The Cape Girardeau Public Library recently joined Missouri Evergreen, a consortium of more than 60 library systems statewide. Library Director Katie Earnhart says Missouri Evergreen is the library’s new Integrated Library System (ILS) that tracks their books and who is checking out items. The system is open-source software that was introduced to the State of Missouri by the Poplar Bluff Library in 2012 and has been growing ever since.
Earnhart says that there are over four million items in the shared collection. It took several months to move data from their existing system into the new ILS.
The move to Missouri Evergreen has allowed the Cape Library Public Library to work more closely with Riverside Regional Library in Jackson. Earnhart said that the two libraries have joined forces to expand access to resources for residents of Cape Girardeau County. Since both libraries use Missouri Evergreen as their ILS, it made the partnership possible. Through a recently established reciprocal borrowing agreement, the two libraries will work together to expand access to the collections of books, digital resources, and other materials. Under the agreement, all cardholders who reside in Cape Girardeau County will be able to borrow and return items from either library seamlessly.
Earnhart says that the response from library patrons has been positive so far and that the collaborative spirit between the two libraries is a good thing for all residents of Cape Girardeau County.
