By the book
How your regional library system works
Community members are often surprised to learn that they can borrow something from the Ingonish Library and be able to return it to the Glace Bay Library.
Or, there may be a book at the McConnell Library in Sydney that they want and they can have it brought to their local library for pick up.
The Cape Breton Regional Library is a regional service that lends reading materials and more through 12 branch libraries and two bookmobiles, serving the CBRM and Victoria County.
The library is like a tree with branches that are all connected by the trunk, which is the central headquarters office, located in Sydney. Situated below the McConnell Library, which is the largest library branch in the system, the headquarters office supplies many of the functions that make the regional system work.
Before a book or DVD lands on your library shelf, it goes through many stages. It starts when a librarian evaluates reviews to locate the books and materials they wish to purchase for the library collection. These choices go far beyond bestsellers, as it is necessary to choose a wide variety of materials to fit the needs of a broad community, while always considering budget and space availability. Once the librarians make their choices, the orders are sent to a staff member whose job is to place the orders through a number of sources, and carefully track what has been ordered, the cost and when they will be shipped.
When the material arrives in headquarters, another staff member is responsible to process the books by checking the invoices against the shipment, labeling and covering the books, working with the finance staff for payment of invoices, and allocating the books to reach their library destination. Each branch library and bookmobile has its own space in the headquarters office where items are placed for delivery. Every book that moves between the branch libraries will be processed through headquarters. There are always large numbers of books being moved between library branches.
All technical functions, such as maintaining computers and software, developing and maintaining the website, assisting staff with technical problems across the system are delivered through the headquarters office. With remote outreach for technical services, staff can provide updates and servicing to computers from the central office, bringing many efficiencies. The library catalogue is region-wide which is how you are able to know where a book is being housed, whether it is available, and be able to reserve it so you can borrow it from your local library branch.
The library last year provided more than 2,400 programs with 25,000 people in attendance across the region. Staff develop program offerings for the McConnell Library and also support the work of staff in the library branches outside Sydney who themselves design many programs.
There are many more services available through headquarters, such as bringing in books from outside our region for local readers, human resources, financial services, fundraising, managing rural branches, ebook ordering, and housing and managing the storage collection. These centralized services help libraries be efficient on many levels and provide consistent service across the region.
So the next time you borrow a book, DVD, or any other item from the Cape Breton Regional Library system or attend a program, you can appreciate that there are many people working behind the scenes at the central headquarters to help provide you with this service. Happy reading!