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From the Desk of the Director...
These are times of great uncertainty and difficulty for many, and we've all had to find new ways to work, to live and to learn. At the Library we've been continuing to play our part by being available to advise and assist with information and media needs all the way through the lockdown period.
We're excited to be able to tell you that we'll soon be able to offer a Curbside Service from July 13th so that you can once again gain access to all the physical media the Library has to offer.
We're here to help, just like always. Please reach out to us by phone, email or via our new chat services if you need assistance with any of our services or for any information needs. |
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Curbside Service Available from July 13
Our big news is that curbside service will be available from July 13, allowing you to access physical materials from the library (as well as the range of instantly-available online services listed in this newsletter). Curbside service means staff can locate materials for you and deliver it to a collection point immediately outside the building.
You can view comprehensive instructions for the service in our video which gives the details featured in our detailed in our bilingual flyer.
Here's our video:
 (direct link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgnfQx2kNv4 )
Here's our flyer:
Larger version here. This flyer is in both English and Spanish.
So, to have library materials of your choice made available for collection:
1- From July 13th, you can place a hold either by calling (908) 757-1111 ext. 111 or through the library catalog with your library card and PIN.
2- Wait to hear from us that the item is ready for collection. We'll use the notification details you have already set up with us to inform you. This means you'll get an automated message either via phone, text, or email, according to your previously set preference.
3- Get in touch with us on the number above to arrange a timeslot to pick up.
4- Arrive at the time requested and, while waiting outside at a distance from the building (near the flagpole, or in your vehicle), call staff to let them know you've arrived.
5- Staff wearing appropriate protective gear for your safety as well as their own will deposit the requested items at the collection point. (Patrons and staff alike
must wear masks during the Curbside pickup procedure)
6- When staff have re-entered the building, come to collect your items and take them home.
This will allow staff to provide you with access to library materials in a safer way. If you have questions or need help, please do get in touch at (908) 757-1111 ext. 111, and we'll be very glad to assist you.
We're looking forward to seeing our patrons again (even at a distance!), so please feel free to give our new curbside service a shot.
Returning books is easy too - just use the blue bookdrop at the front of building to return your items. Note that items won't come off your card straight away. We'll need at least 72 hours to quarantine items before handling. Don't worry too much about the wait - we'll remain fine-free until at least August 31st. |
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Even though the Library's doors are closed during the COVID pandemic, we're still working to help you with information, entertainment, and opportunities.
Did you know?
Although our doors are closed, we're right here for you. You can get in touch via email, through our new live chat service or leave a phone message for us and we'll get right back to you.
We've always been there to help, and even now we're just a few clicks away.
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Getting Access with your Library Card
It's a fact that you'll need a library card for most of our subscription services. But how will you get one if the Library building is still unavailable to patrons?
Fortunately, we have a way to set you up with a temporary card that will work for our online resources for the duration of the COVID emergency that you can sign up for straight away, online. When we can all get back to normal, you can bring your card and ID to the Library to convert it into a regular card for taking out physical resources like books, too. If you need a card, head over to our online signup form and we will set you up with a library card ASAP!
If you
already have a library card, but you are having problems making it work because of a problem with the card, please get in touch with the library's circulation department on (908) 757-1111 ext. 111. Our Circulation staff are monitoring messages multiple times a day Mon-Fri and we'll get back in touch with you to straighten out any difficulties.
Above all we want you to have access, so if we can help, let us try to resolve any difficulties you may be experiencing. |
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Live Reference and Information Services
The Library's Information Desk is still being staffed remotely by librarians who are waiting to answer your emails, chats, and phone messages, live, 9-5 Monday through Friday. We're ready to help with information and contacts for anything that's affecting you through these times. And because life doesn't stop just because there's a global crisis, we're here to help with information assistance for on all the usual things too.
You can get in touch with us through our online chat service (via the "Questions" tab at the bottom of the page - see the explainer below), via email at ref@plfdpl.info or by leaving a phone message at (908) 757-1111 ext. 112.
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Live On-Line Job Search Assistance, Resume Review, and Computer classes coming to the Plainfield Public Library
The Plainfield Public Library is aware of not only the terrible human toll, but the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 quarantine on many Plainfield residents.
