Consortium of MnPALS Libraries
The Consortium of MnPALS Libraries is composed of all the libraries of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, as well as private college and university libraries, state government libraries, public libraries, school libraries, and special libraries.
MnPALS uses the Aleph system from Ex Libris which runs on servers at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Functions of the automated library system include the automation of activities such as circulation, acquisitions, cataloging, and interlibrary loan, in addition to providing a web search engine for materials owned by the libraries.
Consortium membership provides a forum for discussion of library issues and a central site to coordinate collaborative efforts. Libraries are able to learn from each other through user groups, task forces, training sessions, and other venues.
Some facts about the consortium:
- More than 6,300,000 bibliographic records are contained in the MnPALS database.
- The MnPALS database includes over 10 million items.
- The MnPALS system serves over 305,000 patrons.
- In 2009, there were over 3,100,000 successful WebOPAC searches; 2,100,000 successful GUI searches; 2,400,000 Z39.50 searches; and 15,000,000 total searches.