A group of 10 pilot libraries has formed the SC LENDS consortium to share resources, providing their patrons access to more library materials than ever before. SC LENDS, which stands for South Carolina Library Evergreen Network Delivery System, will implement the Evergreen open-source integrated library system (ILS) to manage transferring books between libraries.
SC LENDS libraries will share a single catalog, which means that patrons can search for items at any of the ten libraries as easily as they search for items at their home library. Requesting items will be as simple as clicking a button. Within a few days, any circulating item can be delivered from any SC LENDS library across the state. When the pilot group finishes migrating to the new system by the end of 2009, SC LENDS will be the second-largest Evergreen consortium in North America. Together, these libraries serve a population of almost 1 million people in 10 counties and circulate more than 2 million items. Several additional SC library systems are examining the possibility of joining SC LENDS.
The following libraries have joined SC LENDS: Anderson County Library, Beaufort County Library, Calhoun County Library, Chesterfield County Library, Dorchester County Library, Fairfield County Library, Florence County Library, The South Carolina State Library, Union County Carnegie Library, and the York County Library.
The first three libraries—Beaufort, the South Carolina State Library, and Union—will move to the new system May 28, 2009. Calhoun, Chesterfield, Dorchester, and York will go live on October 15, 2009. And Anderson, Fairfield, and Florence will start using the new system on December 3, 2009.
Evergreen is an open-source integrated library system (ILS) originally developed for the 270-member Georgia PINES library consortium. By using open source, SC LENDS libraries estimate that they will save more than $200,000 a year in software licensing costs.
But the real value of SC LENDS to South Carolina’s library users is access. “We expect SC LENDS to enable us to better share South Carolina’s library and information resources,” said David S. Goble, Director of the South Carolina State Library and State Librarian. “Patrons will have greater access to more materials than ever before.”
Faith Line, Director of the Anderson County Library System and Chair of the SC LENDS Advisory Committee said, “Another advantage we’re seeing already is how much the libraries will gain just by talking to one another more. We’re comparing everything from cataloging standards to collection management to vendor services. Eventually, those discussions will translate into a wider range of services for our patrons and considerable savings for the libraries.”
