues and technology could take up to 18 months. Libraries will maintain their own policies and charges but items can be dropped-off at any of the libraries and a much larger catalogue will become available. ?The UK, Australia, and Singapore have been similarly linking up their libraries, and we are lucky to have the technology developed for us,? says Mr Anderson. Hutt City Council chief executive Tony Stallinger says the aim is if you live in the Hutt, Porirua or Kapiti Coast, or if you study with Weltec, you?ll be able to search, borrow and return items across any of the libraries. ?We know many of our residents live in one area and work in another ? they?ll be able to pick up the books from one library during their work day and drop them off?to their home library in the evenings or weekends,? says Mr Stallinger. One of New Zealand?s first partnerships between public and academic libraries, the Memorandum of Commitment cements Weltec?s place as an important tertiary institution in the community. Additional benefits of this agreement include library system costs fixed for five years, increased purchasing power and the sharing of library staff expertise across the region.
