Ireland: Interlibrary Loan: Public Libraries to Transfer 20,000 Books a Week Across Country

From the Irish Examiner:

A plan being developed for all local authority libraries will see around 20,000 volumes transported between counties each week to satisfy reader demand — up from fewer than 150 books a week previously.
Members can currently borrow books from most of the 333 library branches run by 30 councils around Ireland, but must wait until an item is returned to its home library, and then a book, DVD, or other item is sent by library staff in the post.
As all public libraries complete the switch to a common system management software programme in the next few weeks, an improved service is planned to allow members reserve any of more than 15m items held in national collections.
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Effectively, the online or in-branch catalogue search for 30 library services is being replaced by a single national catalogue, which can be accessed in branches or from online from home.

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Filed under: Libraries, Management and Leadership, News, Public Libraries