LIBRARY SPOTLIGHT

Mid York Library

EnvisionWare’s Holds Locker Provides Mid York Library System With the Stability and Service Patrons and Staff Count On

When it comes to library service, outreach is the name of the game for Rob Sporing, Assistant Director of the Mid York Library System. The library system, which spans three counties in upstate New York, encompasses a large service area with wide stretches of rural and underserved areas that often don’t have high-speed internet access.

A solution came in the form of grant money, which enabled Sporing and his team to purchase remote lockers. The library installed three initial lockers as a pilot program: one in a small college town; a second in a busy suburban area; and a third where the library was looking to increase its hours of operation. The lockers were intended to be used for books and materials as well as to mount exterior access points to provide internet access outside the library facility.

Although the concept was successful, the lockers the Library System had originally installed had hardware and software issues, which limited uptime and proved frustrating for patrons and staff. Rather than give up on the pilot, Sporing replaced the units with EnvisionWare’s Holds Locker. The result has been an outstanding success.

“The lockers work exactly as promised, so patrons have no issues picking up materials,” said Sporing. “Staff love how easy it is – they simply scan and load. There’s no tagging, and they can put all the items for a patron in one spot, so they’re not hunting through multiple lockers.”

Sporing also commented on how easy it was not to have additional software to install and manage. The Holds Locker leverages EnvisionWare’s CloudNine® platform for remote administration automatic software updating, hosting, and integrated cloud-based analytics. Administration is performed in the CloudNine Web Console anywhere from a browser as needed and analytics are available in the same manner.

With the success of the lockers, Sporing is continuing to look for new and creative ways to enhance services across the system to provide vital access in underserved areas.