<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><div>Hi all;<br><br></div>Thank you to everyone who responded to my questions about Plastic Patron Cards and changing barcodes. Here are the results of my inquiry.<br><br></div>Thanks again!<br></div>-Laura Orlowski, director<br></div>Camden Twp. Library<br><br>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Plastic Library Cards
vs. Barcode Changes Results</span></b></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b><span style="line-height:115%"><br></span></b></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b><u><span>Albion
District Library</span></u></b></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>We use Vanguard ID Systems (<a href="https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanguardid.com%2F&data=02%7C01%7Ccamden%40monroe.lib.mi.us%7C9168c19ab4784116f23708d557a7a1b9%7C526ff4e31ba7453c9fb17562147081dd%7C0%7C0%7C636511299856379886&sdata=OvnFBZR2yXTicV4iKhiD4%2BT7ftidyBeBxMj9KuAn5Ms%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">http://www.vanguardid.com/</a>) for our library cards. We
just purchased about 1,500 of them - full-size plastic, reinforced, with a
keychain that matches it. <span> </span></span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span> </span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>They came in very inexpensively (about
$0.50/each plus set-up and shipping). </span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><div style="border-width:medium medium 1pt;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor currentcolor windowtext;padding:0in 0in 1pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;padding:0in"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>With our system
(Apollo), it's as easy as just scanning or typing over it in the system.
If they have outstanding holds in OverDrive, you just have to be careful.
Their existing holds are linked to their current barcode number. </span></span></font></p>
</div><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b><u>Dorothy Hull Library</u></b></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>We switched from paper to plastic last year. We found The
Library Store to be significantly cheaper than other vendors we looked at. We
also did NOT go with key tags, even though we initially planned to. Most of our
patrons did not want them. That worked for us as well because we again saved
money.</span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><div style="border-width:medium medium 1pt;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor currentcolor windowtext;padding:0in 0in 1pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;padding:0in"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="line-height:115%">We used one of their stock designs and it was all pretty
painless. We did not have your barcode issues as ours were the standard number
of digits.</span></span></font></p>
</div><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b><u>Willard Library</u></b></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"></span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="line-height:115%"></span></span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"></span></font><div style="border-width:medium medium 1pt;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor currentcolor windowtext;padding:0in 0in 1pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="line-height:115%"></span></span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;padding:0in"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="line-height:115%">
If you are interested, here at Willard Library we wrote our own Library card
software that uses a webcam at each circulation station to get a mug shot and
we print them out on inexpensive card printers. No need to have them
pre-printed, we just buy blank cards. If you are interested I would be happy to
demo it for you.</span></span></font></p>
</div><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b><u><span>Shiawassee
District Library - Owosso</span></u></b></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>We haven't switched to plastic cards,
but we are gradually switching from a 5 digit barcode to a 13 digit with a
check digit (14 digits in all). Our circ system can handle both so we are
not replacing old cards, just issuing the new barcodes for new cards.
There haven't been any problems with Overdrive and MeL both work with the new
circ system without the patrons being aware of it. However, in
spite of plenty of publicity, 2 years later we still have patrons who can't
figure out why they can't log into Overdrive as they no longer need to add a
prefix to their card numbers. Card numbers are also harder to memorize
which some patrons dislike.</span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span> </span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><div style="border-width:medium medium 1pt;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor currentcolor windowtext;padding:0in 0in 1pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;padding:0in"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>We started all the 13
digit barcodes with a 2 which we were told is standard. The rest of the
numbers are up to you. We chose the number of our zv code plus a 9 so
numbers look like 22559000xxxxx plus the computer generated check digit.
The xxxxx part of the number is issued sequentially so the zeros will also be
added numbers if and when we need them.</span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;padding:0in"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span></span></span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b><u><span></span></u></b></span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"></span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"></span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"></span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"></span></font></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span><u><b>Franklin Public Library</b></u><br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>We are the smallest library in The
Library Network co-op. We recently joined RBdigital and realized that all
of our barcodes that we had been ordering through TLN (as we do our plastic
library cards) were not going to be compatible with RBdigital. We
did not need to buy new cards but we did need the new barcodes which we just
purchased through Demco. I did have to work closely with TLN to make sure
we had the correct format. We have been using the new barcodes for all
new cards we give out and if anyone wants to access RBdigital they will also
need a new barcode for their card. Because our old barcodes are compatible
with OverDrive, MelCat and Freegal we didn't need to replace everyone's cards
just those people who wanted to access RBdigital and of course every new card
we give out. </span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span> </span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><div style="border-width:medium medium 1pt;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor currentcolor windowtext;padding:0in 0in 1pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;padding:0in"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>It might be painful
to switch all of your patrons over but I would think it would be much easier to
have one barcode that can access all of your services and that you can now
offer to new card holders that you sign up.</span></span></font></p>
</div><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b><u><span>Detroit
Area Library Network</span></u></b></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">In the past
I was at a library that had to redo all barcodes from scratch. In
general, I always recommend moving to a standard barcode. That helps to
make sure your codes will work in multiple and various
systems. Usually codabar 14 digits, last digit a check sum, is what
we have used.</span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"> </span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><div style="border-width:medium medium 1pt;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor currentcolor windowtext;padding:0in 0in 1pt">
<p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;padding:0in"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">I have recommended Watson Label Products <a href="https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwlp.com%2F&data=02%7C01%7Ccamden%40monroe.lib.mi.us%7Ce762bb1d56a241e2e65108d557a7d6b1%7C526ff4e31ba7453c9fb17562147081dd%7C0%7C0%7C636511300746452929&sdata=0t62ujNERZ940E00xyKRYs8Wy8ThNrsO%2BVnGY2sn%2BVI%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">http://wlp.com/</a>.
