The Paulding County Carnegie Library system celebrates public libraries every day, but invites you to stop in to your favorite branch or the main historic Carnegie library in Paulding during National Library Week. The week of April 7th is set aside nationally to as a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and library workers and to promote library use and support.
Your Paulding County Library system provides public access to the Internet, computers and the latest technology (including mobile WiFi hotspots, 3-D printers, and more); helps Paulding County citizens find jobs and provides online educational courses (77 users watched 74 training courses on www.lynda.com from September 2018 through February 2019); offers literacy development resources and events and homework help for children; distributes “Diaper Chapters” to new parents reinforcing the importance of reading aloud to their baby; and serves as the hub for their community and a place for people to gather.
The library also collaborates with private groups as well as state and local government entities to help deliver local services, provides life-long learning opportunities and programming for all ages; and offers personalized, one-on-one support to find unbiased and well researched information as well as community resources.
“We are not your grandmother’s library anymore,” shares Susan Pieper, Librarian and Library Director, “but your grandmother still uses the library. Over the past 100 years we have seen a variety of new ways to deliver information to Paulding County residents.”
Currently the library provides not only books, magazines and newspapers; but also music, movies, books recorded on CD and Playaway, eBooks, eMagazines and more via the Ohio Digital Library (https://ohdbks.overdrive.com/), and e-materials via hoopla (https://www.hoopladigital.com/). There is a large amount of authoritative research data available via the library’s databases available via the Ohio Web Library (https://www.ohioweblibrary.org/sources/). All electronic databases are accessible on the library’s website at www.paudingcountylibrary.org.
“Citizens are exploring their past and by understanding what was done in the past, they can make decisions about how to move forward,” continues Pieper. “Our historic newspaper digital archive has resulted in thousands of searches that are both historic and relevant to the present-time.” Citizens are borrowing our e-materials at record levels with over 10,000 items borrowed in 2018.
There were over 15,500 registered library card holders in Paulding County in 2018. Of that number, over 4,500 were children. There were over 85,000 visits to our libraries and over 14,000 people attended 1,500 programs.
If it has been years since you stepped foot inside your public library, please visit any of your Paulding County libraries during National Library Week and explore the freedom of access to information our country enjoys. For more information about the library and services call 419-399-2032
