College students and Friends of the College Library (FOCL) can now use an enhanced online catalogue system at the Bermuda College Library.

The FOCL, a registered charity, donated $10,000 to the college library's online book catalogue to allow it to be accessed from the Web.

Since July 1, library users have been able search the catalogue to see whether a book is in the library, renew books online, check what books they have checked out and monitor book due dates through a protected password.

"Our web-enabled catalogue should be really popular with students and local academics who typically tend to do their research late at night when the library is closed. If a member wants to reserve a book they need to burrow, they can do that from the comfort of their own home with the click of a button," head librarian Daurene Aubrey said.

Future advances to the system will allow users to access other library catalogues through the library's website. The FOCL announced the accessibility of the online catalogue at a proclamation reading in celebration of its tenth anniversary on the College Library steps yesterday.

Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance Eugene Cox congratulated the FOCL for fulfilling an important role in supporting the Bermuda College Library and wished them future success.