Project 1: Library Visit

My visit was located at the Placentia Library, located at 411 East Chapman Avenue, in the lovely city of Placentia. The building layout was contemporary with sliding entry doors, right next to the local Police Department. The parking lot was in the back, and was more than enough room.
The seating capacity was approximately for 75 to 100 adults and children. I might add, the landscaping was well manicured.

When I entered, the first desk I observed was the Circulation desk to show your library card, or to acquire a new one to check-out books, dvd's, or videos. Across the room was the Return desk, to drop off in the book slot, or give to the clerk. Everything from fiction to nonfiction books, audio books for adults, to board books/Playaway books for kids were available for check-out, with the exception of the reference materials. The Playaway books are something new that the library has only had for the last 2 years. It is an audio book that comes with it's own battery, with the book ready to play once you plug in the earphones(just like an MP3 player).

The three services that were readily available, with one surprising was 1) Passport services, 2) Reference service guides via the internet, and a whole catalog of reference books, and 3) Literacy tutoring to adults, or children upon request. I'd like to add number 4) The children's section, which was one of the most complete that I've seen at any library. They have summer reading programs from grades K thru 12, all on their own levels on designated days. The theme is: "Be Creative @ Your Library." I was introduced to children's librarian(Laurie), who was nice enough to give me materials, as well as show me around the entire section, I felt like a big kid again... ;).

They had computers all along the walls, where the older kids could study and do research, while on the other side were pc's for pre-schoolers and tiny tots to play eduational board games. They also receive prizes for participating in the programs, with gifts donated from the community, and private sector. There was also a wide array of dvd's, cd's with music and books on cd's. The librarian let me know that there was a printer available if needed, exclusively in the kid's section.

The classification system is the Dewey Decimal, and it is a Public Library, with hours from 9am to 6pm Monday - Friday. Saturday 9am - 5pm, and Sunday from 1pm - 5pm.
Their reference section had it's own librarian by the name of Nadia Dalstream. She was very helpful in explaining that this section had special encyclopedias on all subject matters from science to history, very well coded and organized. Most of their books are not replaced due to a low budget, while others must be replaced due to yearly changes, such as books on Building Codes, which Nadia said, are in high demand and must stay current.

The most popular online resources are the Ancestry(genealogy), to look up, and create family trees, and the General Reference Center, from the Gale Cengage Learning Company. It's noted for it's newspapers, magazines, and journals. What I like most about this library is that it is close to where I live, the amiable librarians and workers, and the various programs for kids and adults. The only thing I didn't like was that they didn't have enough employees to go around for all the people that were there. As the librarian tried to take me on the tour, we kept getting interrupted, but we finally made it.

Lastly, the website for the library is: www.placentialibrary.org/ and the phone number is (714)528-1906.