The ins and outs of getting library materials around the county – and beyond
A book’s home might be dictated by its order in the Dewey Decimal System, but materials in the Butler County Federated Library System might spend months or even years away from their places on the shelves.
It’s because patrons of any Butler County public library can request materials shared between all nine of those libraries — plus from libraries within the New Castle Library District, which expands the collection by more than a dozen libraries.
If none of the libraries in that four-county district — which includes ones from Armstrong and Mercer counties — have what someone is seeking, a librarian can search all of Pennsylvania for that book.
“Say the specific book that you want is not in Butler County, the New Castle District, then I can search a catalog and find it in, say, Philadelphia or Montgomery County — or any county in the state,” said Dianne McCauley, adult services manager at Butler Area Public Library. “I can put in a request for that book, and if they want to send it to us, they do. That’s free, it just takes longer to get, because it comes shipped through FedEx or UPS, or sometimes the regular mail.”
The Butler County system has an online catalog where everything available in the county’s nine libraries is listed and tracked.
Although each library in the federated system has its own catalog and collection budget, they all share resources — meaning anyone can check out almost anything within the county.
Lori Hinderliter, executive director of the Butler library and administrator of the county library system, said the shared agreement between the county libraries means that “very close to 100%” of their collections are available to any patron in the county. So, when one library gets a book, anyone can check it out or request it online.
“We receive state and county funds that are kind of in a pool. Each library receives their own of that, but there is a portion that we can purchase more collection or resources,” Hinderliter said.
The Butler County Federated Library System website gives an overview of all the libraries in the county. It lets patrons browse the entire catalog with the click of a button.
The online catalog keeps track of all the available books in the county and also the different copies of a certain material, so their approximate location or status can be viewed at any time.
So, when a patron puts a “hold” — an online request — in for an item online, they are placed in a virtual queue for that item and the patron selects which library they want it to be delivered to.
Some items that are requested come right off the shelf. Hinderliter said each library has a procedure for fulfilling holds: Some have a dedicated staff member for the job and others having a librarian browse the shelves for holds once a day.
There is one person whose job with the library system is dedicated to transporting books: Dave Nading, who is a driver for the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources. The library system contracts with ANR for its transport services. Nading, a 12-year employee of ANR, has been a courier for the county system for more than 11 years.
Once a book is taken off its shelf, it is placed in a canvas bag labeled for a specific library. These canvas bags — which weigh 50 pounds on average when filled — are often packed to the brim with books and materials destined for another library. Nading uses a dolly to tote them all to his van before loading them into the trunk.
“Since I started, they have always been overflowing,” Nading said Tuesday, July 28, before a courier run.
Nading moves about 20 bags per day. At 50 pounds per bag, four days a week, that’s about 4,000 pounds of books that Nading transports each week, visiting stops at each of the nine libraries throughout the county.
He normally starts at the Butler library around 9 a.m. before going on a round trip to the southern libraries. He returns to Butler before noon for a drop off, then goes to the northern libraries before ending his journey back where he started.
Once Nading drops a canvas bag off at its destination, its librarians sort them and alert people with holds their book or items have arrived via phone call or email.
The information is also tracked on the county system’s website, with the catalog even showing when a book is in transport between libraries.
Popular books may not even make it back to their place on a shelf for months — being put right back into a canvas bag after being returned, destined for another library where another patron has a hold.
McCauley said patrons typically have three days to pick up their hold before it gets cycled back into a canvas bag to be delivered to the next person, especially when a book is popular and has a wait list.
With some books spawning wait lists that stretch into the double-digits — a patron might not get the book for months, or even a year — Hinderliter said the library system is working on a solution.
McNaughton Subscription Services is a leasing program for libraries, which lets a library lease a book for a span of time instead of buying it, which Hinderliter said will come in handy for particularly popular titles.
“We’re hoping to be able to boost the number of copies of those things that are high-demand and also maybe niche titles that we don’t want to spend money on because we know they’re not going to be as popular, but there is a need,” Hinderliter said. “This way, if we can order those through the leasing program, we can send them back after the interest is gone and select something else.”
Deliveries between libraries within the New Castle Library District come a few times a week, Hinderliter said, and outside of that, delivery is more uncertain.
Deliveries from other parts of the state have their own rules.
McCauley said these loans may only be for one checkout period and a library does not need to offer renewal.
“If you request something through interlibrary loan, you only get a certain loan period, so the sooner you pick it up, the sooner your loan is,” she said.
McCauley said out-of-county requests may come with more stipulations compared to holds requested within Butler County. Special materials, like microfilm or genealogy supplies, may have to stay in the library they are sent to to keep them in good condition.
“That way it just keeps our items from being damaged or someone else’s items getting damaged or lost,” McCauley said.
The number of holds made within the library system dwarfs the requests for out-of-county materials, Hinderliter said, so the courier system has been working well with Nading on the route.
“We are blessed in the county to be able to do deliveries four days a week, but we just have that need,” she said.
Libraries in Butler County Federated Library System
- Butler Area Public Library: www.butlerlibrary.info, 724-287-1715
- Cranberry Public Library: www.cranberrytownship.org/3501/Library, 724-776-9100
- Evans City Public Library: www.evanscitylibrary.org, 724-538-8695
- Mars Area Public Library: www.marsarealibrary.org, 724-625-9048
- North Trails Public Library: www.northtrailslibrary.org, 724-476-1006
- Prospect Community Library: www.prospectlibrary.org, 724-865-9718
- Slippery Rock Community Library: www.slipperyrocklibrary.org, 724-738-9179
- South Butler Community Library: www.southbutlerlibrary.org, 724-352-4810
- Zelienople Area Public Library: www.zelienoplelibrary.org, 724-452-9330
About the Butler County Federated Library System
Butler County Federated Library System coordinates library services offered by the county libraries.
The library system was founded by resolutions of the county commissioners in 1987. Its purpose is to operate a system of autonomous public libraries within the county to promote, develop, and improve library (and informational) services for all county residents.
It provides the hardware, software and technical support for the countywide library automation system. This project makes possible the online catalog database and the use of one library card throughout the county.
The Butler County Library System Board of Directors, appointed by county commissioners, governs, sets operating policies and controls finances for the system. The board meets a minimum of six times a year; there is a time for public comment at posted meeting dates. The next meeting is Sept. 16 at Prospect Community Library.
For more information, visit www.bcfls.org.
