County library expands borrowing agreement

Local residents can now borrow books, movies and music from libraries throughout central Indiana.

Johnson County Public Library expanded an agreement that allows patrons to borrow items from other libraries, an issue that had been a source of debate in past years.

In 2014, the county library system reached an agreement with the Greenwood Public Library and Edinburgh Public Library, allowing patrons of each to borrow items at any of the local libraries. That had been a re-implementation of a past policy that had been discontinued by the county and Greenwood libraries.

Now, the new agreement allows county library patrons to visit several other libraries across the state, including in Bartholomew, Brown, Morgan and Shelby counties, according to a news release from the county library system. Greenwood and Edinburgh libraries were already part of the statewide agreement and have been since 1995.

Library officials had heard so much positive feedback about the local agreements that allow patrons to visit any library that they decided to revisit the issue of a statewide agreement, said Davin Kolderup, marketing and communications manager for the county library.

The state’s borrowing agreement is more than 20 years old. Local library officials also talked with officials in other counties who participated in the program, who said it was beneficial to their patrons, Kolderup said.

By joining in the statewide agreement, it allows the library to extend services to people outside of the county, he said.

With more and more residents commuting elsewhere for work, it may be easier for them to go to a library in another county. This partnership allows them to do that, he said.

Some libraries have different policies, but most allow patrons from other counties to check out books, movies and music, and attend programs, he said.

The agreement allows patrons to visit more than 150 libraries across the state, officials said.

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Here is a look at some of the nearby libraries local patrons can visit under the new borrowing agreement by the Johnson County Public Library:

Bartholomew County

Brown County

Morgan County

Shelby County

For a full list, visit: http://www.in.gov/library/files/RBCOVENANTS.pdf

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