What Public LibrariesCan Do
For
Special Libraries
Presenting an Overview of Services
By Cathy Balshone
Reference DepartmentNewton Free Library
330 Homer StreetNewton Massachusetts 02459
Presented at Congregation Beth Israel701 Farmington Avenue West Hartford, CT 06119
New England Chapter of the Association of Jewish Libraries (NEAJL)June 19, 2009
How the Public Library Can Help the Special Library
Ask a question! Call or e-mail the Reference Department.
Find out what resources are available. In the library Remotely accessible In other collections
Fill out forms for document delivery. Place requests for library materials.
Use MassAnswers anytime of the day or night from a public library or regional website.
Public Librarians
Reference, Children’s, Audio-Visual, and Interlibrary Loan Departments Help track down an answer or referral Guide you to sources, find materials Offer readers advisory service Collect print and non-print materials for all ages Submit ILL requests; procure materials Consider purchase requests Help with electronic searches. Teach basic computer skills and classes on topics,
such as Genealogy; prepare handouts.
Readers Advisory Book reviews Reading lists and guides for Jewish book clubs
AJL Book Club Reading Lists http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/resources/bookclub_lists.htm
Jewish Book Council http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/page.php?189
Books in a variety of formats and languages Books for adults, children, English learners Borrow a book outside of the library, network Books For You!: Online personalized booklists
based on a questionnaire. Bookletters: Online monthly topical book newsletter
Foreign Languages
Dictionaries Books
Original language Translated into another language
Recorded Books: variety of formats Collections of Foreign Films Language Instruction ESL Program
How to Find a LibraryHow to Share Resources
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is organized into regions and networks.
Find a library by region, network, city or town, zip code.
Libraries joining the public systems include public, academic, school and special libraries.
Regional membership totals are 1765 libraries Public 370 Academic 124 School 1023 Special 248
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC)
MBLC www.mblc.state.ma.usRegional Membership
Eligibility Requirements 605 CMR 7.02
Massachusetts Regional Library Systems (MARLS)
6 Regions Boston (BRLS)
http://www.bpl.org/brls/about.html Metrowest (MMRLS) http://www.mmrls.org/ Northeast (NMRLS) http://www.nmrls.org/ Southeastern (SEMLS) http://www.semls.org/ Central (CMRLS) http://www.cmrls.org/ Western (WMRLS) http://www.wmrls.org/
About Massachusetts Library Regional/Network Memberships
Shared Online Catalog Document Delivery Interlibrary Loan Materials Transfer Database Access Cooperative Purchasing Programs Workshops; Training Technical Assistance
Resource Sharing with MassCat and the Virtual Catalog
Consider adding your records to MassCat Fees based upon holdings Shared cataloging system:
Match your holdings to records in the catalog Add new records from OCLC Use a web-based system and avoid
purchasing software Virtual Catalog transfers through the regions
MassCat
Online Library Catalogs for School and Special Libraries
MassCat for all regions except Boston Member school and special libraries Optional to participate State policies about loaning materials Fee to join MassCat based on holdings;
set-up fees; migration costs Will generate reports
The Virtual Catalog
Online Library Catalog for the Networks
Virtual Catalog http://www.mln.lib.ma.us/virtcat.htm
Holdings of the 9 networks Select and search one network Place reserves Pick items up at a member library
More Benefits
1. Collaborative database purchasing
2. Coop membership for discounts on library supplies and materials.
3. Numerous workshops and training sessions at your regional office or at your library.
4. Free equipment & training: barcodes, scanner, computer with link to the Internet.
The Networks
9 networks 1,700 libraries Searchable catalogs of more than 400
libraries Millions of full-text articles Hundreds of archives and manuscript
collections Digitized collections
Search for libraries in your network
Massachusetts Library Networks – Boston & West
Metro Boston Library Network (MBLN) http://catalog.mbln.org/#focus
Fenway Libraries Online (FLO)
http://flo.org/ Minuteman Library Network (MLN)
http://www.mln.lib.ma.us/ Central/Western Massachusetts Automated
Resources Sharing, Inc. (C/W MARS) http://www.cwmars.org/
Massachusetts Library Networks – North & South
North of Boston Library Exchange (NOBLE) http://www.noblenet.org/
Merrimack Valley Library Consortium (MVLC) http://www.mvlc.org/
Old Colony Library Network (OCLN) http://ocln.org/wp-public/
Sails Library Network (SAILS) http://www.sailsinc.org/
Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing (CLAMS) http://www.clamsnet.org/
Find an Article
Search periodicals databases for citations. E-mail to yourself when full text is available. Request document through Interlibrary Loan
Some articles may precede 1980 Gale databases or may not be in JSTOR.
Ask for an obituary from an old newspaper. Receive articles by fax, by e-mail, or pick up at
your region’s member library. Articles processed through the Boston Public
Library (BPL).
Delivery Services
Books, chapters of books or missing pages, magazines, microfilm, microfiche, recorded books on CD or tape, music scores, music CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes
Delivery to your library or a nearby regional library
Interlibrary loan (ILL) training and services, e.g. Wellesley Public Library for Minuteman.
Databases
See what databases are provided By your region By your network By your public library Through statewide database licensing
by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Massachusetts Statewide Database Licensing
Databases Coded by Funding
Try a Database Search Encyclopedia Judaica: Online subscription
database Jewishencyclopedia.com:
free website, based on edition published from 1901-1906
Try some searches: Where and what was the Pale of Settlement? What is the Zohar? Where can I read it? Which chronic genetic diseases afflict Jews?
Encyclopedia Judaica search; Change Databases & Cross-search selecting other databases
Readers AdvisoryDatabase Searches
Literary criticism Author biographies Try finding this one author known by given and
pen name with multiple spellings: Mendele Moykher Sforim = Sholem Yankev
Abramovitsh = Shalom Jacob Abramovitz = Shalom Jacob Abramowitz Encyclopedia Judaica – and how to Change
Databases Biography Resource Center Gale Literature Resource Center