Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Hinds Community College’s library system is joining the Mississippi Library Partnership this month, adding its approximately 130,000 titles to the consortium that now includes 60 members.

Originally established in 1993, the partnership offers member institutions cost efficiencies and shared resources. MLP provides a library automation system, administered by Mississippi State University Libraries, which also lends technical expertise, support and training to members.

“The Mississippi Library Partnership is a very successful example of what our state’s universities, community colleges and local libraries can achieve by working together,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. “Innovation and collaboration are a focal point for Mississippi State, and we look forward to working with Hinds and all of our other partners to further enhance this productive initiative as technology continues to transform libraries and learning resources.”

All within Mississippi, member libraries include public and academic institutions with combined holdings of more than 3.1 million titles. MLP allows patrons to request books from any member library and pick them up at their own local library.

“Hinds Community College is exceedingly well pleased to enter into another partnership with Mississippi State University. This partnership with the Mississippi Library Partnership is one that will benefit our students significantly and also at the same time help others in the consortium,” said Hinds Community College President Clyde Muse.   

Hinds Community College’s library system includes six entities – the George M. McLendon Library at the Raymond Campus, the Jackson Academic and Technical Center Library, the Nursing and Allied Health Library on the Nursing Campus, the Learning Resources Center on the Rankin Campus, the William H. Holtzclaw Library at the Utica Campus, and the Vicksburg Library at the college’s Vicksburg Campus.

Patrons easily can search the database of not only their home library, but they also can see resources shared throughout the consortium and check out materials conveniently with their local library card. A courier service delivers needed books to the various member library locations, which vary in their loan periods.

Mary Beth Applin, Hinds Community College District Dean of Libraries, said the sharing of resources is among the biggest member benefits.

“We think that’s a real advantage for both university and public libraries, and we have a really large collection at Hinds,” Applin said, noting the Hinds holdings include vast academic titles, with additional focus on career and technical materials.

She said MSU’s technical support also will help in managing the online catalog, “the backbone of the whole library system.”

“Patrons will have the option to put a book on hold and have that item available as soon as someone brings it back,” she explained. “We will have a far superior search system, much more robust in the way it helps to limit by format, publication year, and so on.”

Applin said Hinds looks forward to immediate assistance from MSU personnel when technical issues and questions arise. She said this help is yet another benefit compared to working with library system vendors, which sometimes take longer to provide technical services.

She said Hinds is entering the partnership with a history of collaborative work with MSU.

“We trust them a great deal and we know that they’re going to look out for us and make sure that we’re going to benefit,” Applin said.

Stephen Cunetto, associate dean of MSU Libraries, said that in addition to other cost efficiencies, member libraries have access to a larger, more robust automation system for what they pay.

“With MSU managing the whole system for all the different libraries and training their staff, it’s more individualized and specialized,” Cunetto said. “Through the Mississippi Library Partnership, we open another layer of resources for patrons.”

For more about the Hinds Community College library system, visit http://libguides.hindscc.edu/home.

For more about the Mississippi Library Partnership, visit http://lib.msstate.edu/mlp/.