The Waters around You Have Grown: Small Libraries Transformed by Union Catalogs

Imagine being in a small raft on the Colorado River during spring runoff! The water’s rising, you’re moving faster, enjoying the scenery and the spray. But here comes the first of many sets of rapids. How will you negotiate the turbulent waters and come out stronger on the other side? Take that scene and think about what a small or medium sized library faces when they become part of a Union Catalog. So much more is available to their patrons, but how will staff handle the increased volume? Does it change the way you do collection development, process ILL requests, does library use change? Jim Minges – Northeast Kansas Library System, Gene Ann Trant – Wellington Public Library in Colorado, and Mindy White – Colorado Mountain College, Glenwood share their experiences of what it’s like for smaller libraries to enter the world of resource sharing through the Union Catalog.