This month we'd like to convince our patrons that presenting your library card when you check out items is really in your own best interest!
Everyone who presents their library card this month (starting on Tuesday, May 3rd) will get to pick a piece of candy from our candy dish.
Why do we want patrons to bring their library cards?
1) When you present your library card, we scan the barcode on the back and your account will automatically come up on our screens. This really can save time! Summer reading is approaching and the library can get very busy at this time of year. Using your library card will help make the checkout process smoother and more efficient.
2) Although we can look your account up by your name, this has several disadvantages. It is very common for people to have the same first name, but in a small town it is also very common for people to have the same last name. We even have a few patrons that have the same first name and the same last name. So, it can be very confusing if we try to rely on our memory and it is easy to get a little confused every once in awhile. If we bring up the wrong account, then we will put your items on someone else's account and that can really lead to problems!
3) Families sometimes have multiple cards and it can be challenging to keep track if multiple people are checking out items at the same time and they want some items on this person's card and some on that person's card. We believe this process will work smoother if each person has a library card and we can scan that to make the proper account come up instead of the librarian having to choose it.
4) El Paso is a growing community and the EPPL adds new patrons each month. So, although we try to remember every patron's name, it can really be challenging to be able to come up with it automatically.
5) When a new employee starts at the EPPL, they have to learn our computer system, our procedures and ways of doing things. We feel that also expecting them to memorize the names and faces of every patron is overwhelming in addition to all the other things they are trying to learn. Looking up accounts by name takes some getting used to also and it would be so much easier for them if each patron would present their library card upon checkout.
So, please have your library card ready the next time you are ready to check out items!
Everyone who presents their library card this month (starting on Tuesday, May 3rd) will get to pick a piece of candy from our candy dish.
Why do we want patrons to bring their library cards?
1) When you present your library card, we scan the barcode on the back and your account will automatically come up on our screens. This really can save time! Summer reading is approaching and the library can get very busy at this time of year. Using your library card will help make the checkout process smoother and more efficient.
2) Although we can look your account up by your name, this has several disadvantages. It is very common for people to have the same first name, but in a small town it is also very common for people to have the same last name. We even have a few patrons that have the same first name and the same last name. So, it can be very confusing if we try to rely on our memory and it is easy to get a little confused every once in awhile. If we bring up the wrong account, then we will put your items on someone else's account and that can really lead to problems!
3) Families sometimes have multiple cards and it can be challenging to keep track if multiple people are checking out items at the same time and they want some items on this person's card and some on that person's card. We believe this process will work smoother if each person has a library card and we can scan that to make the proper account come up instead of the librarian having to choose it.
4) El Paso is a growing community and the EPPL adds new patrons each month. So, although we try to remember every patron's name, it can really be challenging to be able to come up with it automatically.
5) When a new employee starts at the EPPL, they have to learn our computer system, our procedures and ways of doing things. We feel that also expecting them to memorize the names and faces of every patron is overwhelming in addition to all the other things they are trying to learn. Looking up accounts by name takes some getting used to also and it would be so much easier for them if each patron would present their library card upon checkout.
So, please have your library card ready the next time you are ready to check out items!
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