Carrie Willis

Carrie is starting her public library career after six years in higher education IT. She has a B.S. in written communications, gets her work/life balance playing roller derby, and still has her first library card.

New Patron info added to Patron Profiles in Analytics On Demand

Analytics On Demand Public Library

Curious whether households in your community would read a library mailing? Individuals with a history of mail-order buying are twice as likely to respond to a promotion as someone who has never purchased by mail. Now the Analytics on Demand Patron Profiles app contains more details around households who have purchased merchandise, magazines or services by mail or have responded with contributions to charitable and nonprofit appeals.

New Buyer Data
Fifteen categories were added to the existing multi-category buyer information. This additional Mail Order Responder (MOR)-Bank data including:

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Why Advocacy Matters for Public Libraries

Posted on May 31, 2016

By Rhonda Sewell 

Long gone is the notion of public libraries lingering in the shadows and doing little to advocate their value to their communities and promote their many offerings, programs, and activities. Advocacy and unapologetic promotion of our transformative systems is now a major priority. Such ideas hold a sacred place in our discussions surrounding public service, strategic goals, funding, construction, marketing, and digital implementation for libraries. Even the Twittersphere of endless hashtags has transitioned from reading sentiments to action items and rallying statements such as #LibrariesMatter, #LibrariesTransform, and #SaveOurLibraries.

Because doing more with less is a reality for public libraries, especially as competition for funding sources and customer demands increases, advocacy matters now more than ever.  “Advocacy, the process of acting on behalf of the public library to increase public funds and ensure that it has the resources needed to be up to date, is critical to the success of libraries,” states the Public Library Association (PLA)[i].

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Stand Up for Patrons Seeking Cancer Information

Posted on May 16, 2016

Each year, about 14 million people around the world learn they have cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. But with improved screening and treatment methods, many now survive the once-deadly diagnosis when they connect with information and health providers who can support their treatment.

Does your library have the resources cancer patients in your community and their family members need?

Treatments, therapies, care, and more

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The Biggest Large Print Myths Busted!

Thorndike Large Print Books Same Size!

Spoiler Alert: The large print format offers benefits for people under the age of 60 with perfectly good eyesight.

Have you ever been so good at something you’ve found yourself pigeonholed? Being typecast can feel like a mixed blessing—your claim to fame shines bright, creating the shadow in which your other great qualities hide. If large print books were people, they would feel this acutely.

No doubt, large print books are a well-known solution for visually impaired readers, and those readers are typically seniors. Unfortunately for large print, being so good at solving this one problem for this one audience has led to a narrow, and sometimes inaccurate view of the usefulness of the format overall.

We’d love to enlist the expert MythBusters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman to explore the issue in detail, but if you’ve ever seen the Discovery Channel show, you know their mythbusting process tends to involve blowing things up, and we’d hate to see our beloved books so abused.

So, without the pyrotechnics, here are the biggest large print myths: BUSTED!

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Baby, You Can Drive my Car

Posted on April 18, 2016

By Mary Kelly

One of my favorite databases to play with is Gale’s Chilton collection. Not because I am a car person. (To me a car is a giant purse on wheels.) Not because as a librarian it is the easiest way to do car repair reference (which is very true). The Chilton database is more like my own personal marriage saver. This is because I have been married to an auto engineer for more than thirty years and car vocabulary is constantly the lingua franca of our household. This arrangement is great since I really don’t have to worry about car stuff. However, I do have to listen to all sorts of talk about cars. I am also told (in great detail) about car maintenance issues and why it is important.

Chilton is my personal car vocabulary resource/translator for about 75% of our conversations. (Yeah, this database is bookmarked for me.) It helps me explain my car problems to the Engineer husband, followed by criticisms of my general lack of car knowledge and failure to follow regular maintenance schedules.  This discussion is usually punctuated by people shouting and swearing. (Note: The current version does not include any definitions for the accompanying swearing associated with car repairs. Perhaps Chilton’s can consider adding swear words as a “feature” in future releases, until that happens, you are on your own.)

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Plan Your Summer Vacation with New Travel Guides from InfoTrac Collections

Posted on April 1, 2006

By Sara Constantakis

Thinking about summer travel? Gale’s InfoTrac collections have a new set of resources to help you research and plan an unforgettable vacation. The award-winning, bestselling DK Eyewitness Travel Guides are now available in General OneFile to help you plan trips to more than 175 destinations around the world. These comprehensive guides are full of detailed information on every aspect of your trip. With sample itineraries, dining and lodging recommendations, and transportation information, all the legwork is done for you.

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Equip Students for National Poetry Month

 

Posted on March 22, 2016

By Candy Jones-Guerin

April 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of National Poetry Month.  Started in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world.  Each year schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers and poets take time in April to celebrate how poetry has shaped our world and cultures.

Let’s begin the celebration with some of these great Gale resources.

Encyclopedia of American Poetry, 2nd Edition
December 2016
Encyclopedia of American Poetry, Second Edition is an indispensable guide to American poetry with more than 1,100 entries, ranging in length from 500 to more than 3,500 words. Part of the Companion to Literature series, this updated and invaluable resource explores the various writers, works, themes, and movements of this intriguing literary genre.

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8 Ways To Give Local Businesses An Edge

Who Needs Business School? The Hidden Startup Resources at your Local Library

Posted on January 25, 2016

These robust assets allow libraries to replace multiple product subscriptions with one affordable resource your users will return to time and again for business information. Small business owners can compile a variety of reports—standard and custom—that will help them make informed decisions. DemographicsNow: Business and People helps boost your local economy by providing:

1.  Customer upload and data blending — Users can obtain Census block-group demographic data, maps, and more on their actual customers. Other eyeopening data is also available for B2B businesses.

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WorldMark Global Business and Economy Issues Wins Big!

Posted on January 19, 2015

ALA’s RUSA (Reference & User Services Association) awarded Worldmark Global Business and Economy Issues as a 2016 Outstanding Reference Source and the Dartmouth Medal Honorable Mention.

This title is available in print or eBook format, on GVRL— the research-optimized, mobile accessible platform.

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