Lib2Home/Alerts from Auto-Graphics

Hoping to apply the efficiency of web technologies to solve some of the logistical problems of delivering materials directly to patrons at home, Auto-Graphics has recently announced two new features for its AGent VERSO ILS: Lib2Home and Active Alerts. The Active Alerts system allows users to set up and save searches according to “preferred titles, subjects and/or authors,” said the company. Patrons are then notified when the system identifies new materials that match those criteria.

Working in conjunction with this notification system, the Lib2Home feature is geared specifically toward libraries with existing mail-order and home delivery programs. In addition to the alerts sent to patrons, Lib2Home sends notifications to relevant librarians and staff members so that they can quickly process the materials identified by the Active Alerts criteria for checkout and delivery. “All of the residents in our 15,000 square mile library district can use this service,” said Dan Howard, director of public services at the Washington State Library. “For almost 40 years now, we've used the Mail Order Library to extend the library's reach to folks living in the vast expanses between towns.” Now, with the combination of Lib2Home and Active Alerts in a library running AGent Verso software, more of this process can be automated, which “reduces the need for new branch locations and additional management staff for the library,” the company said.