They can do the plastic cards and key tags as well as convert or give you
barcode ranges.</span></font></p>
</div><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span> </span></span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b><u><span>North
Adams Community Memorial Library</span></u></b></span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"></span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>We did it. Our new cards came last March. I went with RACO
Industries. That's where we got our receipt printer, wand and stand and our bar
codes. I got twice as many library cards for the money as (I think it was
DEMCO) wanted. Every time I thought we were ready to order with this other
company, they had another question for me. And I couldn't get answers from them
to my questions. They always had to go consult someone else. Their last
question to me was something that I had to ask RACO about. RACO was very
helpful - answered my question with no fooling around. Then asked if I knew
they did borrower cards, too! No, I did not. And at that point I was tired of
dealing with the other company.</span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>We use the standard 14-digit bar code - the last digit being
a check digit. We have a wallet card and a key tag, using our own art work.</span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>As patrons come in, I just swap their
old card for the new one. I have to change it in our system. Change it in
Overdrive Library Card Manager (where you add them initially) and then go to
Overdrive MarketPlace and merge their old number with the new one. A few steps,
but not bad.</span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span> </span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span>You need to upload a new record into
MeL. Look up your patron by name in MeL, make sure the new one is there and
that there is nothing current on the old one, then delete the old one. Not a
big deal if you can keep them from using the old number. There were a couple of
people that I had to put stops on the old number to get them to stop using it. </span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span> </span></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><div style="border-width:medium medium 1pt;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor currentcolor windowtext;padding:0in 0in 1pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;padding:0in"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="line-height:115%">One thing I just discovered is that I forgot that
Transparent Language and ComicsPlus and RBDigital had to know how many digits,
and the digits your numbers begin with (just got that taken care of).</span></span></font></p>
</div><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b><u>T.A. Cutler Memorial Library</u></b></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">We faced
this situation before we went live on Overdrive and RBDigital last year. We had
alphanumeric barcodes that included a space, which resulted in coding issues
every time we tried to integrate via SIP2 with any electronic resources,
including MeLCat when we went live with NCIP enhancements and Freading when we
added ebooks for the first time.</span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"> </span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">So we
switched to 14-digit barcodes early last year. We're still implementing the
changeover. As someone brings in an old card we update their registration
record and issue a new card with new number. We contacted MeLCat before we
initiated the changeover and Freading after. We also let Overdrive and
RBDigital know they should only accept patron accounts that match the new
format, in order to encourage active patrons to bring in their card for a
replacement and to make sure no one fell through the cracks.</span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"> </span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">We didn't
need to purchase the plastic cards, because our previous stock were blank and
we place a barcode sticker on the card and a matching digit sticker on the
registration card (Data2 is the source of our two-part barcode stickers).</span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"> </span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">It has been
approximately 10 months since we initiated the changeover. We can tell at a
glance whether an account has been updated yet and we only update accounts as
needed (as with any library, we have many inactive accounts and I saw no reason
to renumber all of them). I think we've updated approximately 850-1000 accounts
in the 10-month period whereas our patron file (active and inactive)
contains about 4500 records. </span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"> </span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><div style="border-width:medium medium 1pt;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor currentcolor windowtext;padding:0in">
<p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;padding:0in"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">I would totally do it again. There hasn't
been a great deal of labor involved, there has been very little pushback from
our patrons (some aren't so keen on entering 14 digits where they previously
only needed to enter 6, but they accept the trade-off with increased digital
access), the cost was under $1000, and the headaches associated with SIP2 are
gone.</span></font></p>
</div><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b><u><span>Milan
Public Library</span></u></b></span></font></p><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><div style="border-width:medium medium 1pt;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor currentcolor windowtext;padding:0in 0in 1pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal;border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;padding:0in"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="color:black">We use
vanguard for the plastic cards, with the key card and a little barcode tail
that we put on their application. When we switched to Vanguard, years ago, they
handled the barcode changing but I barely remember that. This one card does
melcat, our system and overdrive. We don't have the RBD thingy. Our automation
system is Autographics/Verso.</span></span></font></p>
</div><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="4"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="color:black"> </span></span></font></p>
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