Posted April 21, 2022
Pictured L-R: Thornton Library staff members Jacqueline Sneed, Penny Hobgood, Shirley McCaden, Mel Baldwin, and Will Robinson.
The Granville County Library System (GCLS) recently installed two Bibliotheca selfcheck 500 kiosks for use by visitors to the Thornton Library in Oxford and the South Branch in Creedmoor. GCLS received a $17,775 grant from the State Library of North Carolina via funding from the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA), which fully funded the purchase and installation of the self-service kiosks.
Patrons wishing to avoid a line at the circulation desk or hoping to maintain privacy regarding the materials they are checking out at the library may use the self-checkout kiosks by simply scanning their library card, or manually entering their account number on the touch screen. Library staff will be available to assist at the circulation desk or if patrons need help navigating the self-checkout process.
“In the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic, the Granville County Library System has looked for ways to modernize and make library operations safer through technology,” said Library Director Will Robinson. “The library self-checkout kiosk is an ideal way for improving library operations and helps to minimize contact between staff and patrons. These kiosks will help reduce Covid related stress, help streamline the checkout process, and give a measure of anonymity with checkouts. Utilizing federal Covid relief funds, instead of local tax dollars, was a great way to make our operations more efficient and give our patrons additional choices on how they access our materials and services.”
The State Library of North Carolina received funding as part of the federal government’s investment in museums and libraries through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which provided additional funds to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support vital library programs and services in local communities. LSTA grants are awarded in response to specific needs of public, academic, and community college libraries. These federal funds are investments that help libraries deliver relevant and up-to-date services to their communities.
These grant awards are made possible by funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (IMLS grant number LS-250229-OLS-21).