Your Library Connection
 

Library Services You Can Count on 24/7

We know that there are frequently times when community members would like to come to the library when it isn’t open because the open hours don’t accommodate everyone’s schedule.  Online services don’t eliminate that need, but they do help for those who have access to the Internet.   Following is an overview of the services that you can use online 24/7.  Please feel free to call or stop in at the library if you have questions about any of these services.

The library’s website is www.indylibrary.org, and you can find out if that bestseller you’ve been wanting to read is available or checked out and place a hold on it, you can reserve a computer for Tuesday after work, download an audiobook to listen to on your iPod, find out what reviews are out there for dishwashers since you need a replacement, check out upcoming library events, find us on Facebook, etc.  You can find links to do all this on the library’s homepage. 

To find out if we have that bestseller you’ve been itching to get your hands on or books covering your latest school assignment,  go to the library’s website www.indylibrary.org and click on Destiny Web Catalog (upper right corner).   Then click on Independence Public Library and this will take you to the library’s catalog, where you can search to see if we have the latest Sue Grafton book  (in addition to author searches you can do title, subject, and keyword searches) and whether it is currently available.  If you find out that everybody else seems to want the same book that you want, you can log in under your name (set up an account first if you haven’t already done so) and place it on hold.  When your name comes up next on the list of holds for that item, the library will call you to tell you it’s ready.  Another nice feature is the option to renew your items online.

You are planning to come to the library at 4:00 on a school day and really need a computer.  After school is the busiest time of the day for the library computers, so it would be best to reserve one.  You can easily do so on the library’s website.  Click on reserve a library computer (right side below Destiny Web Catalog), follow the prompts, and you can feel comfortable knowing that you will be able to use a computer at the time you need it (just don’t be late, the reservation is automatically deleted by the system if you aren’t on the computer 5 minutes after your reservation time).

Do you commute or find yourself wishing you had something to help you occupy your mind while exercising or cleaning?  NEIBORS (North East Iowa Bridge to Online Resource Sharing) is a program that allows you to download an audiobook to your computer and, if you’d like to listen to it on an iPod or mp3 player rather than from your computer, you can transfer it to your portable player (you do need to be careful about which format you choose…make sure that it is compatible with your player).  Some of the books can even be burned to CDs for listening.

If you need some current information from magazines or newspapers, try out EBSCOhost on the library’s website.  This is great for accessing product reviews in Consumer Reports, locating that article you saw a while back in Popular Mechanics, or even finding academic/professional information.  You do need a password to get into EBSCOhost…the username is Independence and the password is library (it is not case sensitive).   

I can’t talk about our website without mentioning that library programs and events are available there as well.  Scroll to the bottom of the home page www.indylibrary.org and click on Calendar of Events.  This will give you an outline of what is going on during the month at your library.  You might also want to check out Web and Reference Resources for links to authoritative websites and Community Resources to for an easy link to the city, school, chamber of commerce, county information, Heartland Acres, etc.

These are some of the highlights of our 24/7 online services.  I hope you have discovered at least one new thing you would like to try!  If you need assistance with any of these services, please call us at 334-2470, e-mail at indylib@indytel.com, or stop in and talk to us in person!   

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