The Catamount Library Network (CLN) is a

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

of public libraries in the U.S. State of Vermont. It provides a unified library catalog using the

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

, Koha integrated library system.

Organization

The Catamount Library Network is incorporated as a

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of t ...

, governed by a 5-member board, chosen by a council composed of one representative from each member library, and officers (president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer), chosen by the board. The council also sets the CLN's annual budget and membership fees, and approves any

bylaw A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

changes. In addition, two groups have been established with representatives from each library, to address, respectively, cataloging and circulation & loans issues arising within the CLN.

History and current status

The development and planning of The Catamount Library Network (CLN) began in 2010 with an initial 5 member libraries, with seed money, initial consultation, and support provided by the

Vermont Department of Libraries The Vermont Department of Libraries Is the official state library agency of Vermont located in Barre, Vermont. It is a department under Vermont's Agency of Administration. History The State Library came into existence in 1825 when Robert Pierpoi ...

. The Department of Libraries withdrew most of its assistance over several months in 2015. The primary motivation for forming the organization was cost savings from switching from proprietary to open source software, and by having one shared system (as opposed to each library maintaining, and paying for, its own separate system). Additionally, a unified catalog allows easier resource sharing between libraries. Initially, the CLN planned to use the Evergreen Integrated Library System, but later selected Koha as its ILS. The first 5 libraries switched to the new system in the spring and summer of 2013. An additional 12 libraries have since joined the organization, 9 of which, have added their holdings to the unified catalog. 3 other libraries are currently in various stages of preparation. One library, Lawrence Memorial Library in Bristol, VT initially joined, but left before being added to the consortium's catalog. It has since joined

VOKAL Vokal may refer to: * The Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries, a unified library catalog used by over fifty libraries in Vermont * Vokal (fashion brand) Vokal was a hip hop fashion brand launched in 1997 by Abayomi Jamil “Yomi� ...

instead. As a result of concern over unrecovered transition costs from Lawrence Memorial leaving CLN, the board voted on September 22, 2014, to require new members to pay a non-refundable deposit of $350(US). The CLN continues to seek additional members.

Database hosting

The Catamount Library Network's common Koha database and software are hosted by ByWater Solutions.

VOKAL (The Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries)

There is currently one other unified public library catalog in Vermont—VOKAL (The

Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries The Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries (VOKAL) is an organization of libraries in the U.S. State of Vermont. It provides a unified, online library catalog using the open source, Koha integrated library system. It was established a ...

), established by the Green Mountain Library Consortium, and (like CLN), hosted by ByWater Solutions.

CLN Member libraries (current and former)

References

External links

Catamount Library Network

Vermont Department of Libraries
{{authority control Public libraries in Vermont 2010 establishments in Vermont Organizations established in 2010 Library consortia in Vermont