A new electronic library management system in Warwickshire's libraries, including Shipston library, has been given the thumbs-up by staff and customers.

The new system was installed last October and replaced the Geac PLUS system that had been used by Warwickshire's libraries for 20 years.

Implementing the Vubis Smart system was an 18-month project that included training nearly 400 staff while continuing to provide a full service to library customers.

It fully integrates the day to day library work, allowing staff to issue, return and reserve items, check stock availability, make electronic orders from book suppliers and to move stock quickly and easily around the county's libraries. It also gives library users the facility to renew and reserve items online.

Warwickshire County Council's head of libraries, learning and culture, Edwina Cordwell, said: "Online services are playing a greater and greater role in our everyday lives so we envisage providing virtual library resources and enabling more to be done over the web, such as payments. Libraries play a major role in each and every community and Vubis Smart will allow us to expand that role."

Muriel Walton of Stratford Library said: "It is a very user-friendly system giving staff access to a much wider variety of information, enabling us to give a better service to customers. For example, we can now transfer requested items from one library to where they are needed much more quickly."