“Who in your community collects information on scholarships offered by local clubs, service organizations, and other mostly nonprofits?”  Barb Chase poses this question in her article Giving Out Money at the Library: Help Students Find Scholarships in the November/December 2010 issue of American Libraries.

Providing information about local scholarship offers is a very easy way to help students in your community.  While working at the reference desk, spend a few moments searching local newspapers and  newsletters between reference questions.  Don’t bother gathering information on scholarships offered by high schools and national scholarships, as these are easily found by students.

Once you have a few scholarships, you can simply clip and paste the information into a notebook for patron reference.  Or better yet, list the scholarship information on your library’s website.

What would you do if you received a call from a patron threatening suicide?  Maybe, this has never happened to you or anyone at your library, but there are a few very simple things to keep in mind if the situation presents itself.Continue reading→

In the October 2010 American Libraries, Barbara T. Mates presented some ways for libraries to help disabled persons gain access to information via assistive technologies.  In her article, “Assistive Technologies”, Mates wrote “Approximately half of this country’s disabled workforce is unemployed, and higher education for many disabled individuals is still just a dream.”  In part, the reason for this is that assistive technologies to accommodate disabled individuals are expensive.

What if disabled people had access to assistive technologies such as screen readers and accessible work stations at their local public library?Continue reading→