New system joins MSU-based library consortium
Pictured at the contract signing are (left to right) Celia Fisher, Member, Mississippi Library Commission Board of Directors; Vicki Gault-Farmer, Member, Lee-Itawamba Library System Board of Directors; Stephen Cunetto, Administrator of Systems for MSU Libraries and Executive Director, Mississippi Library Partnership; Glenda Segars, Member, Lee-Itawamba Library System Board of Directors; Jeff Tomlinson, Director, Lee-Itawamba Library System; Mark Keenum, President, Mississippi State University; Dalton Anthony, President, Friends of the Lee County Library; Julie Battaile, Chair, Board of Trustees for the Lee-Itawamba Library System; and Frances Coleman, Dean of Libraries, Mississippi State University. PHOTO: Jim Tomlinson | MSU Libraries
Mississippi's largest library consortium has added new libraries to its membership. Based at Mississippi State University, the Mississippi Library Partnership (MLP) now serves 55 libraries in 16 of our state's counties.
MLP welcomed the Lee-Itawamba Library System to the consortium in an official contract signing on Aug 23. The Lee-Itawamba Library System currently serves Tupelo’s Lee County Public Library and Fulton’s Itawamba County Public Library.
The Lee-Itawamba Library System joins the MLP, which serves libraries on the campuses of Mississippi State University, Mississippi University for Women, East Mississippi Community College, Starkville High School, and in the cities of Aberdeen, Ackerman, Amory, Artesia, Batesville, Caledonia, Carthage, Coldwater, Columbus, Como, Crawford, Crenshaw, Duck Hill, Durant, Eupora, Goodman, Hamilton, Hernando, Horn Lake, Jackson, Kilmichael, Kosciusko, Lexington, Louisville, Maben, Mathiston, Mayhew, Meridian, Nettleton, Olive Branch, Oxford, Pickens, Sardis, Scooba, Senatobia, Southaven, Starkville, Sturgis, Tchula, Tunica, Walls, Walnut Grove, Weir, West, West Point, Winona, and Wren.
During the contract signing in Mississippi State University Libraries’ John Grisham Room, Mark Keenum, president of Mississippi State University, welcomed the new members to the MLP stating, "We are very proud of Mississippi State University's role in the growth and development of the Mississippi Library Partnership. The affiliation of the Lee-Itawamba Library System with the Partnership brings even more strength and prestige to this important consortium."
Lee-Itawamba Director Jeff Tomlinson is pleased with the decision to join, remarking, “We are very excited about joining the Partnership as a way to provide additional books to our patrons and also as a way to save taxpayer dollars; when we can borrow the books from another library, we don’t have to buy those titles.”
Tomlinson went on to share, “Once our patrons get familiar with this service, I expect we will see many requests for books from other libraries. This is just too good a deal to pass up, and the people of our community know a good thing when they see it!”
The Mississippi Library Partnership was established in 1993 as a means of increasing the sharing of resources and automation costs as well as the sharing of technical expertise. The mission of the Partnership is to provide a central database that customers can utilize to provide easy access to resources available in the North-Central regions of the state. Building upon the success of the venture between charter members Mississippi State University and Mississippi University for Women, the Partnership continues to impact libraries and provide exceptional service to its members.
“We are very pleased to have the Lee-Itawamba System join the MLP,” said Stephen Cunetto, Administrator of Systems for MSU Libraries and Executive Director, Mississippi Library Partnership. “With the addition of these new libraries, the Partnership, the only one of its kind in the state, now includes over 55 libraries, including academic, public, and school libraries.”
The Lee-Itawamba Library System will be live on the MLP system beginning Oct. 18.
Since its establishment, Starkville High School, Tombigbee Regional Library System, Starkville-Oktibbeha Public Library System, the East Mississippi Community College Libraries, the Mid-Mississippi Library System, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System, and the First Regional Library have joined the Partnership. Training and ongoing development and support for the Partnership is handled by the Mississippi State University Libraries.
Lyle Tate | MSU Libraries
