Flexibility and State-of-the-Art Technology Make for a Modern Library Experience at Monroe County Public Library
The opportunity to build a new, state-of-the-art library doesn’t come around very often. Monroe County Public Library in Florida recently completed their first new building project in over 20 years, building the first two-story building in the Florida Keys.
For the Monroe County staff, flexibility and leading-edge library technology were the keys to delivering a modern library experience the community expected from the new building. So, when it came to selecting a technology partner, the team turned to EnvisionWare for innovative solutions and a partner they could rely on.
“I have been an EnvisionWare customer for 23 years and knew I could count on the quality of the products and company,” said Kimberly Matthews, Sr. Director of Strategic Planning and Director of Libraries. “EnvisionWare is also unique in offering an integrated suite of self-service products so we could work with a single vendor partner for all of our self-service technology needs.”
To maximize flexibility, the library chose laptops instead of static desktops and implemented EnvisionWare’s PC Reservation® to manage reservations for the 20 computers. The laptops enable patrons to sit a comfortable distance apart and allow the library to adapt the space to community needs.
In addition to laptops, Monroe County decided to offer self-service access to tablets through EnvisionWare’s Tablet Station powered by Hublet. The tablets give patrons an alternative to the laptops to use to work, read or learn from comfortable spaces throughout the library. This includes using the tablets in the library’s new teen room, which includes Xboxes for gaming and places to do homework separate from the children’s area.
Monroe County also upgraded their collection to RFID and installed EnvisionWare’s X11 Series self-service stations for self-checkout, which included the X11 Vending Kiosks with credit card terminals for ecommerce self-service payments. These self-service solutions give customers autonomy over their library experience and enable staff to help in more impactful ways.
“We designed this library to be able to easily evolve with the changing needs of our community,” said Matthews. “EnvisionWare’s self-service technology makes it easy for us to achieve our goals.”
Monroe County has been awarded a nearly $1M in ARPA grant funding through the State library and IMLS to expand this EnvisionWare self-service technology to all Monroe County branches.
