Alta Library to upgrade technology with Virginia Crocker Trust Fund

The Alta Library Board gave the Alta Community School District a sort of Christmas present this past December. Thanks to a generous donation from Virginia Crocker's estate, the Alta Community Library Board of Trustees proposed in 2008 to upgrade the school's library software program. This software upgrade would allow patrons to view the library's catalog via the internet. An obvious benefit for the school is that students and teachers would be able to see the availability of library materials from home or in the classroom. Improving technology for the betterment of the library fell into the criterion for which Virginia Crocker designated her money.

When the Alta Library Board researched purchasing this piece of software, it was discovered that the current software was becoming obsolete and would not be supported any longer by the company owning it. Because the Alta Community School owned the license for the software, the Alta Library Board of Trustees shared their findings with the Alta School Board. All of the information was turned over to the school board president in the summer of 2008.

Determining what to do thereafter became more complicated that anyone would have expected. With other pressing and urgent concerns and budget cuts to deal with, the school administration and school board were silent on the software issue. Eager to proceed, the Alta Library Board of Trustees, with the assistance of Sue Pedersen, city librarian, kept researching software programs and made a proposal at the October 2009 school board meeting. The proposal laid out the purchase of Atriuum Book Systems using the Virginia Crocker Trust Fund. This way the expenditure would not have to come out of school funds.

At the December Alta Community School Board meeting, a motion was made by school board member Gigi Nelson to accept the Alta Library Board of Trustee's proposal. There was a unanimous vote by the Alta Community School Board.

Soon there will be new technological capabilities for Alta's community library so that the students and community library patrons can access the library catalog from the internet, anywhere, anytime.