Project 2: My Reference Library

My library is a public facility within the city of Altadena, Ca. My patrons expect to have a wide variety of resources to select from. In my city the majority of people are middle aged, the average age being 33 years old. The majority of races within my city are Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic. However, there is a speckle of other races within the community as well. My patrons have to pay a lot to live in this community. They need a library that will help them find whatever they are looking for. The majority of patrons have at least a high school diploma, 84.7%, but 39% of the community have bachelor degrees and 17% have higher degrees. In my community, the majority of my patrons speak English and Spanish. There aren’t many industrialized buildings within the community everything is mostly people owned.

The Altadena Public Library is also within the city of Altadena as well. They offer a wide range of books just like my public library. One, of the interesting things that they offer is passport services, most libraries do not offer that type of service. They also have over 20 online databases to help their patrons. One of them is an auto handbook. There are two libraries associated with the Altadena Public Library- the Main Library and the other is the branch library, Bob Lucas Memorial Library and Literacy Center.

The Pasadena Public Library neighbors the Altadena Area. This library has an extensive range of library materials. Also, the Pasadena has 10 libraries within the system including the Central Library. One, of the more interesting things that they offer is disability services including Braille. This system also has a monthly newsletter that lists new events and occurring events within the month.

The reference collection within my library would be extensive. My patrons would want it to be more of an exhibit within a museum, but also accessible to the public. Most of the reference collection would be historical works within the Altadena Area. Then there would be encyclopedias of different subjects and general encyclopedias as well as statistical handbooks. Also, town minutes and town reports would be included as well.

The electronic resources would be larger than the Altadena Public Library. There would be also an electronic library for patrons. Some of the online databases would be InfroTrac, Facts on File, ProQuest, WorldBook, Express Learning, and etc. I would want this databases the most because within some of the broader databases are specific subject databases as well. These databases would be a big help with families and students working on research. Not only that but adults working on higher education projects. Some of the features that would be on the website would be a blog that would discuss the ongoing events and status of the library, so that, the library patrons can be include with happenings within the library. Another feature would be an online chat with the reference librarian.

I think that my reference collection would stand out to the public library within my city because it’s different and it will be more extensive. There will be more to choose from then at the regular public library.

Sources: http://www.city-data.com/city/Altadena-California.html, http://www.altadenatowncouncil.org/, http://www.altadenalibrary.org/, http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/library/