Grimsby Public Library has joined a Niagara Region library cooperative that gives patrons access to thousands more books.
The library has joined the Libraries in Niagara Cooperative (LiNC), a new integrated library system that connects Niagara Region libraries and gives members access to books across the system.
As a LiNC member, the Grimsby library will now share resources with other libraries in the LiNC network. Current libraries in the community include both library branches in Lincoln and the libraries in Pelham, Thorold, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Fort Erie, and Niagara College. Welland, Port Colborne, and Wainfleet are also set to join the cooperative soon.
Grimsby library patrons will have access to thousands of more books through the LiNC interative online catalogue. It gives them the ability to check out items from multiple locations. They’ll also be able to place holds on books in other towns and pick them up in Grimsby.
The revamped system will allow members to return books and pay fines at any LiNC affiliate too. Using the online platform members can also create lists and track their reading history.
LiNC was established in 2010 to bring libraries in Niagara together under one open source library catalogue system called Evergreen. The initiative was designed to eliminate the hassle for each individual library having to manage and upgrade its own operation. Under the new arrangement, all the LiNC libraries will be managed through a single resource.
The Grimsby library will make the official transition on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. Patron accounts will be temporarily suspended until that date. Items that are currently checked out, holds, and account details, such as address, contact information, and passwords will be transferred to the new online platform. Reading history and lists will not. Patrons can learn how to download their reading lists here.
Joining the cooperative also means new policies for avid readers in Grimsby. Members will have three days to pick up held items. Books can only be renewed twice.
Lending periods will largely remain the same. Though, magazine borrowing will shift to a seven-day loan period. Fines for regular overdue books and magazines will be set at 25 cents per day.
Online resources from other LiNC libraries will not be available to Grimsby patrons.
For up-to-date information on the changes occuring at Grimsby Public Library visit the library’s website.