The World Series is set to begin Wednesday and the Great Bend Public Library is having a World Series of its own.

"We want to get you to be a library card-carrying member of our community," said Cara Negaard, head of the library’s reference department.

"We are going to have a good time during the baseball World Series competing with one another to score some ‘runs,’" she said. Beginning today, the library staff will divide into two teams and each team can score "runs" by giving out a new library card, adding a current e-mail address to an account or signing a card holder up for online access.

To kick things off, the staff will be serving free popcorn all day. "It will make you feel like you are at the ballpark," Negaard said.

There is a method to their Fall Classic madness. "We also want to do more communication through e-mail which is better for the environment, less expensive for us and faster service to you." And, she said, they want to get as many people signed up to access their account online as they can.

The library has been using a new catalog since August of 2008 with a host of on-line features. In the past week, the online features just got better. "Our library card holders can now put holds on materials from all 32 (soon to be 38) libraries that share the Pathfinder Central Library Catalog, not just Great Bend Public Library materials. This gives our community access to over 400,000 items," Negaard said.

How can you request these items? All one needs is a Great Bend Public Library card.

All card holders can be given a login and password so that they can access their account online. This allows patrons to see what they have checked out, renew materials themselves, offer purchase suggestions, and put holds on materials.

However, "if you do not already have a card, simply bring in proof of your current address and we will sign you up for a free card," she said.