Media Contact:
Heather Mompean, Community Relations and Marketing Officer
Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library
605 N. El Dorado Street
Stockton, CA  95202
(209) 937-7452
heather.mompean@stocktongov.com

To Be Released October 1, 2011

PRESS RELEASE

STOCKTON-SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY GOES LIVE WITH LINK+

Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library has joined LINK+, a consortial library borrowing system. 

Link+ spans California and Nevada and includes 51 public and academic member libraries whose combined collections provide customers with free access to an incredibly diverse wealth of materials. Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library, the newest LINK+ member library, has made it possible for customers to have access to over 9 million unique titles from a single online portal.

“Because the Link+ consortium includes 51 member libraries, the options for SSJCPL customers are almost limitless,” says Chris Freeman, City Librarian.  “In addition to the standard fiction and non-fiction library materials our customers are accustomed to borrowing, we will now be able to provide access to special collections from various libraries including genealogical information, sheet music collections, and indepth scholarly and research materials, just to name a few examples.”

With the continued decrease of the Library’s budget and because of an increased demand for materials, the Library needed to find a new, innovative way of providing resources to the public.

“There is no way we are able to purchase the number of titles that our users want, but with the help of LINK+, we can significantly increase the inventory of books from which they can borrow,” continued Chris Freeman.

How does LINK+ work?

• The LINK+ catalog is available online.
• As a Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library (SSJCPL) card holder, a customer visits the Library’s home page at www.stockton.lib.ca.us and searches the Library’s catalog to first determine if SSJCPL owns the book a customer wishes to borrow.
• If SSJCPL does not own the book, a customer then uses the LINK+ online portal and searches in this newly acquired catalog for the book he or she is wanting to borrow.
• When the item a person wishes to borrow is found, he or she simply clicks on the “REQUEST THIS ITEM” link and follows the on-screen process.
• If at any time a customer has difficulty in the process of checking out a Link+ item, they are encouraged to contact a SSJCPL staff member for assistance.

Pamphlets, bookmarks, and FAQ sheets are available to assist customers with their LINK+ checkouts and renewal experiences.  In no time at all, customers will be using this free, easy-to-use system that has vastly increased our reading and research collection.

Find SSJCPL on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ssjcpl) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/ssjcpl) to join in conversations celebrating literacy. 

The Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library is a library system comprised of 12 branch libraries and two mobile vehicles that serve residents throughout Stockton and the San Joaquin County.  The Cesar Chavez Central Library is located at 605 N. El Dorado Street.  For more information about the Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library, call (209) 937-8221 (Stockton), or countywide toll-free at (866) 805-7323 (READ).  Visit the Library’s website at www.stockton.lib.ca.us.