To help during this time of closures and uncertainties, the Plainfield Public Library has added a chat feature through our website, where you can speak to one of our live employment assistance coaches for help on your job search and resume review.
To access this service and for more information and hours of operations, c heck in here.
Enhancing our existing services, Plainfield Public Library we have been selected by the @AmericanLibraryAssociation and @pla.org to receive funding to empower Plainfield's job seekers with digital skills using #GrowWithGoogle. Stay in touch for further announcements about developments made possible through this.
The Library also offers free live on-line computer training workshops on topics such as the Microsoft Office Suite and Digital literacy. A schedule and sign-up information will be posted soon.
To access this service and for more information and hours of operations, Check in here.
These new services are funded in partnership with the City of Plainfield and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The Library already has a variety of self-directed, on-line services currently available to get your training started.
Your Library card gives you free access to a range of databases and learning platforms such as Rosetta Stone and Knowledge City. (Please see Learning Skills Online, below.)
For more information on any of the services listed above, please email literacy@plfdpl.info.
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Learning Skills Online
As a Plainfield Library card holder you have free acces to an array of online services that can help you learn new skills, brush up existing ones, and give you valuable tools to help you work and play alike.
There are too many to list here, but highlights include:
- Learn Business Skills, Computer Software, Safety, Compliance, and Finance with Knowledge City
- Revise for numerous standardized vocational tests, exams (and much more) with Learning Express
- Learn a new language by speaking it aloud with Rosetta Stone
- Get online tutoring, job search assistance, and veteran's benefits assistance withe BrainFuse suite of online services
- For a limited time, access Ancestry Online for free from home (normally only available at the Library)
There's so much to discover in the Library's Online Databases section, head out to: http://www.plainfieldlibrary.info/Research/Databases.html and have a good look around.
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Online resources for children
Above, we talked about online services available through Plainfield Public Library that can be helpful for adults who want to find ways to train and learn new skills at home.
But as you'd expect, the Library also subscribes to offer a whole range of free online services just for kids and young adults. For example, Brainfuse Help now offers a chance for students to communicate with live, online tutors from 2-11PM, 7 days a week, using an interactive, virtual whiteboard to chat, write, draw, copy/paste text or images and graph homework problems. Tutors are used to assisting with school course materials and can help students find their way through the topics they have been assigned to study from home.
Another
new addition is Bookflix- an online literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks from Weston Woods with related nonfiction eBooks from Scholastic to build a love of reading and learning.
But there's more - NoveList, Tumblebooks and AudioBook Cloud can offer great services for young readers, and our streaming services Kanopy and Hoopla (more on these below) have bundles of materials to keep youngsters entertained!
Check out the full range at http://www.plainfieldlibrary.info/Research/Databases.html under the "Children" tab. |
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Streaming and downloadable media: ebooks and audiobooks and comics and movies and tv shows and ...
We all need some entertainment from time to time to get away from it all, and especially now. The Library offers an expanded range of online books and audiobooks for free through Overdrive and the Libby app. If you haven't tried them before, they're a great way to get something new to read
without having to leave your home. Did you know that you can read our ebooks in a regular web browser like Chrome or Edge as well as a dedicated reader like a Kindle or a Nook? That means they're easy to read on any computer or on a smartphone too. (Don't forget you can get free Wifi in the Library parking lot.)
There are sections for adults, children and teens alike, with reading lists and suggested titles: there's even a special booklist to make finding a title from Plainfield High School's Summer Reading List easier.
Head to https://elibrarynj.overdrive.com/ for all the details. Their help pages are comprehensive, but if you need any help just get in touch with our Reference staff and we will steer you right.
Once again, there's more! You can also view lots of movies and tv shows (and a great range of documentary and independent films) through the Kanopy service, or a comprehensive range of TV shows, movies, books, audiobooks, and comics through Hoopla. Both Kanopy and Hoopla are accessible through the Library's online databases page.
We didn't even get started on the fun databases! Check out Skillshare and Creativebug for courses on thousands of crafty skills, maker projects, and more. It's a whole world of creative learning (and sometimes it's just fun to watch them without following along).
