In Brief
Challenge
Millbrook's catalogue spanned physical books, digital resources, local archives, and community records. Staff struggled to help patrons find relevant materials quickly across such a fragmented system.
Solution
Arty connected to Millbrook's catalogue and archive systems, indexed all content, and made it accessible through a plain-language chat interface for both staff and public visitors.
Approach
The agent was integrated with Millbrook's existing catalogue system and local archive databases. Staff and public terminals were connected within three weeks, with no disruption to daily operations.
Outcomes
40,000+
Items made searchable
3x
Increase in self-service enquiries
40,000+
Collections made searchable
Client
Marcus Webb
Head of digital services, Millbrook Public Library
"Our staff used to spend half their shift answering 'where do I find...' questions. Now Arty handles that instantly, and our team can focus on the community."
A library that never loses a thing
Millbrook had a rich but disorganised collection built over 60 years. Digital resources lived in one system, physical stock in another, and local history archives in a third.
Arty unified all three into a single searchable layer, automatically cross-referencing related items and surfacing context that staff hadn't previously been able to access.
Since launch, patron enquiries handled without staff intervention have tripled. The library has also used Arty to surface forgotten local history items, sparking a new community engagement programme.
Millbrook is now exploring using Arty to assist with interlibrary loan requests and event planning.
