Rolling Meadows Library joins regional consortium, expanding access to more items

Rolling Meadows Library will launch a new catalog system this month that will give cardholders access to more than five million items under a consortium with 33 other public libraries in the North and Northwest suburbs.

The library will flip the switch Oct. 20 from its own catalog system to the Cooperative Computer Services consortium, which includes libraries from Palatine and Mount Prospect to Waukegan and Zion-Benton.

Rolling Meadows patrons currently have access to the library’s local collection of 185,000 items and do have access to materials from other libraries near and far. But the change will mean quicker delivery of materials from partner libraries — arriving in days instead of weeks, said Jack Bower, the library’s executive director.

Patrons also will be able to check out and return materials at any member library.

“It’s a big benefit to the residents who will have a much larger catalog easily available to them,” Bower said. “If it’s a book or any material that’s really popular, instead of just seeing the copies that we have in our library, all of the 34 libraries will be in there. So one title in that catalog might have now 30 copies of it compared to just one or two before.”

Most libraries of Rolling Meadows’ size, based on budget and population, are in a shared catalog consortium to take advantage of economies of scale, Bower said.

Bigger libraries such as Arlington Heights and Schaumburg are standalone, though they also have some sharing arrangements.

Before the switch, Rolling Meadows had been budgeting $134,000 a year for its standalone catalog system, cataloging services and ordering software. By joining the consortium, the library will pay $74,000 starting next year.

A $53,000 grant from the Reaching Across Illinois Library System paid one-time startup and transition costs this year.

The transition period begins Oct. 16. Patrons temporarily won’t be able to place new holds or borrow the newest materials, Library of Things items, streaming devices or hot spots. But the library will still be open, and patrons will be able to check out most materials.

For more details about the transition, visit rmlib.org/new-catalog.

cplacek@dailyherald.com