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Tutor.com at Your Library: A Simple Way to Support Patrons’ Success

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If you’ve ever encountered a student in need of homework assistance or an adult expressing interest in returning to school, you’re likely aware of how frequently patrons could benefit from a bit of extra support. This is where Tutor.com steps in.

As a member of public library staff, you don’t need to be a platform expert to make a significant impact. A quick and friendly recommendation can effectively connect someone with the assistance they require.

What is Tutor.com?

Tutor.com is a complimentary online tutoring service that many public libraries provide to patrons with a library card. It links users with real, live tutors who can assist with a variety of subjects, including math, writing, science, and test preparation.

The Best Part?

  • It’s accessible from home or in the library.
  • Patrons can typically log in whenever they need help.

## How to Bring It Up in Conversation

You don’t need a formal pitch—just keep it casual and conversational. Here are some simple ways to introduce it:

  • “If you ever need homework help, we actually have free online tutors available through the library.”
  • “We offer a service that allows you to chat live with a tutor—it’s quite helpful for writing assignments.”
  • “Students frequently use Tutor.com for last-minute homework inquiries.”

Think of it as planting a seed. Even if they don’t utilize it immediately, they’ll remember it’s available.

What Patrons Can Do with It

Tutor.com offers more than just homework assistance. Here are some notable features to mention:

  • Live tutoring: Interact with a real person to solve problems together.
  • Writing help: Upload a paper and receive feedback.
  • Test prep: Practice for exams such as the SAT, ACT, or GED.
  • **Quick questions:** Submit a question and receive an answer later.

Sometimes, individuals may not realize the library offers this type of assistance—so your suggestion can come as a delightful surprise.

A Quick Reminder

You don’t need to know every detail about Tutor.com. Simply being aware of its existence and feeling comfortable mentioning it can make a difference.

Ultimately, it’s one more way we support our community in learning, growing, and achieving their goals—and that’s the essence of public libraries.

Gabi – Robinson

Continue ReadingTutor.com at Your Library: A Simple Way to Support Patrons’ Success

Organizing Your TBR with Bibliocommons

With big changes to Hoopla coming in the next few weeks, you might get questions similar to what we experienced when we changed lending limits in 2024 – namely, patrons wondering how exactly they’re supposed to keep track of the hundreds of book titles they’ve vaguely mentally filed away, promising themselves they’ll get to them one day. Now that Hoopla might not be so instantaneous, it might be a good time to remind them of a core feature in their Bibliocommons account to help people bookmark their planned checkouts: the For Later shelf.

Patrons can search any item in the catalog and, with a click of a button, add it to the shelf. The biggest benefit here, in the face of these Hoopla changes, is that all of the availability info is right next to this button, so it promotes physical library use if they’re unable to get this item through Hoopla.

Once books are added to your shelf, you can view your shelf and easily move items around once you’ve read them.

From this Manage Item menu, you can mark that books are completed or in progress, or remove it entirely from your shelves. You can also add tags to your books, which is what makes For Later your best option on Bibliocommons – you can create a “Hoopla wishlist” tag, so you can easily filter out everything else and just view the items you’re hoping to get on Hoopla in the near future.

Of course, Hoopla has its own bookmarking feature – you can add items to your favorites and view them through your profile. I don’t think this feature is utilized to its fullest potential: you can filter by audiobook or ebook, but otherwise you have to just scroll through all the items to find what you’re looking for, which is not ideal.

Hopefully it’s smooth sailing as we implement these changes, but it’s always helpful to remind patrons about existing features they can benefit from.

-Jaime, Penn Hills Library

Continue ReadingOrganizing Your TBR with Bibliocommons

Tutor.com is hosting an AI Literacy webinar for Staff and Patrons

Click to Register

Can’t attend live? Register and you’ll receive the final recorded webinar via email. 

The world of artificial intelligence is touching every aspect of life, and none more than academia. In this webinar, we will explore how AI can be used effectively by students. We will answer questions like:   

• What is AI and how does it work? 
• When is it appropriate to look to AI for help with academics? 
• What kind of prompts will help me get what I really need from AI? 
• How do I vet what I get from AI so I know it’s accurate? 
• How do I use AI and still learn what I need to in school? 
• Where can I get more help with using AI in conjunction with academics? 

Come learn more about how to reconcile AI with education.

This session is led by Tutor.com’s Training and Development Team. We’ll be holding a Q&A session after the presentation, so stick around at the end.

Continue ReadingTutor.com is hosting an AI Literacy webinar for Staff and Patrons

Upcoming Hoopla Change

As we prepare for the Hoopla Daily Spending Cap which starts on May 1, here are two resources for staff to review and have handy.

2026 Hoopla FAQs.docx​

​2026 Hoopla Talking Points.docx​

Next week libraries will receive information (blog posts for websites and a social media tool kit) to inform patrons. 

After the Daily Spending Cap has been in place, we will be reaching out to gather feedback on how the Spending Cap is impacting the patron experience. Please consider gathering the feedback as you’re hearing it so that you can share it with us.

Thank you for your continued support as we work through the ever changing and evolving world of eResources! Please reach out to Hilary Lewis with questions.

Continue ReadingUpcoming Hoopla Change