Reflection Assignment 1: Course Reflection

Taking this library course has increased and refreshed my appreciation for the many benefits of the public library system along with the campus library as well. Learning to access the library website and to do productive searches will be a major advantage at furthering my educational goals.

The course textbook has been very clear and precise in explaining the thesis selection process. Also, the textbook information on internet databases and electronic sources has been very helpful.

The discussion forum is a fairly new course participation forum for me, while helping to balance my grasp of course materials and ideas with instructor’s and classmates’ viewpoints.
This library course has been great exposing me to other database search engines such as NexusLexus.

I AH-ed when I realized that numerous search engines use different search formats for accurate and precise searches.

Long Beach Public Library- Main Library

LONG BEACH PUBLIC LIBRARY
Main Library

The Main Library of Long Beach California is located at 101 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach CA 90822. The Library telephone number is (562)570-7500. The Long beach Public Library web site is http://lbpl.org/.

The Main Library is located next to the Long Beach Civic Center which gives this library a feel of serving the community by being involved in the heart of the city’s rules and regulations center. The Long beach Public Library is a depository library for documents from the State of California and the Federal Government. The collection includes U.S Code, CFR, West Annotated CA Code, and Barclay’s Official CAS Code of Regulations. Many of these documents and topics can be borrowed. The Main library uses the Dewey Decimal Classification.

Parking for the Main Library is available in the Civic Center parking structure located on Broadway and Chestnut Ave. There is thirty minutes of free parking and the next ninety minutes are $1.25 when validated at the library Checkout. The Main Library is also conveniently located next to the Convention Center, the Long Beach Transit Mall, while the Blue Line Metro can be quickly taken across the street at First and Pacific. A mention of the newly constructed Pike entertainment center, Long Beach Convention center and Shoreline Villain’s eateries all accessible off Ocean Avenue are features which add to the location of the downtown Main Library.

Construction for this 135,000 square library was first started in 1973 and the new library opened in 1976. Long Beach started their very first Main Library on Jan 1, 1896 and all of it consisted of one room which was connected to the city council office. The second move of the main library in 1899 was next to the new offices of City Hall which were located next to Pacific Park. In 1909 a new main library was opened and constructed with a grant from the Carnegie Foundation. The park location was later rededicated as Lincoln Park with a 21 gun salute from the USS Saratoga as written on the Long Beach public Library website http://lbpl.org/. The main library which stands on Lincoln Park now replaced this library which served well as Long Beach’s Main Library for over sixty years. The City Hall and current Main Library were completed in 1976. The new library was a much needed replacement due to a fire in 1970 and the need to shelve and showcase its ever growing resources.

Reference Section in the Main Library has a lot of information for many different topics and subjects topics. They are subject categorized and the library also has an online data reference center. It is twenty four hours a day and seven days a week and available to all with a Long Beach Public Library card. They provide a wide arrange of websites and even have it that if you are having trouble you can email or instant message an online librarian to help on your search.
To accommodate its visitors, the library has many sitting area. One can choose to be seated in a secluded area or sit in the open as while reading at the large wood periodicals reading tables. This is one of the enjoyable things about this well lit library. They also have current listing County phone books that cover just about all of the United States. The checkout is easy and there are restrooms inside the library. The reference librarian and library staff are very knowledgeable and quick to assist.

Young Readers:
The Main Library has a large collection of reading material for children and youth. This library within a library has its own reference librarian, a colorful reading area, and the book selection is well organized and cataloged. Books can be ordered from other branches or put on hold. The age level of reading is highly classified which helps young readers advance from one level of reading to the next level with ease. Summer reading programs have included incentives such as a free In & Out Lunch Meal, for grade school readers that have completed the Main Library reading requirements.

Equipment/ Technology within the Main Library include:

• Computers with Internet access, Microsoft Office 2003, various databases, and the online catalog. The time allowed for computer use is sixty minutes per day with a current library card and is on a first come basis




• Wireless Internet Access for laptops is provided throughout the library, for free, with a valid library card.




• AskNow! Help from a librarian 24/7 is available by accessing the free online chat service. Email and telephone reference is also available.




• Printers, photocopiers and self serve typewriter: There are printers and photocopiers available to the public. The price of a black and white copy is $0.15 per page and color copies are $0.50 per page. The use of the typewriter is free of charge.
  

Programs of interest offered at the Main Library:

• The Family Learning Center: This is a homework assistance center for homework help for students in grade k-8. The intent is to help students with all aspects of home assignments, including computer help. The goal of the library homework help staff is to engage the parents of their children with benefiting for the library.
  




• Other Events: Free computer classes can be found on the Events Calendar. Events included are but not limited to: Story time for Toddlers, Brown Bag Book Club and the summer free movies showings.
  

The second level of the Main Library is assessed by a wide stairway or elevator to the 2 floor ground level which houses Long Beach’s History Collection, it can also be found on the on the Long Beach History Collection web page. Also on the lower level of the Main Library is the tasteful art reference center. Ms. Loraine Miller Collins made this handsome gift in memory of her late husband, Earl Burns Miller, and it opened in 1978, three years after the opening of the new Main library. The hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 1:00pm until 5:00pm.

Several special reference collections are housed in the Miller Room:


The Miller Fine Arts Collection: Emphasizing Oriental art which includes beautifully illustrated works on Chinese paintings, Japanese prints, Chinese and Japanese ceramics, Korean and Oriental rugs, sculpture and crafts. A wide variety of books included American and European artists and books on art history, architecture, and photography.

The Bertrand Smith Sr. Collection: The library was presented these pre 15Th century texts by Bertrand Smith Sr., founder of Acres of Books bookstore in Long Beach. Of note is a two-volume facsimile of the Gutenberg Bible, editions by 19Th century American authors and rare European texts.

The Marilyn Horne Archives: Well presented in the Miller Room is a collection of photographs, magazines, books, programs, recordings, interviews and personal letters chronicling the life and operatic career of former Long Beach resident Marilyn Horne.

Hello World!

This was my first blog creation and it was pretty easy and fun to do. I have read a few blogs over time but I never really considered making my own. After creating this one it has been a very great experience and I would definitely make another one after this class ends.