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Catherine Cooke is a Systems Officer at Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea Bi-borough Libraries. Lorensbergs talked to Catherine about her long career as a librarian, how she’s seen technology enable better library services, and her experiences as a long-term Netloan customer. |
Over your time working at Westminster and Bi-borough libraries, what’s inspired and motivated you most?
My career has brought me a lot of satisfaction over the years. I used to be a lending and reference librarian before becoming a systems librarian. So I’ve always felt that I’m not just doing this for the sake of the IT. It’s about knowing what the IT is supporting, the services you’re providing and how much users rely on them; making sure library PCs and printers are working as well as possible for these reasons.
Technology is there to serve us, even though sometimes it can be trying! The right innovations can really improve library services, bring vital automation where needed and make them easier to support.
Why are the People’s Network and library printing services important?
Westminster Libraries has always placed importance on offering PCs to the public, and this actually pre-dates the People’s Network by a few years. It’s an important service as it enables people to access resources they might not otherwise be able to afford. So even if you have a PC and internet access at home, it’s still of benefit to come to the library and use digital newspapers or Ancestry.com or use one of our business databases.
You can save documents to a memory stick from library computers, but often people prefer to take away a hard copy. So printing is an important service too when using these subscription databases.
And of course we support those that don’t have computers and printers at home. Printing continues to be popular with a lot of people; even if they have a device, they often can’t print. Jobseekers use library PCs to produce and print CVs for example.
During lockdown, we had a couple of libraries open in the north and south of the borough, so we could offer PC access to vulnerable residents. It’s not something that everyone realises, but Westminster and Kensington have pockets of deprivation that need this support. So it’s been important that libraries allowed them to access online services during lockdown and also afterwards – the need for public PC use is still there.
Libraries are the approachable face of the council. People prefer to walk into a library and get help using a PC to access digital council services rather than visiting ‘the Council’ at Westminster City Hall. Our councillors are very pro-libraries and very supportive of our services. They were keen for us to keep a presence over lockdown so residents could continue accessing PCs.
Our library senior management has always worked with our councillors so they’ve seen the success of libraries and how much they are able to help people. Our weekly IT help sessions are funded by the Abbey Road and Regents Park ward councillors.
Above: Catherine trying out RFID equipment at Marylebone Library;
Top of page: Mayfair Library where Catherine began her career.
Why is Netloan important in supporting PC and printing access in your libraries?
As a PC booking solution, Netloan has saved a lot of arguments over the years! The People’s Network is so important to the people that rely on it, so access needs to be managed fairly. With Netloan taking care of how long people have and when they need to log off, there’s no disagreement over which clock or watch is correct. So it saves staff from needing to intervene and it definitely ensures a much simpler, smoother system!
People also use Netloan to book ahead. They might have a routine of booking from one week to the next, and come in after work to use the same computer every week. A lot of people just walk in and log in when needed, but the booking functionality continues to be really important. We have a link to the booking portal from our library app. So people know when they come in what they want is going to be available to them.
For some, getting on a library PC is an important aspect of their leisure time. For others, it’s to do with the research they’re carrying out and they might need to use the PC in conjunction with the hard copy resources in the library. Or they might need PC access to keep up with family and friends. At Pimlico, the library is integrated with the local schools. Children use the computers and printers a lot for their homework.
A couple of our libraries have got learning centres and we use Netloan to book out those PCs for the groups that come in. The IT help sessions support mostly older people to get to grips with computers and we also have homework clubs that use our PCs.
How have self-service kiosks supported delivery of library services?
Self-service is one of the ways we want to go as we want to encourage people to do things for themselves. It also helps continue the reduction of cash handling which reduces our costs.
We refreshed our kiosks during the pandemic and introduced card payments which was a major advantage. It reduced the customer to staff interaction which has been a necessity at this time. It also made it possible to stop handling cash.
We have enquiry points rather than traditional staff desks now, allowing staff to do more floor walking and showing customers how to use self-service to issue books, book PCs and release their printing. This way staff can spend more time organising the stock, creating displays, and other tasks which benefit the whole library. It releases them from too many routine transactions. So staff like the kiosks as they allow them to do more interesting work.
The customers find it really easy to use the kiosks. They reduce queues and generally save them time. We have some unusual usage patterns at Westminster with lunchtimes being extremely busy between 12 and 2pm. People come out of their offices and head for the library in their lunch hours. Some of our branches are near major train stations like Charing Cross and commuters nip back in after work so we have another peak at that time. The kiosks really help here and stop commuters from getting held up.
How have you found working with Lorensbergs as a Netloan customer?
Working with Lorensbergs has gone very well. Your software works well. Your direction of travel is always the right way: you do the market research and know what the development requirements are for libraries.
The Lorensbergs’ support desk is extremely good, it’s very responsive, explaining what’s needed and fixing problems quickly. When you’ve come on site for new installation work it’s gone very well with good training provided. And now you’ve got remote access for upgrade work which is a further improvement.
We’ve been very happy with the Netloan software. It’s the ease with which PC booking happens, how people get their sessions. And also the ease of printing if people want to. It’s a single sign-on solution, all users need is their library card number and PIN and they’re logged into the PC. People can also book ahead using their Netloan account – if they’re on the way to the library on the train, they can make their booking and the computer is available for them to use when they arrive.
The Lorensbergs’ partnership with Bibliotheca has been a driver for how we’ve organised things. It was important that customers could book PCs and print documents for themselves, so we really wanted to have these services integrated on our kiosks. The Netloan integration has kept customers happy by enabling them to help themselves without needing to go to staff.
What value have the Netloan user groups provided?
I’m a great believer in the user groups. You get to talk to other Netloan customers about what they’re doing and hear about their experiences. You can compare notes on best ways to understand and address issues.
Above: Catherine (8th from left in red) at the London & SE Netloan User Group 2014 at the Idea Store in Canary Wharf
Hearing from and talking to the people who develop the software is also invaluable. You get a refresh on what’s come out in recent releases and what’s coming up which really helps with your own library’s plans. And you can approach Netloan staff to discuss and help resolve any issues you might be having.
What do you predict for the future of the People’s Network?
It’s going to continue as it gives access to resources not everyone can afford. It’s not just about the computers but also the subscriptions libraries offer access to. You can’t get this depth or accuracy with sources like Wikipedia, and the way the internet is developing you often have to pay to read quality reference resources. Or you can access them for free at the library.
Although phones are getting bigger you can’t do everything on them. You wouldn’t be able to produce a CV and it would be difficult to do this even on a tablet. And laptops tend to be expensive. Those who are jobseeking and needing to make applications and produce CVs are less likely to have access to PCs and laptops. Or they may want to do some research on a potential employer. I once directed a friend to the reference library at Westminster to look at certain business directories and do some research and he got the job! He’s always said it was because he was able to do that level of research for where he was applying to work.
There are a lot of people doing small start-up businesses now who need access to business information databases. They might need help with using them and that’s where the People’s Network and trained library staff will always be important. Our business library at Victoria has desks and small pods for business meetings, so it’s a touchdown area for people to use as an office and access the business databases and other resources we’re providing there. It’s an area we’re developing and it’s growing in popularity with local business people.
With thanks to Catherine for sharing her experiences with us in this blog, and for her partnership and cooperation with the Lorensbergs team over the years. We’ll miss Catherine but wish her a long and happy retirement.
