South Australia has completed The One Card Network project, connecting more than 130 public libraries and enabling customers to borrow and return items with one library card.
South Australian Arts Minister Jack Snelling said the project has given South Australians access to one of the world’s biggest book, DVD, CD & magazine collections, totaling over 4 million items.
“It is the result of a unique collaboration between SA Councils, the Libraries Board of South Australia, Public Library Services, the Local Government Association, and library staff in more than 130 Council and school-community-based libraries across South Australia.
“There’s a smartphone app you can use to look up and reserve your favourite books and DVDs. When these become available, they’re delivered straight to your library ready to be picked up.”
Local Government Association President Mayor David O’Loughlin highlighted the savings to councils across SA as a result of the shared project between State and Local Government.
“It’s been estimated that the implementation cost of the new shared system over 4 years will be at least $700,000 less than the cost of councils continuing to operate separate library management systems over the same length of time.”
The new system is set to boost the appeal of an already popular community service according to James Bruce, Chairman of the Libraries Board of South Australia.
“With libraries being one of the most visited public buildings in the State and having around 50 percent of South Australians as members, we’ve made a great community service even better by expanding the range of items available and greatly improving convenience.”
