Express Service and Fun with StackMap

Bangor Public Library introduced StackMap in late 2017 after completing a massive renovation and implementing RFID tags. Linda Oliver, the library’s head of reference, explains how StackMap makes library navigation and book check-out easier for all kinds of patrons. 

We were really excited the first few times people came in with their phones to show us StackMap. I think the best benefit is that it compliments all kinds of uses. For Maine, we’re urban. We have a population of 32,000, but we also serve a lot of smaller communities around us. We had a very small high school come in for a tour, and I showed them how to use a catalog and StackMap. Then the kids all signed up to get cards, and the teacher let them just go find things. We noticed that they used StackMap to make maps of locations, in addition to writing down the call numbers. A smaller number of them than I had expected actually came to the desk to ask how to find things because they thought StackMap was fun. Then they came over and used self-checkout with their cards.

-Linda Oliver, Head of Reference, Bangor Public Library