It’s been an exciting day for staff and customers alike as we joined the One Card network. We got here bright and early to decorate the Library (complete with balloons, streamers and lollipops), test everything and make sure the system was ready to go when we opened at 10:00am.

Everything went according to plan, with all the training we’ve had over the last few months proving very useful. There’s still a lot to learn but the change has so far been a smooth one.

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So what’s the good news for you? You can now borrow up to 20 DVDs, place up to 30 items on hold, renew items twice and request items from any other network library on our brand new catalogue. All with your current library card! 

Please come and see us to find out more, or leave us a comment here.

We’re making our final preparations for joining the One Card network, and we can’t wait. It’s very exciting to be at this stage in a project that’s been years in the making.

In one week’s time, on Thursday 21 June, we’ll start using the new system that we’ve been learning as much as possible about. We are still learning though, and we’ll be wearing our Learner plates for the first few days to remind everyone! Don’t let that put you off from visiting us on the day – we’ll be decorating the Library and making it lots of fun for staff and borrowers alike.

Don’t forget that from Monday to Wednesday next week we’ll have a few of our services limited while all of our information is being transferred to the new system – see our previous blog posts for more information. We appreciate your patience and understanding during these few days.

Our go-live date for the One Card network is now exactly two weeks away. As with any major change, there will be a transition period where we won’t be able to do quite as much as usual – please be patient!

In the three days before we go live, we’ll be operating in Offline mode. Here is an idea of what this means…

•  Inter-Library Loans will not be processed between Saturday 9 June and Wednesday 20 June. Afterwards we’ll be on the new system and you will have access to the items from 6 libraries across the state with more being added each month!
• New magazines and books will not be added to the system between Saturday 9 June and Wednesday 20 June.
• Holds cannot be placed from Saturday 16 June to Wednesday 20 June. You will be able to place holds on any items in the One Card network from Thursday 21 June.
• We cannot renew any items nor take payments from Monday 18 June to Wednesday 20 June. You will be able to renew items twice after this date.
• We won’t be able to look up your record or update any contact details from Monday 18 June to Wednesday 20 June.

As soon as we go live on Thursday 21 June, all of our usual services will resume and you will be part of an exciting new network with access to millions of items.

Tricia from Tech Services took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to chat about the One Card network, which we’ll be joining in just 4 weeks…

What LMS (Library Management System) training have you had so far?
The first stop for all of us has been an online module about Symphony (the new system we’ll be using), which provided an introduction to the Symphony software, navigation around the program and search skills to help locate items.
Next I was off to Public Library Services in the State Library for three full-day training sessions covering Circulation, Cataloguing and Serials.
While these sessions are really the basis for my knowledge, there is no substitute for workshopping with colleagues and hands-on practice. As a team we have all created training notes to pass on to the team as a whole. 

What’s been the biggest challenge for you?
Well, perhaps that is still ahead… but so far, just having a clear and open mind to new ways of doing old things has been the challenge.

What do you think will be the best change for library staff?
I think the best change will be that we will be able to provide a much better service to our customers, and these customers will now be state-wide. It is a case of ‘bigger and better’.
Library staff all over the state will come together as one team. We will learn together and support each other throughout this whole process. We really will be part of “one library” and so will get to know all the other participating libraries better and in a different way. Plus we get to share some great collections instead of each library having to purchase them individually.

What do you think will be the best change for library customers?
Access to so many more items, and the convenience of borrowing and returning items  at any participating library. Our new public catalogue, Enterprise, will not only provide amazing access to library materials but also a whole suite of information, links and applications.
There is a little bit of the unknown about just what the whole picture will look like but this makes it really exciting!

For more information check out our previous blog posts.

With five weeks to go until our go-live date on the One Card network, we’ve been knuckling down and learning more about how to use our new Library Management System. We need to learn a slightly different way of doing our everyday work – even simple things like checking out books or looking up items on the catalogue – so all staff members are attending training sessions.

Mitcham, Onkaparinga and Alexandrina library services were the first three to join the network, and it sounds like it’s all going well. Congratulations to them for being the pioneers in this exciting project!

Six weeks sounds like a long time, but we’re sure it will fly by and before we know it we will be on the One Card system.

This week we have started telling our customers more about the new system, and how being a member of a One Card library means access to millions of items. Pick up a brochure or bookmark next  time you visit the library to see what it’s all about.

If you would like to read more about the One Card system and what it means for you, see our previous blog posts.

This week we have been familiarising ourselves with the parts of our everyday work that are going to be different once we’re in the One Card network. A few of our ‘rules’ about borrowing, placing holds and dealing with overdue items are going to change – and it’s all going to result in a consistent library system that benefits you.

As of June 21, our customers will be able to:

• borrow 20 DVDs, instead of 8
• place up to 30 items on hold, instead of 10
• pay late fees online via PayPal
• and more!

For more information on the One Card network, see our previous blog posts or check out this YouTube video…