County libraries begin sharing their resources

The library resources of Dorchester and Berkeley county residents have increased significantly when the two county library systems began its reciprocal borrowing agreement in early December.

Under the agreement, which went into effect on Dec. 8, residents in one county can use the services of the other county's library without any added cost.

"We've doubled our collection," Dorchester County Library director Frank Bruno said. "Our patrons have access to twice as many books now."

Prior to the agreement, out-of-county residents had to pay a $30 membership fee to use the library. Now, residents can show proof of residency and sign up for a second library card to enjoy the benefits and conveniences of both county systems.

"We know there are people who live in one county and work in another. That's who we were looking at," Berkeley County Library director Donna Osborne said.

Dorchester County has two branches, one in St. George and another in Summerville which Bruno said handles a circulation of about one million items per year. Berkeley County's six branches are located in Moncks Corner, St. Stephen, the Sangaree section of Summerville, Goose Creek, Hanahan and Daniel Island.

The main drawback borrowers might face is books still need to be returned to the county from which they were borrowed in order to avoid late fees. The counties have set up a courier service between branches, but it's not a daily exchange. If a book is returned on its due date in the opposite county, the borrower will be charged a fine for however long it takes to reach its home library system.

A month into the venture, both directors are satisfied with the agreement and said things have gone smoothly thus far but also acknowledged that they haven't been inundated with new business yet. Osborne suspects that circulation will grow through word-of-mouth.

"It's only been moderate demand so far," Bruno said. "I'm not sure that everyone knows about it yet."

There hasn't been a benchmark established to determine the success of the venture. Osborne said they decided to let the first few months of the program play out then assess the circulation numbers to see where they go from there. She said she saw a lot of success while working in Georgia under a similar agreement in which 13 counties were able to share their resources.

"What we found is the increase in usage (of materials) was pretty even across the board," she said. "But we also saw an increase in support and in volunteers at the libraries. There were a lot more benefits than drawbacks. I think it's the increase in visibility and usage of our resources and value people put on the public library."

Contact Bill Henley at 745-5865 or bhenley@postandcourier.com.

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