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High-tech catalog puts zip in library But new system is not without technical glitches Like a first-time author drawing interest from the critics, new and speedier electronic access to four Southern Oregon library systems has garnered favorable reviews but also some reservations. The computerized catalog is up and running at six of the 15 branches of the Jackson County Library System, including the largest ones in Medford and Ashland, that were closed earlier this month to permit its installation. "It's easier to find something -- you just point and click," said Andrew Beasley of Central Point. "It also seems that it is faster than the old system." Bruce Haugen of Medford had some momentary frustration with it. "I should have read these instructions first," he said as he referred to a one-page, two-sided sheet next to the computer terminal. "But it is a lot more in-depth, because you can find out which library something is at. So I think it's a real asset." For Jackson County library patrons, the regional catalog broadens their access from 470,000 items in their own system to almost 1 million items in the libraries of Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties and Rogue Community College. The four systems have joined together as the Southern Oregon Library Information System. The regional system was created to replace decade-old catalogs in the three counties. Ronnie Budge, director of Jackson County library services, said she's heartened by the early assessments of patrons. "The patrons seem to like the catalog, particularly seeing and putting their own holds on materials in other libraries," she said. "They are taking advantage of that feature. "They seem to find the catalog easy to use. It takes a couple of minutes of instruction, and then they catch on." She also said check-out and check-in procedures for books and other materials appear to be functioning without problems. In addition to Medford and Ashland, the new electronic access is working in the Central Point, Eagle Point, Phoenix and Rogue River branches. But Budge also said there are still a few bugs in the system to be worked out: Some details of patron "holds" for books and other materials are not working as intended. Patron records must be updated; the cutoff was Sept. 25. Patrons are being asked to submit new library-card applications, including telephone numbers that were not transferred from the old computer systems. Previous requests for "holds" also were not transferred, so patrons will have to reserve materials again. Patron access via the Internet to the regional catalog and their own records has not been activated yet. It is scheduled for January, and will be the last feature to be done. "We are having to confer with Gaylord Information Systems to get it fixed," Budge said, referring to the Liverpool, N.Y., company that is supplying and installing the feature. Budge also said the timetable for installation of the new catalog at the smaller branches has slipped, although the library system hopes to complete everything by the end of January. Some branches were scheduled to close this week, but Budge said they remain open with the old Jackson Automated Catalog. She said the internal wiring of some branches lacked certification, the response time for some functions was slow, and there were problems with work stations. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA