Beginning on Monday, Sept. 21, Kokomo-Howard County Public Library patrons will notice some exciting changes when searching the online catalog.
“We’re excited to announce we’ll be launching the implementation of Wise, a new cataloging and materials management system that will provide patrons with some unique tools,” said KHCPL Director of Marketing Lisa Fipps.
“We’ve been with our current system for almost 30 years, including various upgrades and updates,” Fipps said. “To keep it would have become costly because of changes that the provider is about to make. So, we began searching for a new system and found Wise. We love the unique features it provides patrons. Since we’re taxpayer-funded and patron-minded, we’re always seeking ways to save money and provide even better customer service. Wise allows us to do both.”
Wise is the first community-engagement system for U.S. public libraries. About 75 percent of libraries in the Netherlands already use it. “Since we’re only the fourth public library in the United States to implement Wise, we’ll be a beta tester,” Fipps said. “We love that this partnership puts us on the cutting edge of technology for public libraries in America.”
One feature of Wise that patrons will like is that once you approve a relationship with another library cardholder who’s a part of or not a part of your household, such as a coworker, friend, or neighbor, you can pick up holds, check out items, and pay fines for each other. “You’ll have a lot more options with Wise,” Fipps said.
There will be a little bit of a transition time as KHCPL makes the change. From Friday, Sept. 18, until Monday, Sept. 21, patrons won’t be able to pay fines, log in to see when items are due, place holds, or renew items, Fipps said. “You’ll still be able to check out materials that weekend, but we’ll be going kind of old-school. We’ll be writing down the items’ barcodes. So please allow for a little extra time for checkout when you visit us on those days. You should be able to continue to use Overdrive and Hoopla for movies and more.”
Because the transition is staff-intensive, KHCPL will not be able to offer Curbside Pickup on Friday, Sept. 18, and Monday, Sept. 21. It will resume Curbside Pickup starting on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
As KHCPL completes the changeover on Sept. 21, we’ll have to be closed until 4 p.m. that day.
“We regret patrons will have a few days of inconvenience as we implement this new system, but we know that Wise provides so many conveniences that it’ll all be worth it,” Fipps said. “We thank everyone, in advance, for their patience and understanding.”