They hope the new system will be running in early summer.
There's good news for Lehigh Valley readers dying to get their hands on the next installment of their favorite series or a best-seller right this second.
The Allentown, Bethlehem Area and Easton Area public libraries are joining resources to make their collections, totaling almost 1 million books, available to members of all three libraries. Borrowers will be able to request a title through the computerized catalog and it will be delivered to where they request within 24 hours, said Jennifer Stocker, director of the Easton library.
The three librarians often collaborate, and they conceived the idea together. But moving the materials was a major hurdle to making it a reality, said Renee Haines, the Allentown library director. Then the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation awarded the three libraries a $22,500 grant so they can purchase a van to shuttle books between the three cities.
The goal is to make deliveries daily starting in early summer, Stocker said.
"People are going to love it," said Kathy Weil, the chair of the Bethlehem library's board of trustees.
While the three libraries share a digital card catalog, the collections are now only available to patrons of that library, Stocker said. So, someone could see Allentown has the book but they'd either have to drive to the library or make an inter-library loan request.
Currently, if a Bethlehem borrower wants to make an inter-library loan they fill out a piece of paper, said Janet Fricker, the library's executive director. The book is then sent by whatever library sees it and has the book on its shelves. It's often the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, which takes some time, she said.
With the new system, patrons will be able to reserve a book with the click of a mouse. And it will be less costly.
"I think it's going to mean a lot of positive service for everybody," Fricker said.
In a time of tightening budgets, Stocker said the three librarians have been collaborating on ways to save money and better serve patrons.
"Why not erase those borders between the three libraries and open the collection?" Stocker said.
The libraries hope to have the system running in early June just in time for summer vacation season. The library catalog's software must be tweaked to allow for the loans between the three entities, Stocker said.