Catalogs Are Next to Combine in Hennepin County Library Merger

Consolidation, partnership, and mergers are not uncommon in the library world. Librarians’ need to operate as efficiently as possible, as well as patrons’ need for finding library information quickly and simply, make consolidations practical, if not necessary. For example, as part of Hennepin County (Minn.) Library’s merger with Minneapolis Public Library, the catalogs of the two formerly separate collections are scheduled to be fully integrated as of August 27, the goal being to reduce operating costs for the library while giving patrons and staff access to 5 million books, CDs, DVDs, and other items in one interface. The merger involves moving 1.5-million records from the former Minneapolis PL’s Innovative Interfaces ILS to the suburban libraries’ Horizon system.

The suburban catalog has 300,000 unique titles and 2 million items; the Minneapolis libraries’ catalog contains records of 1.3 million unique titles and 3 million items. Combining the two databases is an important step in merging the two collections, giving Hennepin County patrons access to the nation’s 12th-largest library collection.

Since the merger in January 2008, patrons have had to search two separate catalogs in order to access the system’s resultant collection. Soon, though, patrons will be able to search the entire collection and check out items with their current library card, whether it is from the Minneapolis or suburban system.

Hennepin County Library reported in a July 9 press release that there will be no disruptions in access to the catalog during the transition. Before scheduled completion, patrons can already see titles from the Minneapolis collection showing up in the suburban libraries’ Horizon OPAC, library spokeswoman Carla Knutson Biermaier told American Libraries, also noting in early August that the project was one week ahead of schedule.

As the Hennepin County merger was getting underway, New York Public Library was putting the finishing touches on its new catalog and OPAC, which combines the former research and circulating collections into one. The new catalog, which was three years in the making and cost $7 million, launched July 5.

The initial launch was met with some technological problems, which reflected the enormity of the task of moving millions of pieces of data in a relatively short period of time, NYPL spokeswoman Nadia Riley told AL. These initial problems caused long lines at circulation desks and upset some patrons, but two days later the catalog was operating more smoothly. By July 10, “all major functions were restored,” NYPL’s Heidi Singer said in the New York Times City Room blog July 20.

The research and circulating collections were previously cataloged using different ILS software, as well as with different call numbering systems, Dewey and NYPL’s own unique system, respectively. Branch and research libraries were formerly run as separate units, further adding to the division between the old catalog systems. Combining the two catalogs unifies the library, according to Riley, and creates a more powerful and seamless search function.

—Sean Fitzpatrick, American Libraries Online
Posted on August 17, 2009.

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