Case study
Southend-on-Sea City Council Libraries
How Southend-on-Sea City Council seamlessly transitioned over to MyPC Cloud for their library computer booking.
Southend-on-Sea Libraries have run MyPC On-prem since 2010 and Anita Webb, Systems Development Manager, Libraries, Southend-on-Sea City Council who manages the service, has worked in libraries for 21 years.
Organisation: Southend-on-Sea City Council, Libraries
Industry: Public libraries
Size: A network of 6 branch libraries and a central facility
Location: Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK
Interviewee: Anita Webb, Systems Development Manager
Key takeaways
Background
The council was already moving other products to the cloud, security was better and Anita saw no reason to start from scratch.
Transition
iTS technical helped their library service and central ICT department migrate from beginning to end.
Outcome
MyPC Cloud seamlessly integrated into everyday tasks for both the library staff and users.
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Some quick background before MyPC Cloud
Library computer use over time
Going back 20 years, Anita points out, not everyone owned a computer and mobile phones didn't offer the functions they do now. Public library computers were relied on far more heavily, and there were regular occasions when none were free.
Adapting computer use to the modern world
Since those times, demand has reduced due to more customers having their own devices, and the introduction of Wi-Fi across all library branches with Southend even reaching the point where computers were essentially always available, even in the busiest library, so the service made a deliberate decision to switch most machines over to walk-up use.
Flexible computer booking for all users
Not everything is walk-up, though. The computers with scanners remain bookable, and so do the service's two microfiche machines, which have been added to MyPC Cloud alongside the computers.
So in comes the move to Cloud…
Cloud computer bookings
MyPC Cloud: Make the most out of your shared computer booking resources
The move to MyPC Cloud was not driven by a problem, it was driven by direction of travel. iTS proposed it and the reasoning stacked up quickly from there. The council was already moving other products to the cloud, security was better, and it was plainly where things were heading anyway.
Thinking about the same move?
MyPC Cloud is used by public libraries, colleges and universities around the globe
“consistency”
“understood how libraries actually work”
“aided the transition”
“from beginning to end”
Collaborating with iTS
Southend's project ran across two organisations, the library service and the council's central ICТ department. Anita is clear about what made that workable, having one named person from the iTS technical team, who stayed on the project from beginning to end.
Her point about consistency is a practical one. When you deal with the same person throughout, they already know the history. She also valued that iTS understood how libraries actually work, and were willing to sit down with the council's ICT team as many times as required.
This approach was also mirrored within the council's ICT department which aided the transition and helped build rapport.
What changed for the staff?
The staff interface was an immediate improvement, simpler, easier on the eye and simple to use. That mattered to Anita specifically because library staff come with vastly diverse levels of IT confidence, and a simpler screen suits a team of mixed abilities.
Since going live, there has been no feedback at all, which means all is working as it should. As Anita puts it, staff will comment when something is wrong, and there have been no comments about problems.
" You would know if they weren't happy. "
What changed for the public?
Nothing. That was the point.
" For users, they wouldn't even know there's any difference. "
For a service running an active digital inclusion programme, that matters far more than it might sound. Southend has a team of digital officers who help people with genuinely basic tasks such as setting up an email address, using the NHS app and increasingly, Al tools, either on the public computers or on people's own phones and laptops.
Many of those users have very limited digital skills and are being pushed to do much more online whether they want to or not. Anita is blunt about the effect of change on them, altering something as small as how they log in and a wall goes up. The fact that they could continue exactly as before was, in her words, a plus for everybody.
And the support?
Southend has never had an issue getting a response from iTS and never waits long for a reply.
" That can't be said of all software companies. "