FORTVILLE — The amount of materials available to patrons of the Fortville-Vernon Township Public Library just got a lot bigger.
The library has joined more than 100 others across the state in the Evergreen Indiana Library Consortium. Together, they provide access to almost 8 million items.
Karyn Millikan, director of the Fortville-Vernon Township Public Library, said patrons can request materials at fellow consortium libraries that will be shipped to Fortville at no cost to the patron.
“It opens up the catalog,” Millikan said. “…It gives our patrons much greater access to materials than what we did before.”
Millikan said if a patron wants a book that Fortville’s library doesn’t have, there’s a good chance another library in the system will, meaning expenses won’t be necessary for an inter-library loan or for purchasing the material.
“This way, the cost is much less and we were getting books from those libraries anyway,” she said. “This way, it’s all part of one system.”
The online catalog, accessible at fortville.lib.in.us, also allows patrons to place holds on items and receive notifications via email, text or phone call when materials are available and due. It includes automatic renewal and has a mobile app as well.
“Our previous system was pretty antiquated,” Millikan said of the library’s former catalog. “It did not have any kind of notification system, and it was hard and clunky to use. It did not have a very good online presence.”
Libby Wyatt, a member of the library’s board, agreed the new system is easy to use. She and her son experienced that firsthand when looking for books for the summer reading he did for school, she said.
Wyatt also likes how the consortium gives patrons access to more materials.
“It extends it throughout the state versus what we can carry in-house,” she said.
The consortium is supported by the Indiana State Library and funded in part by Library Services and Technology Act grants. Millikan said the library’s cost to be a part of it is prorated based on the number of checkouts and users and said it will ultimately lead to savings.
“This is just a great way for smaller libraries throughout the state of Indiana to keep their costs down and have an updated, nice system for their patrons,” she said.
Vernon Township’s library is the only library in Hancock County that’s a part of the consortium. The Hancock County Public Library has a robust interlibrary loan program and often purchases other sought-after materials.
Patrons who previously had a card with the library before it switched to the consortium will need to get a new one, Millikan said. She added the library is waiving fees for patrons who need to make the switch.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Fortville-Vernon Township Public Library
625 E. Broadway, Fortville
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday
12 to 8 p.m. Thursdays
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays
[sc:pullout-text-end]
