Help From Your Library – 24/7
Mary Sizemore
Library Director
“Oh, no! I just remembered I have a report due tomorrow and I haven’t even started on it! The library closed half an hour ago. What do I do?”
Does this sound familiar? These words are usually uttered by a panic-stricken student around 9:30 p.m. after you’ve just settled down to watch a little TV after a long day at work. Yes, the library may be closed, but there is no need to despair! The Hickory Public Library still can provide information long after we’ve closed our doors for the night, thanks to 24-hour access to a professional librarian with whom you can communicate in real-time chat and a vast array of reliable online resources. NCknows and NC LIVE make it all possible.
NCknows is a service that allows North Carolina citizens to get online, real-time help from librarians. By typing messages back and forth, you can communicate with a librarian, browse web pages together, and get answers to questions. If you are a student stuck with an algebra problem, or business person needing information for a presentation the next day, NCknows can help. NCknows coordinates with participating academic, public and special libraries in NC and other states to offer quality reference assistance around the clock. To use NCknows, all you need is a computer with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later and a 28K or faster Internet connection. You can access NCknows by clicking on their link on the library’s homepage (www.hickorygov.com/library) or by going directly to www.ncknows.org.
NC LIVE provides access through a link on our web site to full-text articles from magazines, encyclopedias, newspapers and other publications on topics ranging from organic gardening to the nesting habits of barn owls. Business resources, historical maps, e-books, consumer health, book reviews – all this and much more is available from the reliable sources contained in this huge databases funded by the State of North Carolina. Because North Carolina taxpayers support it, NC LIVE is password-protected and is available only to library cardholders in this state. If you have a library card and would like to have the current password, you can call either the Patrick Beaver Memorial Library or the Ridgeview Branch library, and we’ll be happy to provide you with that information.
A quick note about a helpful new resource for our many elementary students: There now is a link on the library’s homepage to Accelerated Reader and Reading Counts book lists for ten local elementary and middle schools. These lists can be sorted by title, author, reading level and points, and a direct link to our catalog will indicate if the book is owned by the Hickory Public Library and whether or not it is on the shelf. This is a real time-saver for parents and students -- and library staff! If you have a young reader required to read books from these lists, be sure to take a look at this great new resource.
For more information about these and other library services, call the Patrick Beaver Memorial Library at 304-0500, or the Ridgeview Branch Library at 345-6037.
