People using the provinces’ libraries will soon be offered a better service with a new initiative where you will need just one library card.
All public libraries in Saskatchewan have signed up to the ‘one province, one library card’ initiative, which will connect all the databases.
It means, for example, when people with a card for Moose Jaw Public Library travel to Regina, they will not have to register and will be able to use just one card to borrow items.
The same system for late charges will also apply across the province.
In Oct. 2008, the Provincial Government committed $5.2 million over four years for the project.
The Palliser Regional Library System has spent another $50,000 to cover conversion costs, training and implementation.
The scheme will be phased in until the fall in 2010 when all 10 library systems in the province, plus the Provincial Library, will be joined up.
Saskatoon Public Library moved to the new system on Dec. 15, 2009, and Palliser Regional Library, which includes Moose Jaw Public Library, and the Southeast Regional Library, will move to the new system on Jan. 12, 2010.
Regina Public Library will be active from Feb. 2, 2010.
