The Eastern Shores Library System (ESLS) was one of 17

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

systems in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Founded in 1987, it had 13 member libraries, with five in Ozaukee County and eight located in

Sheboygan County Sheboygan County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan. The county was created in 1836 and organized in 1846. At ...

, in addition to a

bookmobile A bookmobile, or mobile library, is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Boo ...

Sheboygan Sheboygan may refer to: Places in Wisconsin * Sheboygan, Wisconsin, city * Sheboygan (town), Wisconsin, town * Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, county * Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, city * Sheboygan Falls (town), Wisconsin, town * Sheboygan River ...

's Mead Public Library served as the resource library for the system. The last director of ESLS was Amy Birtell. ESLS covered , serving over 191,000 people. All thirteen libraries used the

integrated library system An integrated library system (ILS), also known as a library management system (LMS), is an enterprise resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned, orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed. An ILS is usually ...

provided by Polaris Library Systems, with the system's online catalog known as "EasiCat" (for "Eastern Shores Information Catalog"). All residents of Ozaukee and Sheboygan counties could use the services provided by Eastern Shores and its member libraries. In 2017, Eastern Shores Library System merged with Mid-Wisconsin Library System to form Monarch Library System. The new system serves Dodge, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, and Washington Counties.

Mission

"The Eastern Shores Library System is established as a federation of public libraries which has as its mission: to improve and extend public library service to all residents of the library system."

Services

In 2001, ESLS initiate
EasiCat
an "online shared automated catalog of all of the items owned by all of the libraries and the bookmobile." Customers were able to view items, place holds on them, and have them delivered to the library of their choice. EasiCat was able to be used in any of the libraries, as well as on any computer with Internet access. ESLS provided a van delivery service that allowed patrons to return books and other materials to any member library. In 2005, the van delivered approximately 655,132 items among 17 libraries, 5 days a week. It also made stops at

Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution The Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution is a medium security prison located 10 miles west of Plymouth, Wisconsin in the unincorporated town of Greenbush. The facility is located off Wisconsin Highway 67 just east of the Sheboygan/Fond du Lac ...

and

Lakeland University Lakeland University is a private university affiliated with the United Church of Christ, with its main campus in Herman, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, Herman, Wisconsin, United States, and seven evening, weekend, and online centers located through ...

. Many of the items were those requested through

Interlibrary loan Inter-library loan (abbreviated ILL, sometimes called document delivery, document supply, inter-lending, inter-library services, inter-loan, or resource sharing) is a service that enables patrons of one library to borrow materials that are held by ...

. Eastern Shores also had reciprocal agreements with other Wisconsin public library systems, allowing users to check out materials while on vacation. Eastern Shores operated a

Bookmobile A bookmobile, or mobile library, is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Boo ...

that served many of the communities in Ozaukee and Sheboygan Counties without libraries and promoted future library use for customers. It primarily provided "popular and reading readiness materials in various formats" but also provided some reference and programming materials.

System member libraries

Ozaukee County
CedarburgSaukville (Oscar Grady)Grafton (U.S.S. Liberty Memorial)Mequon-Thiensville (Frank L. Weyenberg)Port Washington (W.J. Niederkorn)
Sheboygan County
Cedar GroveElkhart LakeKohlerRandom Lake (Lakeview Community)Sheboygan (Mead)OostburgPlymouth

Sheboygan Falls

Notes

External links

Eastern Shores Library System

Monarch Library System
{{authority control Public libraries in Wisconsin Education in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin Education in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin 1987 establishments in Wisconsin