What’s new at your public library?
IN THE CITY
by Lisa Shaw
Happy New Year! Much excitement surrounds the renovation and construction at the library. We also have some exciting new and ongoing services which we think will also greatly interest our patrons.
Thanks to the generosity of individual donors and grant funding from the Maine Community Foundation, the early newspapers of Presque Isle from 1857 through 1935 are now available online to anyone with Internet access. These newspapers were digitally scanned from microfilm and have been meticulously cleaned up to make them both searchable and more readable. You can access these newspapers online by typing the following into the address bar of your favorite web browser: turner.advantage-preservation.com.
We are also adding a new ebook access service in 2014. We have seen a great amount of satisfaction with ebook patrons with Overdrive through the statewide Maine InfoNet Download Library. The one drawback noted to this service was that the collection of books featured was shared by library patrons all over the state, and our patrons were asking for ebooks that were available just for local patrons. Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 provided just such a service, and we were pleased to make that available for our patrons for the past couple years. We have noted, however, that our patrons were much more comfortable with the look and feel of Overdrive. Now, we are pleased to offer Overdrive Advantage to our patrons. Overdrive Advantage allows libraries which are already part of the Maine InfoNet download library system to have an additional collection of books available just for local patrons. This way, patrons can access ebooks for their devices that are available both statewide and just to our library and will only need to go to one place to do it. We are very eager to see how this service is received by our patrons.
Meanwhile, Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 will be adjusting access and PIN recovery to better meet the needs of our patrons. Watch for plans in 2014 for a special day at the library to bring in your ereaders and tablets to see how to access our many ebook offerings. We are very excited about the digital collections and want to ensure that you can access them all.
The library also continues to offer passport application acceptance services. The fee rates for this service are set by the U.S. Department of State and are the same wherever this service is offered. As of this writing, there has been no increase to the fee rate. A passport book, required for international air travel, costs $110 for applicants age 16 and older, and costs $80 for applicants age 15 and under. A passport card, required for international travel by land or sea (in a “closed loop” cruise if by sea) costs $30 for applicants age 16 and older and $15 for applicants age 15 and under. The book and card are each valid for 10 years for applicants age 16 and older and valid for five years for applicants age 15 and under. There is also a $25 application fee per applicant.
Periodically the library is visited by a representative from Consular Services to review the passport application process with the certified acceptance agents on staff. The library has fared very well at each visit, and we always learn something new when Consular Services comes. Fraud, identity theft, drug-smuggling, slavery, and kidnapping are all issues which the Department of State’s Consular Services confront daily. Events such as the recent government shutdown delay processing of applications. Our representative from Consular Services has shown us which questions to ask to help facilitate the processing of your application in the face of these many challenges.
Thank you all so much for your continued patronage at the library, and for your patience with the completion of our renovations. We look forward to finding new ways to grant you access to information in 2014.
Lisa Shaw is reference librarian at the Turner Memorial Library in Presque Isle. She can be reached at 764-2571 or via e-mail at lisashaw@presqueisle.lib.me.us.
