In the fall of 2017, the library made three important changes.
- Reverted standard loan period to 3 weeks.
- Instituted a new checkout limit for Hoopla.
- Added new digital and physical resources.
New standard loan period
Beginning October 1, 2017, the Palo Alto City Library changed its standard lending period from 4 weeks to 3 weeks.
With the loan period shortened to levels in line with most other libraries in the region, the Library is expecting its community to enjoy greater access to its resources.
To find out the loan period for all types of library materials, please read the related FAQ: How long can I check out items?
- Why is the change being made?
This is a return to a previous standard loan period, which was changed prior to building the libraries as a way to keep books out longer to make more room on shelves. Moving back to a three-week loan period also reduces the wait times for new and high-demand materials since the library no longer has a budget mechanism to acquire additional copies to meet demand. This change also puts the Palo Alto City Library in line with nearly all other public libraries in Santa Clara County.
New Checkout Limit for Hoopla
Since August 1, 2017, the library has reduced the checkout limit for Hoopla from 10 items to 5 items per month per cardholder.
The change was necessary because of the high cost due to overwhelming demand on the service. In our current state of limited materials funding, we want to ensure patrons can utilize the Hoopla service while also maintaining and adding to other collections.
Collections
- New Virtual Collections
On September 1, 2017, Palo Alto City Library launched Kanopy, a new film streaming service. With a valid library card, customers may stream up to five films every month. Kanopy has over 30,000 feature films, documentaries, foreign-language films and training videos in its collection. It includes classics from the entire Criterion Collection, many PBS programs as well as titles from the Great Courses series. One unique feature Kanopy offers is “Group Showing Rights”. Community organizations and schools may use films for programming and teaching.
- New collections
Bilingual children’s books in English-Chinese, English-Russian, English-Vietnamese,
Books in the Tamil Language
Palo Alto Library now has fiction and nonfiction books in Tamil at the Mitchell Park Library. The library has been offering materials in many languages including Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Hindi that have been popular with our community. The library also has Bilingual children’s books in our collection.
Services
- New Virtual E-Learning Service
Brainfuse provides a variety of resources for students including one-on-one homework assistance, learning sessions for students to master state-aligned skills, a 24-hour writing lab and a test center with practice materials for the SAT, ACT, GED, and more. Tutoring is also available for Spanish speakers. Adult learners can benefit from Brainfuse learning tools by receiving assistance from trained adult education experts in skills building, US citizenship testing, and other career-related areas.
Live Tutors are available Monday to Sunday from 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM PST. Other services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- New Service -- Safe drug disposal program
Starting on November 1, 2017, community members can receive free mailing envelopes and instructions on how to safely mail unwanted medication for safe disposal. In partnership with the MED-Project, all five branches of the library will be participating sites for a regional medical mail back program. This program will help keep prescription medications out of community waterways and safe from accidental ingestion or misuse.
Programs
- New Program -- Collaborators for the Future: Libraries, Communities, and Information
Community members are invited to join us in a lively discussion on October 10, 7 pm: “Collaborators for the Future: Libraries, Communities, and Information.” This event at the Palo Alto Art Center Auditorium will feature Miguel Figueroa, of ALA’s Center for the Future of Libraries; Dan Russell, research scientist at Google; and Sandy Hirsh, Director and Professor of the School of Information at San José State University, talking about the future of libraries.
- New Series -- Celebrate Cultures
Community members are invited to celebrate Diwali, a Festival of Lights program on the 29th of October between 12PM-5PM at the Rinconada Library. Activities include storytelling, music and dance, Henna art and food trucks.