December 7, 2005
The Colorado Alliance of Research, using mapping technology developed by Google, has developed a new map of all libraries participating in the Prospector union catalog. Prospector has over 20 institutions participating in the union catalog representing over 80 different library locations (many of the larger libraries have multiple branches).
The Prospector system allows users, in a single search, to search the holdings (e.g. books, DVDs, videos, CDs) of all participating libraries and to have material delivered to any branch of a library to which you have a library card. This delivery typically takes about 3 to 4 days at no cost to you. Prospector currently has over 20 million items.
The Prospector map will allow you to determine what libraries are closest to you for you to select a convenient pick-up library to which you have a library card. Also, if you cannot wait for the 3-4 day delivery, the map will help you to find the location of a library that owns what you want. If you choose to drive to a library be sure to call ahead to make sure that you are allowed to borrow from the library via the Colorado Library Card program. However, we encourage you to use the free Prospector library delivery program whenever possible.
The Prospector map allows you to get driving directions, has links to each library for hours, and has phone numbers if you need to call a specific library. The map is fully interactive and allows you to zoom in or out for more detail or context. By clicking on any library push-pin on the map, details about that library will appear in a special balloon.
Additional information about Prospector is available from:
George Machovec
Associate Director
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries
3801 E. Florida, Suite 515
Denver, CO 80210
http://www.coalliance.org (Alliance URL)
http://www.coalliance.org/prosp_map/members_map.html (Prospector map)
http://prospector.coalliance.org (Prospector URL)