Montana Shared Catalog

The State Library is working toward a statewide shared catalog, where a patron at your library could find out what other libraries have available. Think of it as one stop shopping, where a patron can access every library in the state. The Montana Shared Catalog (MSC) is the name of a statewide catalog project originally funded by the State Library. More than 130 public, school, academic, and special libraries from all regions of Montana are members of the MSC . By working together these libraries seek to offer patrons the best library service possible. The State Library will continue to help other libraries join the MSC.

Montana Shared Catalog

Answer: By working in partnership with other MSC libraries, you will have the opportunity to more efficiently provide higher value services and better quality content to your library's users.

Answer: The Montana Shared Catalog is a voluntary consortium comprised - as of Jan 1, 2011 - of 132 libraries and branches. MSC libraries are found in 80 Montana communities, serving a combined population of approximately 550,000 and over 350,000 registered users.
The MSC currently includes 5 academic libraries, 69 public libraries or public library branches, 46 school libraries, and 12 special library members from across Montana.

Answer: Seventy-nine are in Western Montana (60%), 26 in Central Montana (20%), thirteen in Eastern Montana (10%), and fourteen (10%) on the Hi-Line.

Answer: We use SirsiDynix Corp.'s Symphony1 integrated library system (ILS). Library users access the catalog via the state-of-the-art Symphony "eLibrary" online public access catalog (OPAC). Library staff have a workstation-based client called "Workflows" that interacts with the Helena-based MSC servers. Director's Station is a web-based application that runs on its own server, allowing library directors and staff to query the system's history logs for statistical information on circulation, cataloging, acquisitions and user activity.

ASPeN: The New Library Directory

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