Polk County Public Libraries recently joined NC Cardinal, a growing consortium of public libraries in 40 North Carolina counties dedicated to sharing resources and expanding opportunities through the use of a single online catalog. NC Cardinal expands items available to PCPL customers from about 50,000 items in Polk County Public Libraries to over 6.4 million statewide!

Starting February 1, PCPL customers will be able to borrow materials from any NC Cardinal Library, place holds online for items from any NC Cardinal library and have them delivered to Columbus or Saluda Library, and return borrowed materials at any NC Cardinal Library. Best of all? It’s free!

In addition to resource sharing, checkout lengths for almost all materials at Polk County Public Libraries will double. (Checkout lengths for new items will stay the same.) Customers can now create a saved history of holds and checked out items, for those who like to keep track of what they’ve read and watched. Other new features include the ability to change account passwords online and be notified of arrived holds by text message.

Not everything has changed! Customers can still request items, renew checkouts, and manage accounts online, by phone, or in person. And of course, PCPL cardholders will continue to have first dibs on books, movies, and other materials owned by Polk County Public Libraries.

Curious about Cardinal? Join us at one of five information sessions to learn more about NC Cardinal, how to use the new online catalog, and more. Sessions will be held at Columbus Library on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 5 at 10 a.m.; Thursday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m.; and Monday, Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. There will also be an information session at Saluda Library on Monday, Feb. 26 at 10 a.m.

Polk County Public Libraries has two libraries, Columbus Library and Saluda Library, as well as outreach services. PCPL offers books, movies, music, audiobooks, and downloadable eBooks and audiobooks, as well as public computers and wireless internet access. PCPL offers regularly scheduled programs for people of all ages. To learn more, visit www.polklibrary.org.

– submitted by Jen Pace Dickenson