There is an exciting change coming to the Robeson County Public Library. We are thrilled to announce that Robeson County Public Library, along with Brunswick County Public Library have been selected to join NC Cardinal this year! NC Cardinal is a growing consortium of public libraries in over 60 NC counties dedicated to sharing resources and expanding access through the use of a single online catalog with over 7.9 million items owned by NC Cardinal libraries. We received a $10,000 migration grant from the State Library to help cover the expenses of this transition, without any local funding match required. This is made possible by funding from the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (IMLS grant number LS-00-18-0034-18).

A few of the benefits that NC Cardinal offers patrons, in addition to a much larger catalog, is being able to place holds online, by phone, or in person for items to be sent from any NC Cardinal Library to your pickup library of choice in RCPL for free! You can borrow and return materials at any NC Cardinal Library around the state. You can log in online to change your account settings, place holds, or renew items. Other popular features are the ability to choose to be notified by email or text that your holds are available, automatic reminders when items are coming due or your account is about to expire, and save a history of holds and checked out items by “opting in” through your account. There are things that are not changing! You can still request items, renew checkouts, and manage your account online, by phone, or in person. You will continue to have first dibs on new books, movies, and other materials owned by RCPL.

The RCPL Cardinal Migration Team is meeting weekly with representatives from the State Library to facilitate this change. In order to make sure our staff are ready to serve you as a NC Cardinal Library, all RCPL locations will be closed on Thurs., Aug. 15 for training. We will also have to adjust our operating hours the week that we go live with NC Cardinal to allow extra processing time. We anticipate going live with NC Cardinal on Thursday, Sept. 12! During the week of Sept. 12, some services will be unavailable during the transition. We apologize for any inconvenience. You will be able to check out items, receive holds ready for pick up, use the computers, connect to WiFi and use printing services. Starting September 16, you will be able to resume placing holds, renewing items, paying fees, and registering for or replacing library cards.

The individual library schedules for the “Go Live” time are as follows: Sept. 11 – all locations close at 4 pm. Sept. 12 – Lumberton Library open 10 am – 5 pm; Pembroke Library open 1 – 5 pm; St. Pauls Library open 1 – 5 pm; Maxton Library open 1 – 5 pm; Fairmont Library open 2 – 5 pm; Rowland and Red Springs Libraries open 3 – 5 pm. Sept. 13 – Lumberton Library open 10 am – 5 pm; Pembroke Library open 10 am – 5 pm; St. Pauls Library open 10 am – 12 pm; Maxton Library open 11 am – 5 pm; Fairmont Library open 2 – 5 pm; Rowland and Red Springs Libraries open 11 am – 1 pm. These hours will be posted at each library location. We appreciate your patience as our staff learns the new computer system and procedures for NC Cardinal! To learn more about NC Cardinal, please visit https://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/services-libraries/nc-cardinal .