A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical or digital access materials, and may be a physical location or a virtual space, or both. A library's collection can include printed materials and other physical resources in many formats such as DVD, CD and cassette as well as access to information, music or other content held on bibliographic databases.
The reference desk or information desk of a library is a public service counter where professional librarians provide library users with direction to library materials, advice on library collections and services, and expertise on multiple kinds of information from multiple sources.
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants.
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members as of 2021.
The Seattle Public Library (SPL) is the public library system serving the city of Seattle, Washington. Efforts to start a Seattle library had commenced as early as 1868, with the system eventually being established by the city in 1890. The system currently comprises 27 branches, most of which are named after the neighborhoods in which they are located. The Seattle Public Library also includes Mobile Services and the Central Library, which was designed by Rem Koolhaas and opened in 2004. The Seattle Public Library also founded the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL), which it administered until July 2008.
Library collection development is the process of systematically building the collection of a particular library to meet the information needs of the library users in a timely and economical manner using information resources locally held as well as resources from other organizations.
The Santa Clara County Library District is a public library system headquartered in Campbell, California. The library serves the communities and cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga, and all unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County. Other cities in Santa Clara County run their own library systems. In addition to these libraries, the library provides mobile library service with a bookmobile which visits preschools, retirement communities, migrant farmworker camps, and rural communities without easy access to library services. In 2020 SCCLD also launched a new website featuring a 24/7 online library.
The New York State Library is a research library in Albany, New York, United States. It was established in 1818 to serve the state government of New York and is part of the New York State Education Department. The library is one of the largest in the world by number of items held, with over 20 million cataloged items in 2011.
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) refers to the agency in the state of Texas that assists the people of Texas to effectively use information, archival resources, public records and library materials to improve their lives, the lives of their families, and their communities. The agency is charged with overseeing statewide library programs, meeting the reading-related needs of Texans with disabilities, and preserving and providing access to significant Texas documents.
The State Library of North Carolina is an institution which serves North Carolina libraries, state government employees, genealogists, and the citizens of North Carolina. The library is the main depository for North Carolina state publications and serves the needs of North Carolina government agencies and state government employees by providing access to information resources that are vital to public decision-making and economic development.
The Fresno County Public Library provides books, ebooks, music, movies, magazines, newspapers, reference assistance, wireless Internet access and a variety of other services at its 35 locations throughout Fresno County, California. The library system is headquartered in Fresno, at the Central Library.
The Alameda County Library, in Alameda County, California, is a public library system that provides services from eleven branch libraries in the cities of Albany, Dublin, Fremont, Newark and Union City and the unincorporated communities of Castro Valley, Cherryland and San Lorenzo. According to 2005/2006 statistics, the total service area represents a population of about 522,000, and annual circulation is reported to be around 5.5 million. Its headquarters are located in Fremont.
The Western Massachusetts Regional Library System (WMRLS), was a collaborative that was supported by the state of Massachusetts, that provided leadership and services to foster cooperation, communication, and sharing among member libraries of all types. WMRLS assisted member libraries in promoting access to services. It ceased operations on June 30, 2010 as part of a statewide merger of regional library services into a single entity. WMRLS existed in a state of dormancy from 2010-2017. The WMRLS corporation was dissolved in 2017.
Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the political economy of information. Martin Schrettinger, a Bavarian librarian, coined the discipline within his work (1808–1828) Versuch eines vollständigen Lehrbuchs der Bibliothek-Wissenschaft oder Anleitung zur vollkommenen Geschäftsführung eines Bibliothekars. Rather than classifying information based on nature-oriented elements, as was previously done in his Bavarian library, Schrettinger organized books in alphabetical order. The first American school for library science was founded by Melvil Dewey at Columbia University in 1887.
Ruth Winifred Brown was an American librarian, best known for her dismissal from service for civil rights activities in the late 1940s. On July 25, 1950, she was dismissed after 30 years of service as the Bartlesville, Oklahoma public librarian. She was relieved of her duties in 1950 on the baseless accusation that she was a communist when, in fact, she was fired because of her desegregation activities. She was accused of providing "subversive" materials to the public and indoctrinating children against the principles of America. However, it was widely believed at the time that her dismissal was in response to her activities promoting the equality of African-Americans during a time when the leading citizens of the city were not ready to face equality for all.
University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UWSP) Albertson Center for Learning Resources is a public academic library located on the UWSP campus in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It services UWSP students, faculty, and citizens of the city.
Linden Public Library is a public library system that serves over 30 towns including Linden, Elizabeth, Clark, Roselle, Plainfield in Union County, New Jersey. The Linden Free Public Library maintains an organized system for collecting, storing, and circulating materials for library patrons so that they can be retrieved when needed. There are active Friends of the Library groups associated with two branches. There are approximately 13,091 registered resident borrowers, 1,269 non-resident borrowers, and 72,000 bibliographic records in the catalog. Annual circulation was 66,626 in 2009. The main library offers free wireless access to the Internet and Internet Terminals for public use.
The Pioneer Library System (PLS) is a public library system that serves residents in the central Oklahoma counties of Cleveland, Pottawatomie and McClain with administrative offices in Norman. Additionally, the system also allows those served by the Metropolitan Library System to check out materials via a reciprocal borrowing agreement, and also allows non-residents to borrow materials if they pay an annual fee. The twelve-branch system is governed by a board of trustees. Lisa Wells currently serves as executive director.
Dewey-free refers to library classification schemes developed as alternatives to Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). Dewey-free systems are often based on the BISAC subject headings developed by the Book Industry Study Group, and are typically implemented in libraries with smaller collections. Instead of using numerical notation to indicate a document's shelving location, Dewey-free systems organize documents alphabetically by natural language words. Dewey-free systems have been implemented in both public and school libraries.
Weeding is the systematic removal of resources from a library based on selected criteria. It is the opposite of selecting material, though the selection and de-selection of material often involve the same thought process. Weeding is a vital process for an active collection because it ensures the collection stays current, relevant, and in good condition. Weeding should be done on a continuous, ongoing basis. Educating the staff with workshops and presentations on collection quality, maintenance, and the importance and positive benefits of weeding the collection are important components for a library to consider.
