CARL

The Library Corporation (TLC) is delighted to announce the latest release of the CARL•Solution integrated library system. Among the variety of new features and customer-driven development made in this recent release is a distinct crowd favorite: enhanced searching infrastructure of the online catalog for more relevant results of titles containing special characters, alphanumerics, and compound punctuation — both in the traditional display and in the Grouped Title (FRBR) display.

An online catalog is often the first point of access into the library for patrons; therefore, its importance is obvious as library borrowers will be able to discover titles of interest and obtain a specific set of results that are most relevant to their needs. CARL•Connect Discovery — the native CARL•Solution discovery layer — provides a seamless and well-tuned experience for library users.

Search results now cross-reference additional sub-fields in the record to achieve more relevantly tailored results. A searcher interested in the discography of the Australian rock band AC/DC will have no trouble finding the library’s collection when searching with the slash. Similarly, the Stephen King novel about the time traveler who attempts to prevent a historic assassination will be searchable as 11.22.63 or 11/22/63 or even 112263. Keywords such as O’Keefe can be easily found by searching with or without the apostrophe.

CARL•Solution customer Celia Morse, Automation Services Consultant with The Library Network, shared positively on the modern catalog for their community: “We made our decision to migrate to CARL because of the public interface and we haven’t regretted it.”

This latest release includes improved navigation in the catalog with the addition of jump-to-page numbers on search results and the ability to increase the number of results per page. Library staff will also appreciate improved navigation in CARL•Connect Staff with more keyboard shortcuts and new dashboard displays.

Full item information stored in 949 tags is now discoverable in Z39.50 searches. This will enhance the search and display of library holdings for interlibrary loan use and other third-party vendors and libraries who search CARL•Solution customer databases via Z39.50 protocols.

In-house discoverability received a nod in the latest update with the new limiting option for floating collections. Libraries can set items to float to other branches automatically upon return by setting limits on Location codes. Previously, libraries could set float limits against Media codes only.

Other new features in this release pave a path for future development with a continued focus to bring more functionality into the web-based interfaces. Development included new web-based Acquisitions functionality and advanced reporting through the early adopter release of IBM Cognos web-based reporting.

Jessica Seybold, a CARL•Solution Product Owner, stated, “Our development is not just taking functionality from CARL•X and placing it in CARL•Connect. Instead, it’s being completely reevaluated to provide the ideal workflow and functionality that our customers want.”

The latest release of CARL•Solution includes CARL•X v9.7.1, CARL•Connect Staff v1.6.7, CARL•Connect Discovery v3.6.5, and CARL•Solution APIs v2.0.1.

To see CARL•Solution for yourself, please contact us at sales@TLCdelivers.com.

About The Library Corporation
TLC has operated continuously under the same ownership since 1974 and employs over 200 people dedicated to delivering enterprise software and hardware solutions to public, school, academic, and special libraries worldwide. TLC’s cumulative products are deployed in more than 1,100 organizations, representing over 5,500 locations in North America and worldwide. TLC is certified by the U.S. General Services Administration, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program. TLC’s Headquarters is based in Inwood, W.Va., and has additional offices in Colorado, Minnesota, and Singapore.

The Library Corporation (TLC) is delighted to announce the completed implementation of the CARL•X integrated library system for Frederick County Public Libraries (FCPL) in Frederick, Maryland. TLC completed migration services for the nine-site library from its SirsiDynix system following the 2021 Thanksgiving holiday.

Located in the triangle between Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, and TLC’s headquarters office in Inwood, West Virginia, Frederick County Public Libraries serve a population of approximately 260,000. FCPL includes over 440,000 titles, 591,000 items, and an expected 3 million annual transactions, with data hosted through TLC•Cloud Services.

Staff at both the library and TLC commented positively on the success of the transition. “It’s been a very smooth process and any bumps we’ve encountered, TLC has been incredibly responsive and helpful in migrating to CARL with ease,” said Levi Branson, Circulation Services Supervisor of C. Burr Artz Public Library.

Cindy Phillips, Manager for CARL Implementation and Product Training, shared similar sentiments: “The staff at Frederick County Public Libraries has been fantastic. The migration has gone smoothly due to their great teamwork internally and with TLC.”

“Our customers have loved our new catalog,” said Catie Hall, Associate Director of Frederick County Public Libraries. “FCPL’s goal was to simplify access to our collection and CARL’s mobile-friendly and user-friendly interface has done just that.” Student patrons of the public library may recognize the similarities of the online catalog to the library catalog deployed in their public school system, as TLC customer Frederick County Public Schools has been using Library•Solution for Schools since 2008.

