Observe, Analyze... Blog: TexShare: Expanding Access to Materials

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

TexShare: Expanding Access to Materials

So, yea! I'm a librarian in my hometown library. I haven't gotten my card yet, because I haven't gotten my Texas Driver's License yet, because I haven't finalized the purchase of my home yet. But that's neither here nor there, or so I thought when I learned that my system does not carry music cds.

WHOA.

Hey, no worries. The budget is only so big and there are certain priorities, one if which included hiring me (have I said, "yea!" already?). So, follow up to that was to find out if we participate in any sort of consortium.

We do. It's called TexShare. It's a bit different from what I'm used to. Here, we issue the TexShare card and the patron may visit the library of their choice and check out materials according to the lending libraries own rules, which may change from system to system (public, academic, city to city). Nicholson does offer free InterLibrary Loan services (for books, no media), which defaults to members of TexShare as primary sources for materials. So it all depends on the effort you want to expend- drive out there yourself and get it now, or wait the necessary time for the item to arrive via ILL.

The only difference I miss is being able to search a combined catalog for the materials. With California's Link+ Consortium, there was one catalog... though, I suppose I could search WorldCat. (Need to set up an account that limits my search to a geographic area or even to the specific libraries in the TexShare.)

Here's my List of TexShare libraries in a 20 mile radius on which to focus in a WorldCat search for materials I may desire.Then there's nothing to it, but to get in the car and drive!