Sonoma State University students, faculty and staff can now borrow books and DVDs from any of the 23 California State University campuses thanks to the new unified library management system OneSearch. The University Library also moved to eliminate overdue fines and increase loan times for books to up to one year.
OneSearch replaces the popular LINK+ rapid delivery service with CSU+, an integrated, CSU-managed request system. In 2016, after a three-year collaboration with the Chancellor's Office, all 23 CSU libraries voted to participate in CSU+ making OneSearch the largest public university resource sharing system in the United States. Sonoma State was previously part of LINK+, which included a total of 10 CSU campuses.
Sonoma State Librarians said the system was running smoothly on Monday, the first official day it was available. Students and faculty were already using the system to check out items from other campuses.
All overdue fines for books and DVDs have been eliminated, but library laptops, materials on reserve, and other high-use items will continue to have overdue fines.
Faculty and students can now borrow books on campus to up to one year and one semester, respectively. The new system allows 60-day loans for books and 30-day loans for DVDs from other CSU campuses.
CSU+ delivery takes 2-4 days and can be requested through a computer or mobile device. CSU+ also allows any student or faculty to visit any CSU library and check out materials using their SSU ID.
The OneSearch project was led by David Walker and Brandon Dudley of the Chancellor's Office, with participation from project teams across the CSU. OneSearch is based on Alma, a library management software system from industry leader Ex Libris.