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A particularly brilliant feature of Oliver is how I can use it to keep track of memorabilia.
Trevanna Cooper, Teacher Librarian
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Established in 1901, Christian Brothers College (CBC) Fremantle located in the heart of Fremantle, Western Australia, is for boys in years 7 – 12. The College provides a breadth of experience that gives equal value to
academic, spiritual, emotional, cultural and sporting development and the formation of ‘Men for Others’.
The Library or “the Ideas Shop”, as it is more commonly known, is a very busy and integral part of the college. CBC Fremantle’s library has recently been redesigned and is based upon the Tower Hamlets London model, which is the creation of libraries based on 21st Century needs. 750+ students and staff use the 2-staff library that contains approximately 30,000 resources.
According to CBC Fremantle’s Teacher Librarian Ms Trevanna Cooper, the staff are always encouraging students to think outside the square.
“Our Philosophy is to encourage unusual ideas and to try to be at the forefront of innovative technology," Ms Cooper said.
The need for innovative technology resulted in CBC Fremantle upgrading their Software System from Softlink’s Oasis, through to Alice, Oliver Version 3 and then to Oliver Version 5.
CBC Fremantle has a long history with Softlink and is very impressed with the fact that the software programs are compatible with the way librarians think and work.
“We have a long history with Softlink. For example we were the first School in WA to network Oasis, the first to use the original fingerprint checkout and one of the first to go to Alice. We were also one of the first advocates of SDI."
“Then when Oliver was first available we changed to that. I’ve always been impressed with the fact that all three programs largely think like a librarian. They make sense to me." Ms Cooper said.
The key objective for the library in upgrading to Oliver was to choose software that would keep the library at the forefront of technology, while keeping it simple and interesting for the boys to use.
“We are very innovative here and working in a boys’ college, one knows boys give up easily if that can’t find what they want pretty quickly."
“Also we love being at the forefront of Technology. In fact we’re currently playing with the idea of using 3D photo inserts on the basic map plan so we can mark individual shelves instead of just bays."
Ms Cooper is very happy with the support given by Softlink at all levels.
“What I really like about Softlink is that I can talk directly to support, or even to senior administration if necessary and they are willing to listen and to evolve strategies that fix problems."
The inclusion of BioStore™ fingerprint recognition was another reason why CBC Fremantle chose Softlink as their Library management supplier.
BioStore™ is an optional module in Oliver that provides convenient fingerprint access for users not only at the library circulation desk, but also provides optional links to Cashless Catering, access/entry control, registration, photocopying and printing services. BioStore has full integration with Oliver, school administration systems and other school systems.
Ms Cooper found that it was easy to set up, and the kids found it a really impressive enhancement to the library.
“The setup process was very easy and my general opinion is BioStore is very good, Fast results and seems to be accurate."
“The kids think “it’s very cool!"
CBC Fremantle had upgraded from Alice to Oliver version 3 to the new current version, Oliver v5, in the timeframe of 6 years. In light of this the core challenge for the library was “getting agreement from our bursar and IT department.”
The results of upgrading to Oliver Versions 5 and the inclusion of Biostore have enhanced the library in a number of ways.
“Some features made a huge difference to our workload i.e. the stocktaking module and the ability for children to reserve their own books."
“The SDI module is a wonderful way of motivating students to borrow. Each time we catalogue new books it sends emails to students who have registered interest in a particular subject, author or series."
CBC Fremantle has a history that spans over 100 years which means a lot of memorabilia. Ms Cooper has used the flexibility of Oliver Software to track this memorabilia for easy access by staff and students.
“A particularly brilliant feature of Oliver is how I can use it to keep track of memorabilia. Our school is over a hundred years old. So far I have catalogued our material from 1882 to the 1950’s. Oliver enables me to attach a scanned copy or photo of the object or page (even the 100 pages of the 1921 admissions register), which then becomes printable for the user and I enter all names mentioned as subject headings so if a student’s grandfather went here he can just type in the name in the Search module, all connected photos and documents come up and can be printed off for him to keep."
The success of the library is due to Ms Cooper and her staff showcasing Softlink’s system flexibility and ease of use, to both students and staff. As a result of this, other departments within the school are asking for her help in keeping track of items outside the library.
“Our laboratory technician wants me to make catalogue entries for all his chemicals with a lab location, so we can attach a map and he can use the Oliver Search to locate them."
To view CBC Fremantle Library’s website, visit: http://www.cbcfremantle.wa.edu.au/
Oliver Library Software
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