Patrons of libraries across Georgia using the Public Information Network for Electronic Services, or PINES, will not be able to search the catalog this weekend.

But by Monday, it will prove to be beneficial.

The PINES catalog is undergoing an upgrade for the 275 participating libraries in 140 counties. The system will go down at 6 p.m. today and will not be back up until early Monday morning.

For more than 3 million PINES library cardholders who have access to a shared catalog of almost 10 million items, this will make library use easier.

The Hall County Public Library System participates in PINES.

“It is a way of expanding access to materials,” said Adrian Mixson, director of the library system. “It is going to make it easier for people to look up books and locate what their own libraries have.”

He said the complete reboot of PINES may have a few minor bugs and shortage periods, but those will not have a large effect on the catalog.

The update is expected to make the look of the catalog clearer and to improve the efficiency of the system. Pages will load faster, and there are expected to be fewer display issues. Navigation between search pages and various databases will also improve.

Mixson said the upgrade will also make it simpler for patrons to put books on hold.

While the system is being updated, some, but not all, PINES libraries will close. Patrons will need to contact their local libraries for information on closings.