View Frederick County Public Library’s cloud-hosted catalog at catalog.fcpl.org. For more information on the CARL product suite, please visit TLCdelivers.com or speak to a representative at sales@tlcdelivers.com.

About The Library Corporation
TLC has operated continuously under the same ownership since 1974 and employs over 200 people dedicated to delivering enterprise software and hardware solutions to public, school, academic, and special libraries worldwide. TLC’s cumulative products are deployed in more than 1,100 organizations, representing over 5,500 locations in North America and worldwide. TLC is certified by the U.S. General Services Administration, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program. TLC’s Headquarters is based in Inwood, W.Va., and has additional offices in Colorado, Minnesota, and Singapore.

The Library Corporation (TLC) has just announced the latest release of the CARL suite of integrated library software, including features targeted at providing inclusive library features and pleasant patron experiences, in addition to enhancing library staff workflows and providing additional customization options to meet their libraries’ community needs. This summer release includes CARL•X version 9.6.9, CARL•Connect Staff version 1.6.5, CARL•Connect Discovery version 3.6.3, and CARL APIs version 1.9.9.

CARL customers who joined the Release Demo this month were enthusiastic. Wennie Fleming, ILS Librarian at Loudoun County Public Library, shared, “Love all of these new changes for CARL•X, CARL•Connect Staff and CARL•Connect Discovery!! TLC nailed it again.” Likewise, Lynn Hoffman, Director of Operations at Somerset County Library System of New Jersey, expressed that “These CARL•Connect Staff updates are game-changers!”

A longstanding patron frustration in the library industry has been when an item on their account is unable to be renewed because a hold has been placed on the title, even though patrons can see additional copies available on shelf. The latest CARL release addresses this concern by comparing the number of holds currently placed on a title against the number of copies available on shelf that could fulfill the outstanding holds, and allowing the renewal if the available items to holds ratio meets library-defined parameters. This comparison happens at the point of renewal via staff access, within the patron’s account, and during auto-renewal.

Another patron-focused enhancement allows libraries to customize the number of days before a patron account is blocked when an item on their account is overdue. A nuanced approach to the Fine Free movement taking place in libraries, this setting will continue to incentivize the return of materials without creating a financial impact to patrons.

Along the lines of community inclusion, a new Account field for Full Legal Name — in addition to the current first and last name fields — will allow libraries more flexibility to use a patron’s preferred name without losing the legal name.

Patrons will continue to have control over the privacy of their Loan History, now with the ability to let library staff view that history. Keeping patron privacy at the forefront of this functionality in current and previous versions, patrons who wished to view their previous loans had to opt-in to the service. This latest improvement adds another layer of opt-in security, to expand privileges for library staff to view the history, such as when troubleshooting or curating personalized reading recommendations.

These features join many more in the latest CARL product suite release. Some of these enhancements include improved lightbox check-in alerts in the web-based circulation client, new customization options for receipts, improved series discovery in the online catalog, updates to the underlying Java foundation and security attributes, and more. Current CARL customers can find the full Release Notes on CARL•Community.

To see these features for yourself, or to answer any questions you may have about the CARL product suite, please reach out to us at sales@tlcdelivers.com.

About The Library Corporation
TLC has operated continuously under the same ownership since 1974 and employs over 200 people dedicated to delivering enterprise software and hardware solutions to public, school, academic, and special libraries worldwide. TLC’s cumulative products are deployed in more than 1,100 organizations, representing over 5,500 locations in North America and worldwide. TLC is certified by the U.S. General Services Administration, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program. TLC’s Headquarters is based in Inwood, W.Va., and has additional offices in Colorado, Minnesota, and Singapore.

The Library Corporation (TLC) is pleased to announce that Frederick County Public Libraries (FCPL) in Frederick County, Maryland, have chosen the CARL product suite as their next generation Library Management Platform.

Located approximately 50 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., and 50 miles west of Baltimore, MD, FCPL joins their local school system, Frederick County Public Schools, as customers of TLC. The school system has been utilizing Library•Solution since 2008. The youngest borrowers in Frederick will be pleased to find a similar user experience when they enter the public library, as both systems utilize the same framework for the young adult discovery layers.

Adult borrowers will be excited to find CARL•Connect Discovery, a “game-changer” according to FCPL staff members. Not only does CARL•Connect Discovery incorporate the power of FRBR, but borrowers will also be offered a more personalized experience through TLC’s recommendation feature for enhanced title suggestions.

