Follett Software Company and Follett Library Resources provide an automation system widely-known as Circulation Plus and Catalog Plus.  The pictures above and the description below come directly from the Follett Software Company Web site: http://www.fsc.follett.com. 

Long recognized for reliability and ease of use, Circulation Plus remains a widely used circulation and inventory system for K-12 libraries. Working on both Windows® and Mac® OS platforms, these tools continue to help library leaders automate inventory, circulation and collection management. They offer in-depth reporting and ODBC support and provide these capabilities:

• Versatile search by text or student-friendly “search by image”
• Order and funding source tracking to support acquisitions
• Reserve and hold functions
• Step-by-step guides and global editing to reduce cataloging time
• Enhanced security with patron pictures

The interview below comes from a library media specialist (LMS) who has used Circulation Plus and Catalog Plus for the past four years.  She works in the Autauga County School System of Prattville, AL.  All libraries in this county use Follett's Circulation Plus and Catalog Plus automation system, which is an individual site-based system with client/server architecture.  The software and version updates are loaded on the individual school's server where the system can be accessed from any networked computer in the school.  While the library circulation and office computers have access to all of the programs on their desktop within the system (circulation, reports, patron maintenance, OPAC, back up, utitlities, system setup, and cataloging), the classroom computers only have access to the OPAC program on their desktop.  Sharing this automation system and data with other school libraries in this system is not possible.

The LMS interview took place over the phone and lasted about twenty minutes.  The LMS was able to effectively answer the questions in regards to how she uses Circulation Plus and Catalog Plus in her library media center.

Definitions to Know

1) Automation System (Automated Library System): An information and communications technology that interacts with users to perform specific tasks and uses technology to support and enhance library functions.

2) Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC): A database of bibliographic records that describes the resource items in a library's collection and is computer accessible.  Most OPAC's are sesarchable in text by author, title, subject, or keyword.  

3) MARC Record: MARC is an acronym for Machine-Readable Cataloging and is a standard format for the representation and communication of bibliographic and related information.

4) Cataloging:  The creation of a full record of information about an object, cross-referenced to other records and files, and includes the process of identifying and documenting these objects in detail.

5) Circulation:  The count of books that are loaned by a library over a specified period.

Automation Interview

LEM517 SusanMiles AutomationInterview.doc

Interview Analysis.doc