New Berlin Library patrons check out new lending system

New Berlin - New Berlin Library patrons apparently like the idea of a combined card catalog that more readily connects them with 15 other libraries.

Last November, less than a year before the local library became part of Catalog Access For Everyone (CAFÉ, for short), New Berlin residents borrowed only 135 items from other libraries. This November they borrowed 2,262.

The New Berlin Library in September became part of CAFÉ, which makes it much easier to borrow books, audios, videos and anything else from nearly every library in Waukesha County.

Quick access to more

In the past, New Berlin patrons could borrow from those other libraries, but they had to call up the CAFÉ catalog separately from the New Berlin catalog. And perhaps more importantly, they had to order books and materials from those other libraries by going to the New Berlin Library and filling out a form. Now they can do it from home on the computer.

By joining CAFÉ, New Berlin, with its 176,500-item collection, added 66,000 titles that no one in the county had access to before, said New Berlin Library Director Dennis Sampson.

Likewise, people in other communities are happy to be able to access New Berlin's collection.

In November of last year, patrons of other libraries borrowed 51 of New Berlins books and other materials, Sampson said. That shot up to 3,966 items this November.

That makes for a much busier hustle with materials going in and out. Before CAFÉ, New Berlin only popped a single bin of materials into the van going to other libraries each day. Now it's more like 10 to 12 bins a day, Sampson said.

A money maker

What's nice is that New Berlin has become more of a lender library than ever before. That means patrons of other libraries borrow more items from New Berlin than New Berlin patrons borrow from other libraries.

And being a lender library means money. Waukesha County reimburses lender libraries from out of the county library tax, Sampson said.

Next year the library expects to collect $13,000, based on borrowings from last year, he said. That number will likely go up in 2013 to reflect CAFÉ borrowing, he added, noting that the reimbursements lag two years behind the actual usage.

Electronic business, too

While lots of library materials are shuttling around the county, waves of wireless transmissions carrying books, music and audio books are also keeping things busy.

People are now able to catch those books and music on their wireless electronic players such as iPads, smart phones and computers with the right application software. All this is done through OverDrive, a service to which many libraries, including New Berlin, now subscribe, said Marnie Schmidt, adult and reference librarian and web administrator.

All borrowers need is a library card from any library in the county and they can download books, audios and music onto their players just like they'd borrow a library book, Schmidt said.

New Berlin residents have been able to do that since spring 2010, but in just the last month downloads have surged. The main factor is Amazon.com, which has made its new Kindle ebook players compatible with OverDrive, Schmidt said. New Berlin residents who only downloaded an average of 90 e-items from January through September borrowed 325 items in October.