Public

Electronic Resources – Marketing on a Shoestring

Public Library Marketing on a Shoestring

By Sally Dewey

As the Electronic Resources Manager, an important part of my job is promoting the resources we buy.  I’ve actually had this job (under one title or another) since CD-ROM networks were around—back then we were just trying to alert the user in the building that we had something beyond books on the shelf. Then, in 1997, with web-based databases it was about the Library being the patron’s Information Home Page 24/7, or “Where it all Clicks.

Today, as public libraries are battling to stay relevant, we want to want to attract, snag, and entice patrons into discovering the wealth of resources we make available online.  Why would we want to do that?  To battle patron ignorance.

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Topic Finder: Helping Users Search to Research

Topic Finder Search

As of October 31, Term Clusters has evolved into Topic Finder in Gale Artemis: Literary Sources, Literature Criticism Online, Something About the Author Online, and Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online and all periodical resources such as:

• Academic OneFile
• Fine Arts & Music Collection
• Gardening, Landscape & Horticulture Collection
• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Life & Issues Collection
• General Business File ASAP
• General OneFile

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Libraries Add Economic Value to Local Communities

Largo Public Library

By Ken Detzner

The public library is a place of learning, a hub for educational resources, and a community center. Children discover new worlds as they’re read to, young adults learn new skills and librarians assist patrons needing educational or business support.

Not only have libraries historically proven to be beneficial to the areas they serve, a recent Return on Investment study conducted by the Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development, University of West Florida, provides the hard numbers demonstrating the economic value of public libraries. The overall Return on Investment that libraries offer, the business and educational support that is provided, and the essential services provided show that libraries are not only places of learning, but add economic value to their local communities.

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10 Ways Your Child With Special Needs Can Benefit From a Trip To The Library

children's nonfiction

By Karen Wang, via The Friendship Circle Special Needs Resources

Everyday, 4.2 million Americans visit a library.  Are you one of them?

Almost every town in America has a public library, but many families of children with special needs shy away from libraries, often for behavioral reasons. These are the families who could benefit the most from the library!

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Re-thinking Ready Reference with GVRL

nonfiction ebooks

By Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly

In the olden days before computers, ready reference collections were the soul of a library. Librarians helping patrons to answer questions or understand a topic always started in the reference section of the library. They were the most expensive materials and librarians were vigilant in guarding those precious items. I have been admonished by a librarian more than once for not handling these books carefully.

Ready reference collections have adapted to the new world of instant access, anywhere and anytime. Patrons still have questions and are trying to understand topics as always, but now they want it faster, more convenient, and always reliable. The reference need is still there, but now librarians have to think about access and delivery to patrons.

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Virginia Genealogists Need SWEM

By Joe Garonzik

The two-volume Virginia Historical Index (aka “Swem’s Index” or “Swem”), originally published in 1934, encompasses the contents of the following seven serial publications: “The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography” (VMHB),Vols. 1-38; the “William and Mary College Quarterly” ( aka the “William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine” W&MCQ), Series I, Vols. 1-27 and Series II, Vols. 1-10; “Tyler’s Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine” (TQ), Vols. 1-10; the “Virginia Historical Register and Literary Advertiser,” Vols. 1-6; the “Lower Norfolk County Virginia Antiquary,” Vols. 1-5; “Hening’s Statutes at Large,” Vols. 1-13; and the “Calendar of Virginia State Papers,” Vols. 1-11.

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Money Management How-To’s from Budgets to Estate Planning

Financial Planning help at the Public Library

Financial Resources Public LibraryAmy is nowhere near retirement age. But she’s determined to put together a solid plan that will allow her to retire early and travel.  She wants to learn more about investment options and learn some of the terminology, but she’s stymied. Should she put her money in the stock market, which seems a little volatile? Invest in real estate, which seems to be rebounding quickly?  Where to begin?

A recent study shows that only 40% of US adults keep a budget and track their spending. In fact, some 76% of American families say they live paycheck to paycheck, only have saved less than three months’ worth of expenses.1  The need for financial literacy and effective planning is enormous.

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Books in a New World

By Sandra C.  For my father, a man who came to this country battered by the Holocaust and hopeful that he could raise his children with the few resources he had, the public library was a true Godsend. He brought my sister and me here every Saturday, and it was among the musty shelves and … Read more

Libraries Saved Me

By Cathy B.  I am not sure if this is relevant to today’s issues, but in the 1950s and 1960s, during a tumultuous childhood and adolescence, three libraries and two librarians came to my rescue. The first was the Lowell Public Library in Lowell, Mass., where a favorite uncle was the adult librarian. He brought … Read more