Case Study: Bookmobile Connectivity

Library: Charleston County Public Library, Charleston, SC

Issue:

With a busy bookmobile schedule five days a week, Charleston County Public Library needed a reliable mobile circulation solution. Using their native ILS software for circulation required too much data exchange between the bookmobile and the remote server to be useful. Cellular modem connections to the internet are often required, because satellite connections providing more bandwidth can sometimes be unavailable or not practical. This resulted in a backlog of circulation information which had to be processed at a later time when the bookmobile returned to the main branch. This added labor costs and an increased the workload for bookmobile staff. Additionally, hold requests were not processed properly and blocked patrons were allowed to check out materials.

Approach:

Installed MobileCirc™ on bookmobile PC's. MobileCirc™ enables fast and convenient connections to main branch for real time circulation with greatly reduced bandwidth requirements.

Result:

Transaction processing is on the spot and immediately up to date. Patron information is available in real-time, enabling bookmobile staff to investigate fines and blocked patron status conditions. Check-in and check-out of materials is completed on the road, virtually eliminating large backlogs when returning to the main branch. Hold receipts can be printed on the bookmobile. Finally, less stress for the staff improves the bookmobile's level of service and keeps patrons happy.

If you would like to learn more about Charleston County Public Library’s experience with MobileCirc™, contact Tom Walker (walkert@ccpl.org) in the Charleston County Public Library Technical Services Department."