BCP Council has apologised to library users who have been affected by a new management system.
It moved to the new system in June but says its performance is not where it should be and there have been challenges affecting the self-service functions and overall customer experience.
The council says it is working hard with Libraries West to fix the issues but appreciates the frustrations of users and has asked that they continue to show kindness to its library teams.
The full statement from BCP Council reads:
‘We wish to apologise for the challenges you have faced with our new Library Management System, which has affected our self-service functions and overall customer experience.
‘We know performance of the system is not where we need it to be, and we are working hard to fix the issues. We are working with our new supplier on an improvement plan and are meeting daily to find and implement solutions to address all the outstanding issues. We have already made some progress and will continue to focus on improving the performance and stability of the system as our top priority.
‘We appreciate the frustrations that customers may feel during this time but ask that you continue to show kindness to our library teams. We all care deeply about our services and our library teams are reporting issues daily, to help fix the problems.
‘We moved to the new Library Management System in June 2024. Our contract with the previous supplier had come to an end and we were required by law to go out to tender to procure a replacement system.
‘The transfer from the old to the new system had to happen quickly to avoid a break in service. This work initially focussed on transferring 2.4 million catalogue records, migrating 162 libraries and maintenance of the issue and return functionality. This was a big task, and we have had to pause at this point to stabilise the IT system.
‘This means there have been delays in the re-introduction of some self-service functions including notifications, viewing your loan history, and pending reservations.
‘We would like to assure you that we expect the new system to deliver improvements in the overall customer experience once we have resumed normal service. We look forward to introducing these new features as soon as they are ready to use.
‘As a valued library customer, we thank you for your continued understanding.’