{"id":26517,"date":"2018-01-29T15:25:06","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T15:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bibliodev.local\/?p=26517"},"modified":"2025-04-28T21:20:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T21:20:46","slug":"customer-story-south-gloucestershire-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/en-gb\/customer-story-south-gloucestershire-library\/","title":{"rendered":"In South Gloucestershire, Libraries Extend Hours by 166% With Open+ Access"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Many of the South Gloucestershire library branches were only open a few days a week. The council needed to find an economical way to increase library access and offer extended hours.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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After a successful pilot in one branch, South Gloucestershire implemented open+ access in nine library branches within a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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With open+ access extended hours, South Gloucestershire has been able to increase open hours by 166%. Customers are delighted.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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South Gloucestershire Library: open+ access increases library access by 166%
\nPublished: January 2018<\/p>\n

The South Gloucestershire Council<\/a> operates 16 library branches in southwest England. They have an annual circulation of 1 million and welcome over 731,000 visitors a year.<\/p>\n

How libraries should be used<\/strong><\/p>\n

In February of 2017, in an effort to increase customers\u2019 access to the library and provide a higher level of service, South Gloucestershire implemented Bibliotheca\u2019s open+ access<\/a> in their Bradley Stoke branch. open+ access is a comprehensive solution that allows libraries to offer users access to library materials and facilities during unstaffed hours while controlling building access, security, and automation through one central management hub.<\/p>\n

After experiencing the success of open+ access in the Bradley Stoke branch, South Gloucestershire installed open+ access in nine of its other branches, increasing open hours across the authority from 498 to 824, nearly 166%.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cPeople now have a choice,\u201d Martin Burton says, Community Cultural Services Manager for South Gloucestershire Council. \u201cThey can come in when the library is staffed, which many people enjoy. But some people just want to come in, use the computers or loan books and the branches offer a lot more hours for that than before. It means the libraries we\u2019ve got are now fully used all the time. They\u2019re now used 7 days a week, which is how libraries should be used.\u201d<\/p>\n

Offering space and access for all<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Gloucestershire recently conducted a survey in which 74% of users said they\u2019d recommend using open access to their friends. Though some were sceptical about how difficult the system would be to use, those worries proved unfounded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been very straightforward. We haven\u2019t had anyone who\u2019s had trouble. In fact, many of our older customers use it on a regular basis,\u201d Chris Lote says, Library Manager at the Emersons Green branch.<\/p>\n

Tim Parfit, a regular library user, says, \u201cIt\u2019s extremely easy to use. It\u2019s easy to get in through the doors, and from there, you just use the library as normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before implementing open+ access, many of the South Gloucestershire branches were only open a few days a week, drastically limiting the community\u2019s access to materials, equipment, and space. With the advent of open+ access, the libraries regularly welcome customers looking for a quiet place to work away from home, as well as students preparing for exams or working on assignments. But Lote says those aren\u2019t the only happy customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our customers has an autistic son who is very sensitive to noise. It was difficult for him to use the library because of all of the people and the stimulation. He told his mother that our library is now his dream library because he can come in after hours and have the library to himself. She was so appreciative that he now has an opportunity to use the library and feel safe and comfortable,\u201d Chris Lote says.<\/p>\n

The challenge and the opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Gloucestershire\u2019s largest challenge was getting open+ access into nine libraries within ten weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a great group of organisations working together, so we were able to meet that timeline, but it was a lot of pressure,\u201d Martin Burton says.<\/p>\n

After his experience, he has recommendations for libraries considering a similar move to expanded hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalk to other authorities. Many libraries across England are using Bibliotheca\u2019s open+ access and we\u2019re all happy to share our experiences \u2013 there\u2019s no need to reinvent the wheel. And remember to factor in all the costs; it\u2019s not just the software, in some cases, there can be building costs as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also notes how important it is to get all key councils on board and communicate frequently with customers. \u201cA move like this can be a bit controversial. Having support from our key councils allowed us to move forward confidently. Communicating, particularly over social media, allowed us to address customers\u2019 concerns quickly,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

open+ access has opened doors in South Gloucestershire. Now, the challenge is simply making sure everyone knows they are invited. \u201cOur regular library users are already using open+ access,\u201d Martin Burton says. \u201cNow we\u2019re focused on reaching those people who\u2019ve never thought about using a library before because the hours were not convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSouth Gloucestershire Library Case Study\t\t\t\t\t<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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South Gloucestershire Leadership and Patrons highlight extended access benefits<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\twatch video\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cThe dramatic increase in our circulation really drove our decision to convert to RFID and self-checkout,\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChris Warren<\/span> Library Director, Auburn Public Library, Alabama, USA<\/span><\/cite>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\u201cThe backend of quickConnect is amazing. We are absolutely in awe of how easy it is to customize the selfChecks. Whether we\u2019re changing patron promotions or customizing language options, it\u2019s so simple. It has nice big buttons, and it\u2019s very attractive....\"<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChris Warren<\/span> Library Director, Auburn Public Library, Alabama, USA<\/span><\/cite>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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open+ access increases library access by 166% in South Gloucestershire. Read more. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":26172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[310,198,331],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-library-stories","category-blog","category-library-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}