By WES KAPPELMAN
OSKALOOSA — A new William Penn University library and Oskaloosa Public Library server could be installed within days, said Wilcox Librarian Julie Hansen.
William Penn’s Wilcox Library and the Oskaloosa Public Library use the same server, so when the server failed, both libraries were affected.
At Wilcox Library, students couldn’t search the online catalog in the normal way, but could search for books with a different system called World Cat, Hansen said.
Software is being loaded onto a new server, which has been ordered. Hansen said she expects the new server to arrive in days.
“That’s happening as soon as possible,” Hansen said.
Oskaloosa Public Library Director Suzann Holland estimated at the Feb. 5 City Council meeting that the city’s cost for the new server would be between $7,000 and $8,000.
Since 1997, the Wilcox Library and the Oskaloosa Public Library have operated on the same server, Hansen said.
The switch to one server was made to better serve patrons of both libraries because the collections complement each other, Hansen said.
Another benefit to having one server is that annual maintenance costs are reduced for both libraries when they share a server, Hansen said.
Herald Staff Writer Wes Kappelman can be reached by e-mail at news2@oskyherald.com
