Archive for category: News

The Berkeley County Library System’s Strategic Plan is centered on improving the customer experience and removing barriers to their services and resources. Since 2015, BCLS has worked to identify obstacles that prevent customers from using the library. Some of their latest improvements include virtual library cards, online meeting room booking, and automatic renewals.

When Berkeley County Library System composed their strategic plan in 2015, one of their primary focuses included evaluating how and why something was done and looking for ways to make it easier for customers to use their services. Many strides to improve their processes included things like removing fees such as the $2 fee for “Internet-only” library cards, expanding their services such as adding the popular online learning platform Lynda.com and incorporating new ways for customers to go digital.

Several new processes have been launched to continue these efforts:

Automatic Renewals

The library will now automatically renew materials for a customer if that item is eligible for a renewal and another customer is not waiting on it. Customers will no longer have to stress about calling or running to the library to renew a book they are still reading or a movie they have not watch yet! This should also save money for customers who end up having to pay small fines for keeping their library materials a few days past their due dates. When an item is coming due, we will renew it for customers automatically so they won’t lose time, as items renew from the previous due date for another full loan period. If we have an email address, the customer will get a notice that says what renewed, what didn’t, and the new due dates for their items.

Online Meeting Room Booking

Also in May, BCLS launched a new online booking service for customers to reserve a meeting room or study room at one of their 6 branches as well as requesting the mobile library for a special event or new community stop. Booking a meeting room used to entail calling a specific library branch to make a reservation. Now customers can do it with the click of a button. The library’s meeting rooms are available for after-hours meetings but some restrictions do apply. A complete list of these restrictions can be found online at berkeleylibrarysc.org/library-services. A meeting room digital kiosk kit is also available for presentations.

Virtual Cards

In June, BCLS introduced a new virtual library card. So no more hunting for a library card! It’s a virtual world and now so is your library. When a customer registers for a new library card, they can opt for a virtual card! The new virtual card works just like a physical card.  *Note this is for new customers only.

Credit Card Payments

BCLS is now accepting credit cards in all of their library branches. We hope this change will make it easier for customers to use our services such as printing and faxing and paying late fees.

No longer is the library just a warehouse of books, in addition to the improvements above, Berkeley County Library System has also worked to add more digital services and products such as Chromebooks and Wi-Fi hotspots that customers can check out to use at home, preloaded learning and video tablets designed for kids to learn on the go without the need for Wi-Fi, and a new movie/TV hotspot device that allows customers to enjoy 15 hours of entertainment without using Wi-Fi or data. If you have not visited one of our libraries in a long time, we encourage you to stop by or check us out online at berkeleylibrarysc.org to see all the amazing products and services we now offer.