University Library and the Portage County Public Library Share New Online Catalog System

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point University Library and the Portage County Public Library have signed an agreement to share a common platform and interface for their new online catalogs. The new interface, the Voyager System from Endeavor Information Systems, was selected in the Fall of 1998 to be the new system for the UWSP and UW-System libraries. Shortly after, UWSP proposed that the public library join with UWSP in a joint venture that will result in cost savings to both institutions, and greatly enhanced services to library users. The new catalog is Web based, and will provide access to graphics and digital images, plus future audio and video. Patrons will have access to their own circulation information, and staff workstations will support graphics and full Windows capabilities. Library management functions that will utilize the new system include acquisitions, serials control, cataloging, collection management, circulation, and the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). The software that provides the interface and library management tools will run on Sun Enterprise™ servers, Sun StorEdge™ products and Sun's Solaris Operating Environment™ software. The UWSP Library staff is experienced in the management of multiple database systems, having served as the host for the library system of the 13-campus UW-Colleges since 1990.

The new catalog will eventually provide a seamless interface between the two libraries, allowing Portage County and UWSP library users to search and use the services of both libraries in a single step. This will be a powerful information resource for the citizens of Portage County.

The new library partners join over 350 Voyager libraries across the globe, including the National Geographic Society, the Library of Congress, the National Library of Medicine, Northwestern University, Pennsylvania State University Libraries, the University System of Georgia, the University of Wales, Stockholm University, and the National Library of New Zealand.

The partnership is the first joint online catalog venture in Wisconsin between a UW-System library and a public library. However, the two libraries have a long and rich history of cooperation, including the implementation of one of the first wireless Internet connections to a public library in the country. The directors of the libraries, Arne Arneson at UWSP and Bob Stack at the Portage County Public Library, agree that this level of cooperation between public agencies can only result in a major win for library users. By sharing the knowledge, technical, and management resources of the libraries, services can be offered that would not always be available if each institution had to fund and maintain the resources on their own.

UWSP implemented the new system on July 1, and the Portage County Public Library will go online sometime in the Fall.  The Web address of UWSP's catalog is http://spoc.uwsp.edu/