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Even though I’ve used public libraries all my life, I didn’t realize how much they really offer until I worked at one in Evergreen, CO. Since I moved back to Minneapolis, I’ve gotten back into using four library systems — Minneapolis, St. Paul, Hennepin, and Ramsey County. (Don’t think I’m that ambitious — I live right in the corner of all of them.) After too many times of searching more than one of these catalogs in order to find something, I finally learned to search MnLink so that I could see what was in all four catalogs at once. It’s a real time-saver.
When a friend asked me about how she could help her 4th grade son improve his reading comprehension, I suggested using audiobooks so he could read and hear stories. However, when I did a search in Hennepin County’s catalog (their library), I couldn’t figure out a way to search for just audiobooks. For the first time, I used “Ask a Librarian.” I quickly got a friendly response which not only explained the way to search for audiobooks, but also a list of suggested books for reluctant readers. Above and beyond!
Also, in preparation for a Metronet training session, I looked through ALL of the databases MPL offers — egads — there are a lot. What a wealth of resources! I bookmarked some language-learning sites in particular. And I want to learn how to download audiobooks — I wish I had had that option back when I had a long commute!