For the lowdown on all our databases, head over to the Online Databases page, while our Streaming page pulls together information on the Library's downloadable and streaming media. |
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The Local History, Genealogy & Special Collections Department is here!
There are so many local history and genealogy resources you can access from home, and not all of them require your Library card! Plus, you can still email the staff with your local history and genealogy questions. We are able to help find obituaries and newspaper articles, and provide direction to further your family history research.
Historical Photographs
Check out the Library’s archive of historical photographs. Click here, then select a specific collection to browse. You can search all of the collections by entering your search terms in the search field at the top of the screen.
ACTIVITY: look through your own family photos. Can you identify the people and places in them? Write the names, places, and date on the back of the photo using a soft pencil. This way, future family members will know who their ancestors were.
Genealogy
Want to start looking into your family history? You can now access
Ancestry.com Library Edition from home! For a limited time, with your Library card, you can search birth, marriage and death records, federal censuses, family trees, and much more!
ACTIVITY: Find your ancestors in the 1940 federal census.
House History
Curious about the history of your home? Click here for a guide to using our resources to discover who once lived in your house and what it looked like many years ago.
ACTIVITY: Use the Plainfield City Directories to see who lived at your address 25, 50, or even 100 years ago.
Oral History
Listen to the audio files from the Library’s past oral history projects, here. Since 2007, we have completed several projects:
StoryCorps Griot, Latinos in Conversation, Historias, and most recently
Plainfield Voices.
ACTIVITY: Learn about the different generations of your own family by interviewing parents or grandparents. Record the interview, if you can, using your smartphone or a recorder.
Memoir Writing & COVID-19 Archive
Because of the building closure, the Library’s Memoir Writing Club is not able to meet. How about writing your own memoir at home?
Do you live, work, or go to school in Plainfield? Help contribute to the Library's COVID-19 Archive by writing a memoir about your life during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine. What does social distancing look like for you and your family & friends? Are you working from home? Do you have kids to homeschool? Are you a student who is learning from home? Document this extraordinary time in history in your own words. If you email us your memoir, we will preserve it for future Plainfielders and historians in the Library’s archive. Feel free to include a photo or two. You don't have to be a member of the club! Send your memoir to us here.
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Online Programming
We've been able to convert some of our programs over to virtual versions so that you can still participate in some of the fun goings-on Plainfield Public Library organizes - just like usual!
Because we've had to shut our doors for now to stay safe, our programs are continuing online, mostly through our social media pages at:
https://www.facebook.com/PlainfieldPublicLibrary/ (Facebook)
@plainfieldlibrarynj. (Instagram)
@plainfieldpl (Twitter)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp5jOG_37I0jiBQ_Xy9z1Mw/videos YouTube
You can check in with our public calendar of events to find out what's going on and what's coming up - http://www.plainfieldlibrary.info/AboutUs/Calendar.html
Although we can't do the usual in-person programming for the annual Summer Reading Program (the theme this year is "Imagine Your Story", the children's library are still providing a range of entertainers and activities. and, for teens, an online Live Reading of Ibi Zobo's novel "Pride" (this is a book from the High School's Summer Reading List), will hit our YouTube channel at 1pm each weekday from Monday 20th July. (Please note that this is a Live Only stream - no recording can be kept).
Our online programs will continue on as we have to keep the Library shut, so we will be reaching out online from our cameras to your screens to share our resources and enthusiasm with you, our patrons. Looking forward to hearing from you in the comments! |
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Thanks for being our patrons. We're proud to be your Library and we hope we will be able to get back to welcoming you through our doors as soon as it's safe to do so. Meanwhile, we want you to know that we are still here waiting to assist you, and provide you with all the Library's resources the circumstances permit.
Reach out to us! Even though access to the building is still currently unavailable for patrons, we're right here for you. |
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Due to the ongoing Coronavirus situation Plainfield Public Library will be physically closed to the public until further notice. However, from July 13th a Curbside Collection Service is available, and many services are still available online or remotely: get in touch and see what we can do to serve you.
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