Maricopa County Goes GIS

The Maricopa County Library District, which claims to be Arizona's largest countywide system, is upgrading its automation capabilities with GIS Information System's Polaris. Along with circulation, cataloging, acquisitions, and more, the contract also calls for the installation of the Spanish-language and children's version of GIS's PowerPAC. Maricopa County serves a population of 3.5 million residents and has a collection of more than 617,000 items. The library reports that with the community constantly growing, circulation increases as much as 30 percent annually. The library district comprises three regional and ten community libraries. A new joint school/public library will open in 2004.