The Bolesławiec Pedagogical Library has become the first in Poland to join the group of the world’s most modern libraries, including the collections of Oxford and The British Library, which use the same system. The Primo system with which it has been equipped will allow students and teachers from the county to access the collections of libraries including Wrocław University of Technology and the Lower Silesian Pedagogical Library, as well as all other libraries connected to this network.
Primo is a great help for students. It is a unique solution for accessing library resources—both local and remote, such as books, articles and digital objects. Primo enables users to browse catalogues and borrow books. All that is needed is a pedagogical library card bearing a number and login; the item sought for a bachelor’s or master’s thesis can be borrowed using a home computer. The book will be delivered to the Pedagogical Library in Bolesławiec at the requester’s expense.
An advantage of PRIMO is its search engine, which ranks books that have been verified and recommended by professional librarians. This makes it easier to access valuable and useful reading. Maciej Dziubecki, president of the management board of Aleph Polska, the company implementing the Primo system, spoke about its creation. “Libraries have lost their natural position as the first source of information. The Internet and search engines are on top. We can take offence at them or use them. A library with an online offering can compete with Wikipedia and search engines for users’ attention.”
Primo is a modern interface for searching for information that is available quickly and precisely. It integrates with other resources on the Internet, directing users to online bookstores or Google Books; it also allows books to be tagged, reviewed and recommended to others.
The system was purchased as part of the project “Creation of a Multimedia Centre for Pedagogical and Library Information in Bolesławiec”. The beneficiary of the project is Powiat Bolesławiecki. As part of the project, the Multimedia Centre for Pedagogical and Library Information was equipped with two new computer rooms and twenty-five modern Dell computers, which serve library users both for operating the Primo system and for accessing the Internet. The computers will also be used by students of I LO and the Complex of Electronic Schools.
(information: Grażyna Hanaf)