{"id":61171,"date":"2023-09-06T22:23:47","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T22:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bibliostaged.wpengine.com\/?p=61171"},"modified":"2025-04-29T19:58:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T19:58:01","slug":"library-story-garland-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/library-story-garland-county\/","title":{"rendered":"How Garland County Library Reached Rural Communities With remoteLockers"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLIBRARY STORY\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow Garland County Library Reached Rural Communities With remoteLockers\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSeptember 6, 2023\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAs a one-site library, Garland County Library was seeking to improve library service and provide materials to all residents across the large, geographically challenging county.\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe library installed Bibliotheca\u2019s remoteLocker outdoor in four locations throughout the county: outside a rural general store, in an industrial park near a community college, outside a YMCA, and in the library\u2019s parking lot.\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAll remote lockers have been heavily used, providing after-hours pickups to those in town and much-needed library access to far-flung community members. Since the installation of lockers at the Sunshine branch, there has been a notable surge in new user registrations, with an increase of 500 users, along with a substantial circulation growth of over 30%. \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Garland County<\/a>, Arkansas, encompasses 735 square miles in the midst of the Ouachita Mountains. It\u2019s home to the nation\u2019s first federal reservation, which later became Hot Springs National Park. Founded to serve the very first settlers of Hot Springs, Garland County Library<\/a> was founded in 1833 and predates the state of Arkansas itself by three years. On hundred and ninety years later, the library still serves a widely dispersed population of over 100,000 residents from a single branch in the heart of Hot Springs.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Reaching rural residents<\/h2>

Meeting the needs of far-flung communities is a familiar challenge for many library systems, but the rugged terrain of Garland County makes it especially difficult.<\/p>

\u201cWe are a single-site library in a very large county,\u201d <\/em>says Executive Director Adam Webb. \u201cBecause our community is in a geographically difficult location, surrounded by mountains and numerous lakes, there are communities in our county that are over an hour away. They are so dispersed that it\u2019s really difficult for us to figure out any traditional way to serve those people.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

Garland County already had a popular home delivery service, but that wasn\u2019t scalable to fit the needs of the growing communities on the north and west side of the county. And though the library considered the feasibility of a traditional three-branch model, the cost was prohibitive.<\/p>

\u201cWe realized that what these residents really needed was a place to pick up and drop off holds and checkouts,\u201d<\/em> says Webb.<\/p>

All Arkansas public libraries received funding from the Cares Act, and Garland County decided to earmark those funds to find a solution.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/h4>

Improving service for all<\/h2>

A long-time customer, the library was already familiar with Bibliotheca\u2019s reputation. When they were introduced to the new remoteLocker<\/a> outdoor, they knew they\u2019d found their solution.<\/p>

\u201cWe\u2019ve used Bibliotheca for our self-service<\/a> machines and security gates for years, so we know the reliability of the hardware and the useability of the software,\u201d <\/em>says Webb. \u201cWe figured that the people living in these remote areas may want to avoid crowds, so we decided to go with the outdoor lockers to offer privacy and space.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

Both the indoor and outdoor\u00a0remoteLockers<\/a>\u00a0allow library patrons to pick up the library materials they\u2019ve reserved by simply scanning their library cards. The engaging, intuitive touch screen makes it easy for patrons to get account information and can be used with Bibliotheca\u2019s library communications solution,\u00a0uniFi+<\/a>, to broadcast important information and promote library events and services. remoteLockers are modular, configurable for any space, and can be expanded as library needs change. The indoor remoteLocker offers multiple locker types, including transparent lockers perfect for providing a browsable collection, while the remoteLocker outdoor features lockers that are large enough to handle a surprising array of loaned materials.<\/p>

\u201cWe use the lockers to lend anything that will fit,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>says Webb.\u00a0\u201cPeople in these remote areas often have limited internet accessibility and will borrow a batch of DVDs or a mobile hotspot and have them delivered to the lockers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

Garland County purchased four remoteLocker outdoor solutions, each offering 47 individual lockers. In addition to the lockers installed at the general store in the tiny town of Sunshine, the library also installed lockers at the local YMCA near the medical center, in an industrial park across the street from the community college, and in the library\u2019s parking lot.<\/p>

\u201cWe\u2019ve had several requests for after-hours pickup from patrons who work evening shifts,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>says Webb.\u00a0\u201cSo, the remoteLocker outside the library is much appreciated and heavily used. It\u2019s beginning to replace curbside pickup even during library hours and may be the default for curbside service next year.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

\u00a0<\/h4>

Community connections<\/h4>

The response to the remoteLockers has been unanimously positive. Filling the lockers gets staff out into the community to interact with patrons they don\u2019t typically see, and the brightly wrapped lockers not only provide much-needed access but also drive awareness of the library.<\/p>

\u201cAll of the lockers are heavily used,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>says Webb.\u00a0\u201cBut if we are looking at usage compared to the population of the area, the rural Sunshine location is probably beating them all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

remoteLockers are just one more way that Garland County Library is implementing nontraditional methods to serve the needs of the community at large. They are investigating using drones to deliver library materials to the most remote, hard-to-reach residents. For those nearer to town, the library has opened a community garden in an adjacent lot. It offers 42 raised beds which patrons can check out, plant, and tend.<\/p>

\u201cWe realized that even though Arkansas is an agricultural state, many city residents, especially kids, don\u2019t really understand where their food comes from and how it gets to the table,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>says Webb.\u00a0\u201cSo, as an institution dedicated to learning, we saw the need for some interactive programming! We are always open to looking at nontraditional methods to serve our community \u2013 that\u2019s one of the things that makes our library special.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u201cWe\u2019ve had several requests for after-hours pickup from patrons who work evening shifts. So, the remoteLocker outside the library is much appreciated and heavily used. It\u2019s beginning to replace curbside pickup even during library hours and may be the default for curbside service next year.\u201d\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAdam Webb<\/span>Executive Director<\/span><\/cite>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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See how Garland County Library used remoteLocker outdoor to boost rural access, drive 30% more circulation, and register 500 new users.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":56506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[74,78,105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-library-stories","category-blog","category-library-experience"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}