Exciting and challenging weeks lie behind the university library. As the first library in Bavaria to use RFID technology, it went live on May 13 with the open source library management system FOLIO (short for Future of Libraries is Open) and a new, modern library catalog. The changeover was significantly supported by the Central Office of the Bavarian Library Network and the Leibniz Supercomputing Center (LRZ).
To mark the go-live of the new library system, Prof. Dr. Christoph Skornia, Vice President for IT Security and Digitization at OTH Regensburg, symbolically took out the first media on the self-checkout device in the university library.
The changeover to FOLIO affects almost all work processes in the university library, much of which took place “behind the scenes”. All media stock data, library accounts and loan data were migrated. For library users, however, the completely redesigned library catalog is likely to be the main focus. With practical filter options, an improved results view and directly integrated interlibrary loan options, it is more user-friendly and clearer overall and optimized for smartphones and tablets. For all those interested, the University Library will be offering courses on the new OPAC in person and online from May 27.
The lending regulations were also revised as part of the system changeover. Instead of a large number of different loan periods, in future there will be a few, clearly defined loan periods. In addition, loans will be automatically renewed up to four times, provided there are no reservations. This eliminates the need to apply for renewals manually and results in a maximum loan period of up to 20 weeks.
The University Library of Regensburg plans to switch to FOLIO on 01.07.2025. After this date, lending within Regensburg will be resumed.