Early in the implementation process, TLC has already shown itself incredibly responsive to FCPL’s questions and commitment to creating the best system for their borrowers. Much of this can be attributed to TLC’s staff creating an implementation schedule that is carefully organized to allow FCPL to thoughtfully plan out and become accustomed to new workflows. According to Cindy Phillips, CARL’s Implementation Manager, “TLC creates a custom implementation schedule for each new customer to be sure that both parties are informed of the steps and phases of the project. A strong plan means we stay on track and provide an outstanding migration process. We consistently receive excellent feedback from our customers on our migrations.”

“We are very excited to be joining CARL by TLC,” said Catie Hall, Associate Director of Support Services for FCPL. “We felt their system would best meet our strategic priorities of simplifying access, building bridges, and sparking excitement with our customers.” 

“TLC is happy to welcome Frederick County Public Libraries to the TLC family,” stated founder and CEO, Annette Murphy. “It’s exciting to see libraries, in spite of every curveball that 2020 could possibly throw at them, continually strive to offer improved services and experiences to their communities. Libraries are TLC’s community and we are committed to doing the same.”

About The Library Corporation
TLC has operated continuously under the same ownership since 1974 and employs over 200 people dedicated to delivering enterprise software and hardware solutions to public, school, academic, and special libraries worldwide. TLC’s cumulative products are deployed in more than 1,100 organizations, representing over 5,500 locations in North America. TLC is certified by the U.S. General Services Administration, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program. TLC’s Headquarters is based in Inwood, W.Va., and has additional offices in Denver, Minnesota, and Singapore.

The Library Corporation (TLC) develops software with an understanding of library workflows and the needs of TLC customers in mind. With the latest product release of the CARL integrated library system, TLC continues to provide features that improve operational efficiency, which can be found in CARL•X™ version 9.6.8, CARL•Connect Staff version 1.6.4, CARL•Connect Discovery version 3.6.2.1 and CARL•X™ APIs version 1.9.8.

One feature that helps librarians save time when handling items in a damaged or less-than-ideal condition is the new Damaged Items functionality in CARL•Connect Staff. Library staff can mark items as Damaged, which will automatically perform the next actions for those items — remove from the patron account if checked out, change item status to Damaged, replace the hold if checking it in would have filled a hold — all in one place and with one scan.

“TLC nailed the ‘Damage’ check in,” said Wennie Fleming, the ILS Librarian of Technology Services at Loudoun County Public Library. “What was a 21 step process for staff is now simply two steps! This functionality available in both CARL•X 9.6.8 and CARL•Connect Staff 1.6.4 is amazing and will save tons of time for staff.” As with all CARL features, the Damaged Items page meets compliance for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act for improved accessibility.

Another favorite of TLC customers and TLC Staff is the updated Not Found functionality, now called Wander List, in CARL•Connect Staff. In previous versions, items which had not been found on the shelves from the Fill List (holds pulling process) were added to the Not Found list for later handling. As items tend to wander off the shelves and out existence at the library, items not found from Fill Lists, Missing Lists, and Lost Lists can all be managed within the Wander List feature.

The latest updates now also include capabilities for library staff to withdraw or check in items directly from the Wander List, and display updated status columns and number of title holds for easy reference and convenience. As Manager for the CARL Product, Ebony Pacheco-Hoos says, “Not all items that wander are lost.” These updates allow library staff to manage wandering items with fewer clicks and fewer screens.

These latest features join others in the CARL product suite update targeted at efficient library workflows, improved technical foundations, and further Mobile version development, which was an overall priority CARL customers shared with TLC staff at the annual user conference. Additional updates include Google Analytics integration, customizable Hold Shelf Expiration days, new tokens in Message Editor, customer-requested spine label sizes, check in sounds, FRBRized title details within mobile, enhanced location settings, and reverse chronological magazine and serials displays.

To see these features for yourself, or to answer any questions you may have about CARL•X™, CARL•Connect Staff, CARL•Connect Discovery, or the power of CARL•X™ APIs, please reach out to us at sales@tlcdelivers.com or online at tlcdelivers.com/contact-tlc/#sales.

About The Library Corporation
TLC has operated continuously under the same ownership since 1974 and employs over 200 people dedicated to delivering enterprise software and hardware solutions to public, school, academic, and special libraries worldwide. TLC’s cumulative products are deployed in more than 1,100 organizations, representing over 5,500 locations in North America. TLC is certified by the U.S. General Services Administration, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program. TLC’s Headquarters is based in Inwood, W.Va., and has additional offices in Denver, Minnesota, and Singapore.