Beginning Aug. 27, Hennepin County Library's two library catalogs will be consolidated into a single catalog containing more than 5 million books, CDs, DVDs, and other items.

 

The Library is merging its suburban libraries' catalog of 300,000 unique titles and 2 million items, with its Minneapolis libraries' catalog of 1.3 million unique titles and 3 million items. 

 

Combining the two catalogs will give library customers access to the nation's 12^th largest public library collection.

 

Since the merger of the Minneapolis Public and suburban Hennepin County libraries in January 2008, customers have had to search two different catalogs to access the entire Hennepin County Library collection.

 

Customers will be able to access the robust, consolidated catalog with their current library card, whether it's a Minneapolis or suburban card.  

 

Items from the Minneapolis libraries will begin to appear in the consolidated catalog in early August, but those items won't be available through the consolidated catalog until the project is complete on Aug. 27. Accounts for Minneapolis library cardholders will start appearing in the consolidated catalog on Aug. 21, but the account information will be incomplete until Aug. 27. 

 

Accounts of suburban library cardholders will remain the same.

 

Customers who are registered in both the suburban and Minneapolis systems catalogs will have their accounts combined in the consolidated catalog.

 

No libraries will be closed during the transition from two catalogs into one, and customers will continue to be able to check out items, place requests, and pay fines during the transition. 

 

There may be disruptions in access to the catalog at times as hardware and software are tested and data is moved from one catalog to the other. After libraries close on Sunday, Aug. 23, the Minneapolis catalog will be removed, and from that time on only the consolidated catalog will be available. The consolidated catalog will not available on Wednesday, Aug. 26 as the remaining data from the Minneapolis catalog is moved to the consolidated catalog. Although you will not be able to search the catalog on Aug. 26, you will still be able to check out items and use the other library resources.

 

The catalog consolidation is part of ongoing post-library-merger initiatives to combine several technology systems, reduce overall operating costs, increase efficiencies through decommissioning duplicate systems, and forge a single organization identity.

 

We appreciate Hennepin County Library customers' patience during a process that, upon completion on Aug. 27, will give them easier access to one of the best catalogs in the nation.

 

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