HSLC will convene a two-day Spring POWER Library Users Conference for Access PA/POWER Library participantsin April 2016 that will include training for POWER Library E-resources and Access PA SHAREit as well as an opportunity to learn about other POWER Library services such as PA Photos and Documents, Chat with a Librarian, the POWER Library Portal, and more.
Locally, one of the conferences will take place in Cranberry Township.
Auto Repair Reference Center was recently removed from POWER Library, much to the disappointment of many library staff and patrons. There are tons of sites out there that will gladly sell you the manual you need, but there’s really no one great free resource for this kind of information. While the Digital Resources Committee looks into alternative access options, I decided to poke around the magical internet and see what, if any, temporary relief was available.
“What do you mean it’s not in POWER Library anymore???”
Chevrolet, Chrysler, and Ford owners have it best, as these manufacturers provide owners’ manuals for free as .PDF files on their respective websites.
Ford’s website, with its clean layout and clear organization, is easiest to search. It’s also got the widest range of manuals, covering cars from 1996-2016.
Chrysler’s free manuals extend back to 2004 only, but is the easiest to use of the three: pick your year and vehicle, then download the file; there’s also a free child safety manual available, with detailed instructions for installing car seats.
Chevrolet’s manual collection is the least extensive, with the oldest manuals available from 2008. However, certain makes and models come with not only the manual, but helpful repair videos as well. As a bonus, pictures of each vehicle appear above each download link, making this useful for people who are more visually oriented and/or don’t know what kind of car they have, but would recognize it on sight.
The next best bet, if you don’t own the cars named above, is, oddly enough, Pep Boys’ Do It Yourself Guides, which reproduces sections from the Haynes manuals (a trusted name in DIY auto, for those of you who walk, bike, or take the bus like me). These guides are not make or model specific, and are designed to provide “first aid” for any failures, funny noises, or other freakouts your car might be having. The writing style and level of detail assume you’re comfortable enough fiddling around under the hood, but are written clearly and simply so that even beginners will find them easy to follow. Many of these guides gently suggest visiting Pep Boys if you still can’t figure out what’s wrong, but that’s a small price to pay for credible information.
Though these aren’t long-term solutions, they at least give you something to offer your patrons rather than sending them away completely empty-handed. Have your users been asking about Auto Repair Reference Center? What kinds of car repair questions do you tend to get at your library? Can you recommend any other online resources I might have missed?
What have been the most popular book displays in your library lately? The Downloadable Resources Committee is working on creating topical lists in OverDrive and would love to consider your ideas and suggestions as we plan more Featured Lists for the general, Teen and Children’s sites.
Current Featured Lists include a list of fiction and nonfiction titles on the Children’s site in honor of Black History Month.
There are several lists on the Teen site. Two feature read-alikes for popular titles, one promotes award winners, and one highlights the growing number of teen books that have become films.
Here’s what we’re wondering: Are these Featured Collections something that you use yourselves? Do you point patrons to them or get feedback that indicates they’ve found and used them on their own? What topics and titles would you like to see highlighted?
I’ve always felt that one of the greatest things about working in the library world is the generosity and creativity of our colleagues. So I’m looking forward to seeing what ideas are offered in the comments. Or feel free to contact me directly and I’ll pass your suggestions along.
To kick off the New Year, Zinio has announced major enhancements to its mobile apps. Effective now, patrons may check out magazines from within the mobile app and set preferences to auto-download magazines and queue multiple magazines for batch downloading.
iOS iPhone and iPad App Enhancements
• Direct links to your local library to check out new magazines
• Download preferences for automatically downloading checkouts or queuing up multiple magazines for batch downloading
• Enhancements to storage management, including display of file size on devices
• Bug fixes for sorting
Android App Enhancements
• Direct links to your local library to check out new magazines
• Offline reading on Kindle
• Bug fixes for Kindle’s help section
Other Highlights
INSTANT READING ON DESKTOP AND MOBILE DEVICES
All patrons may read their checked-out magazines immediately in the online Zinio Reader for desktop and mobile devices.
OFFLINE READING ON MOBILE APPS
Available for iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire: Log in to the app using the same email and password used to check out magazines. After downloading, magazines may be read offline.
CHECK OUT NEW AND BACK ISSUES
Remind patrons that back issues of their favorite magazines are also available.
NEW-CONTENT REMINDERS
Patrons may opt-in to magazine-specific email reminders for when new issues become available.
HANDY HELP REFERENCES
Updated FAQs, user documentation, and how-to videos are part of the Help link, along with technical support links. Complimentary patron and staff phone support is also available Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (ET) at 1-877-772-8346.
MARKETING IDEAS
Promote inside the library and within the community with ready-to-use marketing pieces and overview videos from the dedicated marketing site: www.rbdigitalmarketing.com/zinio.
