The 104 libraries in Cape Town will be upgrading to a new management system which means every library needs to be closed for two days.
The scheduled closures will start late in April.
The new system will save time and have a better tracking of resources.
At the beginning of September, the City of Cape Town’s 104 libraries will have switched to a new managing system, improving services for patrons and staff.
The closures will take place on a rolling schedule taking place over three months from April.
The Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) will be available remotely via the internet and will save readers time.
A single search returns results from the entire collection – regardless of format or which branch it is kept at.
Patrons will be able to use the system to: view items issued to them, renew items online, search for titles, authors, music, videos and filter by genre or subject, view book synopsis, author biographies and award lists, view book reviews from The New York Times, and Library Journal, make book lists, make use of integrated online services such as PressReader, Britannica and World Book Online via OPAC, access their library on-the-go by making use of the mobile app called BookMyne to access all the online services listed above
The system’s benefits for staff and the department include better resource tracking and sharing, saving staff valuable time as various processes will be dealt with more efficiently by the system and will provide accurate management reporting as required by the department and stakeholders.
It will also allow for social media integration, use of the mobile library application for membership drives off-site, allow staff to have better control over their own budgets, expenditure, stock allocations and reporting through the acquisitions module, adding digital content, such as local history collections, receiving up-to-date information on pending and outstanding deliveries and copies at libraries.
For a complete list of the dates when libraries will be closed for the upgrade, go to http://cct.gov.za/JM3V1.