Accommodate Your Community Members’ Career Goals

goal-getter professional development resources for public libraries

Keisha is busy. In addition to being a mom, volunteering at the school, and working full time as a customer service representative, she’s looking for opportunities to advance her skills and move into a better job. A few co-workers have moved into management, but she’s been told she doesn’t have the background needed to be promoted. With school-aged kids and a 40-hour work week, Keisha’s schedule doesn’t accommodate traditional classes.

You’ve probably met Keisha – or a  goal-getter  just like her – in your library. To meet her needs, you can connect her with dozens of resources that can help her sharpen professional skills and pursue new opportunities for herself…and her family. All directly from your library website. Online learning programs, eBooks, and other resources are available 24/7 to answer questions and help members of your community expand their professional horizons (and earning opportunities).

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Book vs. Movie: Which Will Win?

Books as movies 2014

By Bethany Dotson

A lot of this summer’s expected blockbusters are also available in large print from Thorndike Press, including the one that’s predicted to be The. Next. Big. Thing. If you haven’t seen the new The Fault in Our Stars trailer, you have been missing out (and probably haven’t checked Facebook or Twitter in a few days). And if you don’t tear up even just a little bit at the trailer, you might not be human. Watch out for that.

Which brings me to the point of my post—not being human, of course, but all of the amazing (and potentially not so amazing) movies that are coming to theaters this year featuring the best of books from nonfiction (The Monuments Men) to the newest crazes in dystopian fantasy (Dark Places, Gone Girl) to two—count ‘em, two—Gillian Flynn classics.

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Summer Reading Now and Then

Kids Summer Reading Books and Authors

By Debra Kirby

With summer fast approaching and news related to educational standards, common core, and the increasing need for students to focus on reading skills to meet the demands of the 21st century, educators and parents will be looking for ways to keep student skill levels high over the long break. A summer reading list is one way to meet that goal. Helping spark a child’s interest in reading and keep them reading through the summer, and hopefully for life, often hinges on finding the right book – one that will draw them in and introduce them to the wider world waiting to be discovered.

With that background, being part of the editorial teams responsible for the Books and Authors and the What Do I Read Next? (print and ebook) series of products has been especially gratifying, but somewhat frustrating too. Editors who work on this series make ample use of these resources to create their own personalized reading lists. For example, last summer, I used the targeted search features of Books and Authors to find what I felt would be the perfect book to take on vacation to Mackinac Island. By searching on “Romantic Suspense,” “Island” and “New England,” I was able to find the perfect light summer reading.

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Why You Should Consider the Timing Belt When Buying a High-Mileage Vehicle

Chilton Library Summer Travel

By Christine Sheeky

If you have been shopping for a used car with high mileage, over 60,000 miles or so, there is a very important, often overlooked item to take into consideration. Maybe you have found a suitable car in your price range. One of the next steps to take is to research whether that vehicle has a timing chain or timing belt, because a timing belt repair is a significant expense.
What is a Timing Belt?

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A Publishing Executive’s Perspective on the Value of Older Titles

Relevancy in older book titles

By Frank Menchaca

Library collections are developed with a keen eye towards selection criteria like quality, currency, and relevancy. These are logical considerations for any budget, but especially in today’s landscape, where libraries of all types and sizes are being tasked to make an increasingly greater impact, often with fewer financial resources.

When consulting with our library partners, we discover that oftentimes, currency implies relevancy and older titles, though tried and true, are quickly dismissed.

In the spirit of the old adage, “make new friends, but keep the old,” we’ve asked Frank Menchaca to share his personal perspective on the value of offering a collection which includes these older, but not outdated, research eBooks. Frank is the Senior Vice President of Global Product Management for the Gale, National Geographic Learning, and Professional groups at Cengage Learning.

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Caregivers in your Community? Help has Arrived!

Caregiver resources and ebooks

Jennifer’s friends often say to her, “I don’t know how you do it.” Most days, Jennifer doesn’t know either. Her mother’s health has been declining, and Jennifer is caring for her by monitoring her health, communicating with doctors and insurance companies, and even providing basic nursing care. This week, she’s trying to find out how to evaluate nursing homes. She tried doing a Google search, but the results are confusing and, in some cases, contradictory.

Jennifer, and many caregivers in your community, are looking for dependable resources to guide them to answers to improve care for their loved ones.

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Remember and Discover Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou ebook

By Julia Furtaw 

This past Wednesday, May 28, we lost a warrior for equality, tolerance, and peace. Maya Angelou is best known as an author and poet, but her career was varied, and she was also an activist, actress, singer, dancer, playwright, director, and producer. With the publication of her best-selling autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first of six autobiographies charting her life from her childhood in the segregated South, her travels around the world, and her work in the civil rights movement, she made her mark as a strong voice in contemporary African American literature.

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Reader’s Advisory for Little Ones

Early Childhood Development Public Library

By Rachel G. Payne

Reader’s advisory for kids under five? Yes! Even though they may not be able to communicate what they want verbally, they know what they like! And while they droll on, chew, grab, throw, and scribble on library materials, we need to have books for the very young in our libraries. These books and the language they generate from a parent or caregiver actually builds a baby’s brain. And studies show the literacy foundations of early childhood set the stage for future learning.

So what do you do when sleep-deprived parents ask for books their little ones or a toddler says to you “Want dog book”? How do we match the right book for the right baby at the right time? Here a reader’s advisory guide and a mini child development course rolled into one. Remember, all kids develop at their own pace, so the ages listed below are average approximations.

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Promoting Testing & Education Reference Center this Spring

Testing and Education Resource Center College Prep

By Anne Nagrant

It’s May. High school seniors are wondering what they’re going to do after graduation, and parents are wondering how they’re going to pay for college. This is a great time to advertise that your library offers Testing & Education Reference Center (TERC)!*

TERC is an online resource containing “all the information and support materials needed to make informed, confident decisions to shape the rest of your life.” With career modules, school information, scholarship search, study material, citizenship resources, practice tests and courses, it can meet the needs of many different segments of your community.

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Testing & Education Reference Center (TERC)

Testing & Education Reference Center (TERC) is a valuable online tool used by library patrons of all ages for standardized test preparation, researching undergraduate and graduate programs, finding tuition assistance, and exploring careers. Additionally, community members can pursue new career paths with test prep assistance for career certification exams as well as gain advice on resumes, cover letters, interviewing, and networking.

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