Lopez Island

Lou Pray

Library Director

A great online resource you can use from home or office.

Does your child have a school report due? With their Lopez Library card and their computer, they can have a world of reliable, vetted reference sources at their fingertips. Just visit our revised web page at http://www.lopezlibrary.org and click on the “Databases” link at the top of the page. Subjects from Business to Science can be searched with most providing full-text articles they can read on the screen and cite like print references. A great homework time-saver! Virtual library visits can be just as educational as in-person ones.

Adults can use these database tools as well. You can take practice exams for civil service jobs, firefighter exams and many other trades online, plus GED prep & U.S. citizenship with Learn-a-Test from the Learning Express Library. A great new feature for job-seekers is now available in Learn-a-Test under “Job Search & Workplace Skills.”

This free online service offers a wide variety of resources that will prepare you for career success, from the initial job search to interviewing to resume creation and how to write a winning cover letter.

Our library staff can demonstrate how to use these tools over the phone or in person. Check all this out and more from the new “Databases” link on our web page.

Also included under Databases on our website, is the full online version of Consumer Reports with reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory. It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides, provides updates on product availability, and adds new products to previously published test results. In addition, the online data includes coverage that is not published in the magazine; for example, vehicle reliability (frequency of repair) tables online extend over the full 10 model years.

Thanks to all those library patrons who tested it out during our trial.

Your input counted!

Summer Reading Program Begins June 17. “Get creative @ the library” is the theme of this year’s summer reading program, says Rosie Sumner. “Every time you read a book, write the title and author on your book log. Ask for a fun sticker to put on your log.”

Kids who read and keep track of at least 10 books get a goodie bag full of fun treats, plus “Book Bucks”, donated by the Friends of the Lopez

Island Library, that can be redeemed at Islehaven Bookstore. Young ones can take part even if the books are being read to them or by listening to audio books.

San Juan Island

Laura Tretter

Library Director

Public library use is higher than ever across the nation. Use is up when you look at patron visits, circulation, computer access, and attendance of programming and classes. Of particular note is a significant increase in use of public computers and Internet access. From a recent news release from our State Library, in the past year alone the time public Internet computers are in use has increased by 9.74% and number of public Internet computer users has increased by 13.77%. Here on San Juan we are seeing this same rise; our computers are an incredibly popular resource.

This month to help better manage this use, we installed computer reservation software. If you have visited other libraries while traveling, you have probably used a similar software system as these software systems are becoming the norm. Lopez actually beat us to the punch and has been using this same system for some time now.

The goal of using this new software is to allow everyone equal access to our shared computing resources and to help make clear our policies and procedures for computer use. This system does not track individuals Internet usage nor would the Library condone such monitoring. Our privacy policy extends to our computing resources and we maintain the belief in our patron’s right to the freedom of information. People who do not have library cards can still use our computers with a guest pass, but as always we encourage local residents to get their own library card so they can take full advantage of all the resources the library has to offer. Be sure to come in the library to check it out and let us know what you think.