Tips & Tricks for ACLA Databases and Downloadables

Free Resume Builder!

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The other day a patron came to ask me to help him print a resume that he had just created. As soon as I saw it I knew that he wouldn’t be able to print it without paying for it. Of course, it wasn’t a one-time purchase either. He was disappointed. But this gave me the perfect opportunity to promote Resume Builder through Power Library!

If you haven’t used this resource you are missing out. It’s a very easy fill-in-the-blank form that will create a very basic, but professional looking resume as a PDF.

It does have its drawbacks though. It can’t be edited and it does say at the bottom that the resume has been Prepared by POWERLibrary.org.

But for the patron who is looking for a free, simple, no frills resume then Resume Builder from Power Library is the way to go.

Tracy – Monroeville Public Library

Continue ReadingFree Resume Builder!

Using Lists on the Catalog

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Have you ever had a patron ask for a book recommendation in a genre that you don’t read? Or maybe they’re looking for books on a specific topic? Find the answers you’re looking for by searching pre-made lists on our library’s catalog. 

To begin, you’ll want to navigate to the catalog’s home screen. From there, several lists appear for you to browse in a carousel.  

If you’re looking for something specific, look at the search bar at the top of the screen. You’ll want to change the searching filter from ‘Keyword’ to ‘List’ before typing in your search term. Some helpful lists to try are ‘wordless picture books,’ ‘mysteries,’ and ‘pop-up books.’ The catalog will bring up lists created by librarians and patrons. All the books in the lists are items found within Allegheny County.  Happy searching!

-Erin Weaver, Bridgeville Public Library

Continue ReadingUsing Lists on the Catalog

Book Recommendations and Read-Alikes

Have you found that you have read all of Brad Thor’s books but you want to read something similar?

Which side note – good job! That is some excellent reading you’ve done!

But back to the craving you need to sate – more Brad Thor-like books. Allegheny County Libraries and NoveList Plus can help! We can feed that need!

All you need to do is go to the County eLibrary and click the Go! button on NoveList Plus to get started. Once you put in your library barcode you will be able to search by author, Brad Thor (obviously), or even title, “Black Ice” (just an example I get it if you are more of a “Rising Tiger” fan) and then you can get read-alikes for either!

No judgement seriously some of us are just bigger Black Ice fans.

You can even just search using keywords to find a book on a topic if you wish… although why you aren’t searching for more Brad Thor read-alikes is a little confusing to me.

You can also browse genres if you want more thrillers and suspense books!

The moral of the story here is that the Allegheny County Libraries and NoveList Plus have your Brad Thor book needs covered but if you need more than just Brad Thor books we can also help there. If you run into any issues with library databases please reach out to you local librarians to help!

-Adrianne, Northland Public Library

Continue ReadingBook Recommendations and Read-Alikes

Libby update will help prevent language confusion!

Libby’s latest update introduces a prompt to users when they borrow, place a hold, or add a “Notify Me” tag to a title in a language different from the one they have set as their app preference.

The goal of this feature is to reduce instances of accidentally borrowing or requesting books in a language they aren’t familiar with. This is especially helpful when a title’s language may not be clear from the cover image (which is often!).

If the user selects “Yes, I Can Read It” from the prompt, Libby will complete the action they were taking. If the user doesn’t want the title in that language, Libby will try to find it in the language the user speaks based on app preferences and past language confirmation prompts.

Not only will this help users to avoid checking out or requesting items they can’t read, it will also hopefully prevent library selectors from having to wade through accidental requests in other languages, and be assured that any that do come through are deliberate!

Click here to learn more about available language options for Libby.

– Heather Auman, Western Allegheny Community Library

Continue ReadingLibby update will help prevent language confusion!