Online Kids' Pines Catalog!

When we lived in the north Georgia mountains, our sweet little Fannin County Library often had to order books through the Pines system to get them in for me. Most of the libraries in the Appalachians had to lean on that system. Needless to say, I became a huge fan. So when David Baker, Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships for the Georgia Public Library Service asked me to help spread the word about the new ONLINE KIDS' PINES CATALOGUE, of course I said YES!

The catalog will be used at more than 275 participating public libraries around the state.

PINES — short for Public Information Network for Electronic Services — is the library lending network that offers Georgia citizens a shared catalog of 10.6 million items, accessible with a single library card that is welcomed in all member libraries. Now boasting nearly 3 million registered cardholders, PINES is a national leader in library cooperation and resource sharing.

The Kids’ PINES Catalog has a streamlined, more colorful and child-friendly design than the main PINES online catalog. Only those 350,000-plus books, DVDs, CDs and other items that have been cataloged in PINES as children's materials will show up in search results.

The main page features preset search buttons for popular and season-specific subjects, such as dinosaurs, princesses, award-winning books and Valentine's Day. It also offers a link to a Dewey Decimal System chart showing the locations of some of the most popular nonfiction areas — such as mythology, science fair projects, pets and magic tricks — that are of interest to children. From the basic search on the catalog’s main screen, children and parents can narrow search results to a specific library and/or to three specific age groups: preschool, primary or tween.

The Kids’ PINES Catalog features GPLS-commissioned illustrations by noted Georgia children's book illustrator Michael P. White, best known for his work on the popular “Library Dragon” books. The dedicated catalog’s Web address is www.gapines.org/kpac.

This is part of a massive recent upgrade and users may notice new accessibility via smartphones and mobile devices, as well as the ability to browse the catalog by author, subject and genre headings.

So all you Georgia readers - you are lucky, lucky, lucky!!!!!!!