Libraries to Offer Modem Access to User : Crisis: The book repositories may be among the hardest hit institutions but computer services could soften county bankruptcy’s blow, officials say.

Although libraries could be among the services hardest hit by the Orange County bankruptcy, officials said Thursday that an expansion of library computer services could soften the blow, giving residents access to some materials from home computers.

The Patron Access Catalogue, which is already in place at county libraries, could be accessible by personal computers at homes and businesses as early as July, County Librarian John M. Adams said.

Adams said the system will be expanded in the next three weeks to give users access to an on-line encyclopedia and several specialized databases.

Currently, the catalogue is open only to computers at the 28 county libraries.

The expansion comes as the library system is bracing for financial cutbacks by the Board of Supervisors, which is struggling to come to grips with a $1.7-billion loss in the county investment pool.

The supervisors tentatively approved a plan Tuesday to close six county libraries, cutting more than $3 million from the library system’s $23-million budget. The plan still must be reviewed by the Orange County Department of Education and the Orange County League of Cities.

Adams said that while the computer system improvements will dramatically increase patrons’ access to information, the new services will not reduce the need for library staffs, nor provide any easy cuts for county libraries.

“The need for personal contact and assistance in the world of information is not going to diminish simply because we’ve changed from a card catalogue to a computer,” Adams said.

He said the system improvements are not related to the bankruptcy. “It’s a huge irony that (the system) is coming into fruition during this financial crisis.”

County supervisors approved the $2.34-million cost of the computer system in 1991, Adams said.

Some library users will gain even more independence this July when the computer system, including the databases and the periodical index, opens to modem owners, Adams said.

He said a phone number will be provided by the county, allowing “a very significant percentage of Orange County homes and businesses” to access the system from their personal computers for 50 cents-per-minute.

“This gets us started and poises us to deliver information to our customers in the most convenient way possible,” Adams said. “It allows us to move beyond the printed page.”

The computer system improvements will give library users a much easier way to track down books, articles and other information without relying on staffers, saving everybody time, said one librarian.

“It really allows the patron to become very independent in his or her search,” said the librarian, asking to remain anonymous because of the pending budget cuts.

County residents will not need a library card to access the system, but only cardholders will be able to put holds on books and arrange for inter-library transfers through the computer system, Adams said.

The system went on-line for patrons four months ago, he said, automating several basic library functions. The system allows users to check information ranging from which library branches have certain books to how much the user owes in fines.

Three weeks ago, the system began offering a magazine and newspaper indexing service, giving patrons access to articles published during the past five years from more than 700 different publications, Adams said.

County libraries have had a computer system in place since 1983 to keep track of books, Adams said. This year is the first time such a system has been open to patrons at home, he said.