Services for Children
Online Databases | Catalog and Computer Instruction
Gaming in the Library | Internet in Children's Services | Wi-Fi
Sneezle Packs | Reader's Advisory Services | Volunteering
Foreign Language Instructional Section | Special Needs
Online Databases
Our library is a portal to reputable information 24/7 through online databases. Please visit our Online Research Center to view our databases. We would like to highlight the Grolier Database collection which contains 5 illustrated encyclopedia databases: Encyclopedia Americana, Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, The New Book of Popular Science, Lands and Peoples, America the Beautiful, and Amazing Animals of the World.
Catalog and Computer Instruction
A catalog is a database that organizes materials our library collects and tells us where these materials are located. Our online catalog, SWAN, also gives us the power to share items with other libraries in the Metropolitan Library System. We are happy to show patrons of any age how to find and locate materials using the catalog. We can show you, for instance, how to find books by a title, how to place your own holds, or how to do an advanced search. Please feel free to ask for help at any time, or call us to set up a 30-minute instructional appointment about using our catalog.
Instruction isn’t only limited to our catalog. It’s a wide world on the Internet and we are happy to give you a brief lesson on how to navigate it. Do you want to know how to IM, e-mail or use a word-processing program? Are you concerned about Internet security and need tips on how to help keep children safe? Please come to us with questions or set up a 30 minute instructional appointment for a personalized lesson.
Gaming in the Library
We currently have two computers available for CD-ROM game play in the Library. You may use gaming computers for $1 per hour and select a game at the main Youth Services desk. You may change your game one time during the hour. Time reservations are not accepted for the computers.
Internet in Children's Services
We offer two stations for Internet and Database research. Any patron using our stations must sign an Acceptable Use agreement and hold a valid Library card. A parent or guardian must sign a consent form for any child under the age of 14.
Children 11 years old and below may use this service with a supervising adult. Children 12 and above may use the Internet independently.
Computer use is limited to 30 minutes if there are others waiting,, printing is .10 cents per page.
The Library does not accept responsibility for the content, quality, validity or currency of any information found on the Internet.
Wi-fi
We are currently wireless throughout the entire Library.
Sneezle Packs
Cough, cough, sneezle! We know it can be a challenge to entertain a sick child, or even a healthy one when you’re sick. Let the Library help by putting together a personalized bag of materials for your child and have it ready to go at the main Circulation Desk. Just call us with your information and we will select books, audios, a DVD, and include a small craft and card for your child.
Reader’s Advisory Services
A favorite part of a Librarian’s job is putting good books in the hands of patrons.
Reader’s Advisory includes:
- Helping you find a book that you’ll like based on your personal criteria
- Listening to your tastes and offering multiple selections
- Responding to a school assignment with suggestions
- Working with a child’s reading level to find selections
- Looking up professional and reader reviews to learn more about a work
- Offering a personal perspective based upon our working knowledge of literature
- Helping a guest reader find selections that will engage children
- Finding materials on a selected topic that are age or reading level appropriate
- Helping a parent find material that answers their children’s questions or engages them in a thoughtful dialogue about world issues
We also read and review new literature, so ask us what’s hot in books for children! See our Book Lists page for bibliographies and lists of titles.
Foreign Language Instructional Section
The Youth Services Department contains a small foreign language instructional section located directly to the right of our fiction section. It contains standard instructional materials, audio-visual materials, dictionaries, and fiction books to read in the language. Our collection includes materials in Spanish, German, Italian, French and a few in Asian languages.
We have a fluent Spanish speaking staff member in our Department that can provide assistance with materials or using the Library.
Special Needs
We are happy to accommodate special needs that our patrons may have when visiting our Library or attending a program. Please feel free to discuss modifications that you need in attending a program. We will work to meet the special needs of your child in an inclusive program setting.
We will be happy to provide an interpreter for hearing impaired patrons attending a program. Please provide us with 5 days notice for an interpreter request.
Our Department has an extensive collection of materials designed to provide information on a variety of special needs. Our periodical collection contains additional resources such as Closing the Gap, Gifted Child Today and the Annals of Dyslexia. Through LSTA grant funding we developed a modern special needs collection to serve parents and teachers in our area. You may download a current copy of our Serving Special Needs bibliography for a comprehensive list of our resources.
Volunteering
We welcome the opportunity to direct volunteers in duties or programs that may benefit the community. This may include students who need to fulfill community service requirements from their school or church, parents, or anybody that would just like to help our Department. Please speak to the Head of Youth Services about current opportunities or openings. You may also wish to visit the Friends of the Library page for other volunteer opportunities.
