Support local small businesses…and watch them grow!

Public libraries support food truck businesses

By Kim Martin

Resources for the Small Business OwnerJorge, a skilled cook and heir to his parents’ restaurant business, has been watching the fast rise of the food truck business. The time and circumstances seem right for him to expand his business by putting a truck on the road. But he wonders…has the trend already peaked? Is this the right idea to pursue?

Jorge and other small business owners in your community are looking for information that can help them understand market conditions, develop business plans, and make informed decisions to succeed. You can provide them with easy-to-use electronic resources that give them instant access to the same resources that Fortune 500 and other successful businesses use.

Be part of your community’s economic growth by providing entrepreneurs the support, information, and planning tools they need to thrive—including online courses, electronic database resources, and eBooks:

Read moreSupport local small businesses…and watch them grow!

Partner Interview: Elsevier

Through December 31st, Gale is offering exclusive discounts on Elsevier titles on GVRL. Contact your Gale Sales Representative to take advantage of these great offers:

– Receive 30% off 25-50 titles with promo code 30FELS14.

– Receive 35% off 50-69 titles with promo code 35FELS14.

– Receive 42% off 70 or more titles with promo code 42FELS14.

In this post, Cory Polonetsky, Marketing Director with Elsevier Science and Technology Books, provides some background about Elsevier, their publishing strategy, and why Elsevier titles on GVRL are valuable to your library.

Read morePartner Interview: Elsevier

Shifting Perception: Valued for what we do

Edmonton Public Library, 2014 Library of the Year

By Tina Thomas

Libraries have been at a crossroads of existence since I joined the Edmonton Public Library (EPL) five years ago – likely well before that and probably for many more years to come. In his article[1] outlining that “being essential” is not enough to sustain libraries, Rick Anderson highlights that an important thing libraries must do is provide value and a return on investment.

We know that if you ask 1000 people if they believe libraries are important the vast majority will say yes. But we also know that those same people may not know what the modern library does or even use the library themselves.

The challenge is libraries are often valued as an institution or idea, not for the services they provide. And, to Rick’s point, if the lofty idea of “essential” is all libraries have, we likely will be challenged to find support for the work we do in a sea of essential services.

Read moreShifting Perception: Valued for what we do

Creative Marketing + Customer Care = The Perfect Match for Any Library

By Dale Prentiss

Cathy Jones, a relatively new Instructional Services Librarian at Florida Southern College’s Roux Library, has been creative and ambitious in reaching out to faculty and promoting Gale digital resources on the college’s website—and we’d like to take a moment to celebrate that with the hopes that her experiences can also help you!

Read moreCreative Marketing + Customer Care = The Perfect Match for Any Library

Shifting Perception: Libraries = Education

Frederick Road Howard County Library System

By Valerie J. Gross 

There’s a powerful movement afoot and it’s gaining momentum.

Hailed by Library Journal as “a 21st-century library model, with a position, doctrine, purpose, and curriculum worthy of study and consideration by every other library in America, if not the world,” this effective strategy takes libraries back to their original purpose.

At the turn of the 20th century, libraries were established as educational institutions to deliver equal opportunity in education for everyone. Somehow, a century later, we find ourselves with a diluted purpose—so much so that fully one third of Americans do not know what we do.

Read moreShifting Perception: Libraries = Education

In Other News: Domestic Violence

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.

By Michelle Eickmeyer

Isolating. Shaming. Controlling. Blaming. Intimidating. Threatening. Pulling. Pushing. Slapping. Choking. Hitting. Kicking. Raping. Killing. It’s all bad.

Read moreIn Other News: Domestic Violence

Shifting Perception: Why Essentialness is Not the Problem

Chattanooga Public Library

By Corinne Hill

The fact that the topic of “the essentialness of libraries” is trending right now reveals a completely different issue that has nothing to do with the library being essential.

What this trending topic and ensuing discussions reveal about our profession is that we’re totally insecure. We are frantic in our zeal to be everything to everyone, and we’re so busy and distracted with the gathering of evidence to defend our existence that we forget who we are.

Read moreShifting Perception: Why Essentialness is Not the Problem