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The Jefferson County Library Cooperative
(JCLC) is a non-profit organization composed of the 41 public libraries
throughout Jefferson County. These include the 19 municipal libraries, as
well as the 21 libraries in the Birmingham Public Library System. The
mission of JCLC is to link our member libraries to provide better, more
efficient centralized services for all county residents. The primary
purpose of the JCLC Web site is to provide access to the Cooperative’s
online catalog, as well as the numerous other resources available for
online users.
The online catalog of the Jefferson
County Library Cooperative is your gateway to all 41 public libraries in
Jefferson County, and it is easy, convenient, and free. With an Internet
connection and a little know-how, you can browse the library catalog
online, find out information about the collections, check your own library
record, and even reserve material. To get started, go to
www.jclc.org and click on
Catalog. From
there, you can explore the catalog online and discover new ways your
library card can work for you.
If you want to see what materials you
have checked out, how much you might owe in fines, or which library
materials you might have reserved, look for a link to
View Your Record.
When you pull up the online form, fill in the blanks with your name and
unique library card number, and follow the instructions to find out what
you want to know.
To reserve a book online, look for the
link to Services, then
Request to Hold an Item. Choose the location
where you want to pick up the book, complete the online form, and submit
your request. You will be notified when the book is ready for you.
Although you are allowed to place online reserves for non-print materials
too, such as DVDs, CDs, and videos, you must pick up these items at their
home libraries. You can use the same request form. Just be sure you click
on the proper pickup location.
As you search the library catalog for
authors, titles or subjects, you will notice some recent enhancements
designed to help you identify exactly what you need. Some of the first
things you will notice as you browse through a list of titles are the
icons of books, tapes, CDs, and music. These small illustrations provide
immediate clues about the format of each item in the list so you will know
right away which one you want to choose. To take this identification a
step further, when you select a book, video, or audio book from the list
of titles, you will often see a thumbnail image of the cover, like the
pictures online booksellers use to distinguish their products. By clicking
on More Information reviews of titles are also available.
Soon the listings for the library’s music recordings will include pictures
too.
If you have a library card and an
Internet connection, the Jefferson County library catalog is everywhere
you want it to be. Find out for yourself. Log on today to
www.jclc.org and see what the catalog can do for you.
The Web site of the Jefferson County Library Cooperative was first
launched in 1996 as a part of the online Web catalog from JCLC's
integrated library systems vendor, Innovative Interfaces. The next year,
the Cooperative's domain name, www.jclc.org,
was acquired and in 1998 additional features, such as being able to renew
checked out materials online, were introduced.
In 2003, the Web site was redesigned
and launched in January 2004. The JCLC Web site features links to each
member library's Web site as well as the countywide services of the
Cooperative. These include the JCLC Speakers Bureau, current and back
issues of the Reader online, and links to the online databases,
recommended Web sites, and subject guides.
Each month a Cooperative member library
is featured along with coming events at the libraries. The JCLC Web site
also provides links to other countywide services such as Jefferson
County's Web site, JeffCo InTouch, and the Health InfoNet of Alabama. |
