I learned recently that the Boston Public Library is in a consortium with several other libraries in Massachusetts, including:
- CLAMS, the library network on Cape Cod
- CW MARS, the library network in Central and Western Massachusetts
- the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium
- the Minuteman Library Network (my home system!)
- the North of Boston Library Exchange
- the Old Colony Library Network
- the SAILS Library Network, in Southeastern Massachusetts
What this practically means is that if you have a card from any of these library networks, you can sign in to all of these library networks in Libby (and thus borrow digital materials from them) using that single card. This is pretty cool on its own!
It gets weird when you realize Libby will also let you associate multiple cards with a single library system. For example, I have cards at the BPL and in the Minuteman network, and I can associate both with each system. This practically doubles my loan and hold limit at each. This is pretty cool on its own!
Libraries in the Commonwealth have a tendency to open card registration to all residents of the Commonwealthor at least residents who live in a town with a library that receives state aid, whether or not those residents live in the towns and cities that the library actually serves. This is probably to simplify compliance with their obligations under 605 CMR 4, which requires that libraries "extend privileges to the holders of cards issued by other public libraries in the Commonwealth" — simply opening card registration to all residents probably satisfies this requirement by itself. This is pretty cool on its own!
All eight libraries listed above open card registration in this manner:
- Boston Public Library library card FAQ
- CLAMS eCard registration Statement of Responsibility
- CW MARS eCard eligibility
- Lawrence Public Library (Merrimack Valley) eCard information
- Minuteman Library Network eCard registration eligibility
- NOBLE library card requirements
- Old Colony Library Network eCard registration Statement of Responsibility
- SAILS Library Network eCard registration eligibility
Registering all 8 cards to all 8 libraries in Libby (for a total of 64 cards) would give you a combined loan limit of 496. There is no reason to do this. Don't do it. Just use one card (from your home system). Everyone will be happier this way.
Another great reason to not do this — if you use Libby to borrow books that you then read on your Kobo ereader through OverDrive, you will not be able to register more than one card per library with your OverDrive account. (But you can register multiple libraries — I used this guide and it worked great!)