Services You Might Not Know About

Pipestone County Star  - 05-08-14

Sure, the library offers books, movies, cake pans, CDs, and computers for public use, but there are other things we provide you may not know about.  With most of these services, we are included along with the other 30+ public and school libraries in the Plum Creek Regional Library System (PCLS) which is only one of the benefits of working together.  Without PCLS, we wouldn’t have access to not only the books inside of the system, but to the books in every library in the state of Minnesota.  But I said this was more than books, didn’t I?  Here’s some other great services offered by your local library and the regional system.

Most of you are already aware that we offer electronic books for checkout on your mobile devices and home computers.  In the past, the checkout limit through overdrive was 2 books at a time with a maximum usage of 6 books checked out and returned per week.  Because our collection has gotten much larger this year, the limit has been raised to 4 checkouts at a time with a maximum of 20 books returned in a 7 day period.  If you read more than 20 books a week, you might have to slow down a little (but I am REALLY impressed!).  If you have any questions on how to access overdrive on your mobile device, please let us know and we’d be happy to help.

In addition to the changes in checkout limits, Plum Creek Library System has purchased the rights of a maximum access collection of 661 Disney picture and chapter books.  Maximum access means that many users can check out the same book at the same time, which means no more waiting on a holds list for the books in this collection.  This means those of you with smaller children that like to read on digital devices can check out more books and have a much better selection.

Within the next few months, the Plum Creek Library System will go live with a service called Zinio, which allows patron access to digital magazines.  Digital magazines may be enjoyed on hand held devices like phones and tablets (but not dedicated E-readers like Kindle and Nook) and on home computers.  You just need a library card.  The beauty of the service is that there is no limit on who can check out a magazine and once you check it out, you always have access to it – it doesn’t disappear.  Many magazines have digital content that goes well beyond the print version and the graphics are amazing, not to mention imbedded video.  It will be a great addition to the library services.  Stay tuned for more information!

Plum Creek Library System, along with assistance from SAMMIE (our multi-type organization for this region of the state), has decided to purchase a software license for Cypress Resume, an excellent on-line resume building tool.  When it goes live, possibly even this month, patrons will be able to use their library cards to log into the service and build resumes from home or from a computer in the library.  The software is fantastic, easy to use, and builds great looking resumes – a good service for our patrons who are job hunting.

We realize that the library was more centrally located before the building of the new school in 2003.  Because of this, Pipestone Area Friends of the Library (with the help of a generous donation) purchases transit tokens for our patrons.  These tokens are available to our patrons who come to the library on the Pipestone County Transit bus at the rate of two tokens per person per week.  We can only give them to you if you take the bus out to the library, not if you come by vehicle.  Ask at the front desk for help with this service or if you have any other questions.

We are currently working on a grant that would bring more technology to the library and allow us to offer training on digital devices, so keep your fingers crossed on that.

While we try to stay on top of what we think the community might need from their library, there may be things we’ve missed.  If you have any suggestions that you think the library can help you with, please let us know.  Have a great day!

Upcoming Events: PAFL will be having their annual meeting on May 17^th at 2:00 and will be hosting David Rambow, who is working with the Pipestone County Historical Society on a World War I project to catalogue all the veterans who enlisted in World War I in Pipestone County.  Another not-to-miss event for anyone interested in history and Pipestone County veterans in particular

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call for the date of their next meeting.

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.