Oakville Public Library

Perhaps aside from opening a new branch library, I have never seen a service improvement that generated as much interest and enthusiasm from our users as the Bibliocommons discovery catalogue.  Eighteen months after it was launched at Oakville Public Library in July 2008, staff continue to hear comments like "I love it."  and  "It's like Amazon only better."  In order to serve the 21st century library user, libraries must deliver on a web experience that is as welcoming and as exciting as the physical branch experience.  Creating a sense of community and belonging is an important element of this experience, Bibliocommons achieves this with its Web 2.0 features, creating a conversation about books and learning within our virtual spaces.