The Peachtree City Library will be offering free training on its new integrated Georgia Library PINES system next week.

Classes will be in the library's new Educational Learning Lab on the first floor of the building Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and again Thursday, Feb. 3, at 7 and 8 p.m.

The sessions will be conducted by technology/training manager Jill Kuhns and last approximately 45 minutes.

PINES, a web-based system, is available to patrons in the library as well as from home provided they have Internet access (http://pines.public.lib.ga.us). The training sessions will cover the use of the on-line public access catalog, also known at WebCat.

“These classes will show patrons how to search for materials using WebCat,” said Kuhns. “Many of our patrons do not have PCs at home and are not used to the Windows operating system; therefore, they are having trouble locating materials.”

On the flip side, Kuhns also noted that some patrons have found the new system to be much more user-friendly. Students have responded especially favorably when asked about PINES.

“Many told me that they never learned how to operate our old catalog, which used function keys to conduct searches,” Kuhns said. “Today's kids were practically born using computers and they can point and click in their sleep.”

Once everyone is properly trained on the new system, Kuhns feels that patrons will appreciate the greater search capability of WebCat.

WebCat features a “keyword search” which allows a person to search for materials using just a few words from the author, title, or subject in any particular order.

WebCat searches entire records for these “keywords” and will thus retrieve more hits.

Space is limited for the PINES training sessions. Reservations can be made by calling Kuhns or Richard Mathews Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 770-631-2520.

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