No more waiting to pick up books on hold.
When a book you've requested is ready for pick-up, you no longer face long lines at the circulation desk. Simply walk around the corner, where all the requested material is arranged by the first three letters of your last name and the last four digits of your library card.
Then you speed through check out.
At the end of the shelves that hold these books, there's a "Self Check Out" machine where you scan your library card, the bar code on the book, place the book in a v-shaped channel to check it out and print a receipt to log out your account.
Another machine has been placed among the check out counters in the Johnson Building so that you can quickly check out items you've picked up elsewhere in the building.
Help is at hand, if you need it.
While I found the instructions for both services highly visible and easy to follow, the staff is ready to assist anyone who needs some initial guidance. BPL Communications Manager, Gina Perille says that everyone in the building has been trained to use the systems and will be happy to walk you through the steps or answer your questions.
The BPL wants your ideas and opinions!
January 1, 2010 saw the launch of another BPL initiative, The BPL Compass. This is an effort to reach out to library users and learn what they would like to see in the library's future.
Here's a link to the BPL Compass site where you can respond to the questions they're posing about the future of library services. If you prefer Twitter, you can join that conversation here.
They are also holding a series of Community Conversations at branch libraries around the city to meet with patrons and gain their insights. The schedule for upcoming meetings and reports on those already held are also on the PBL Compass page.
We'll follow both these projects and give you updates as they progress.
Here are the hot selling items from this site this week! Keeping warm is no the top of everyone's agenda from Maine to Florida.
Photos: © 2010 Penny Cherubino
