Blog Entries

Personalized Book Match Service to Help the Community with Reading Recommendations

We are helping book lovers answer the age old question of “what to read next” with their new, personalized service called Book Match.  To use the free service, patrons simply answer a few quick questions on an online form on the library system’s website about preferred reading formats, a description of recently enjoyed books, genres/books you do not want to read, and more.  Library staff will receive an email and begin an in-depth search to compile a list of suggested reads within a few days and send the patron a personalized email curated with a list of books and descriptions.&nb...

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Civil/Legal Resources On-line

Sometimes we need the advice of a lawyer, but their services can be expensive. Sometimes our problems come from a lack of funds which makes hiring a lawyer that much more problematic. Fortunately, there are reliable legal resources online, that can provide us with forms, information and help us determine if we need a lawyer or not. This blog will introduce you to some of these online resources.

The Library subscribes to Gale Legal Forms which gives you access to the information on this website. To utilize Gale Legal Forms, you must enter from the library’s webpages.

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Middle Grade Book Spotlight: 2019-2020 VRC Titles!!

Our middle grade book spotlight this week is on books that have been nominated for the 2019-2020 Virginia Readers’ Choice Award!  This award takes place every year for readers of all ages--the goal is to read at least 4 of the 10 nominated titles and then vote for your favorite; the title with the most votes is named the winner.  Votes for this year are due by September 30th!  More information about this program can be found at: https://www.vsra.org/virginia-readers-choice-program

The titles featured in this week’s book talk are a handful of titles from both the Mid...

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Career Resources and Job Search Assistance Online and at Upcoming Virtual Job Fair

We are excited to announce the availability of online job search tools and career resources available in the Digital Library and on our career help page.

These resources are available now and to attendees of the Regional Virtual Job Fair on August 19th.  The library system is one of the many supporting partners of the virtual job fair at www.valleyvirtualjobfairs.com that is free to attend.

“We support the needs of the community in all situations with access to library services,” says John Huddy, Director of Handley Regional Library System.  “COVID-19 has imp...

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Check out the Library of Congress Website!

The Library of Congress (LoC) was established in 1880 to support the research needs of the United States Congress. Over time, its mission and reach broadened, allowing it to serve as the nation’s library. As you can imagine this is quite an undertaking, making the LoC the largest library in the world! Early in this century the LoC began to digitize collections and put them online. Recently, I attended a webinar that provided a tour of features on the LoC website. You can view this webinar by following this link. It is about 45 minutes with 15 minutes of Q&A. A few of the standouts from ...

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Remembering and Honoring John Lewis

John Lewis was an amazing man; one of the key participants in the Civil Rights movement.

We mourn his death and look to his life for inspiration. If you would like to learn more about his life and accomplishments, the Handley Regional Library System has his graphic novels, the March trilogy, available at Handley and Bowman Libraries. There is also a signed set in the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives. He reached a new generation through these graphic novels.

There is a children’s book, Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement by An...

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The Stewart Bell Jr. Archives & Research Appointments

The Reading Room of the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives is reopen to researchers. For the safety of staff and researchers, and to protect our collections, we have had to make some changes to our procedures. Researchers will now need to make appointments to do research in the Archives. Currently, researchers are limited to a one hour research appointment per day. Research appointment times are as follows:  

Monday to Thursday: 10:15 AM to 11:15 AM, 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM, 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM, 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM, 3:45 PM to 4:45 PM, 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Friday: 10:15 AM to 11:15...

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Hoopla, Music For Any Taste

Did you know that there are vast amounts of great music available to you through our Hoopla digital service? And even better, it’s all for free with a library card? When you download music, you get to listen to a whole album for seven days before it gets “returned”. Listed below are just some of the most popular albums in a few of the many categories. What is your favorite category of music to listen to? Do you always listen to the same music, or different music for different occasions?

What’s Popular Right now in Your Favorite Genre?

Pop Blog Type: Homepage Adults

Job Searches Using Reference USA (Part I)

 

The library subscribes to many useful services and databases so you do not have to. But, we still have to learn what these services are for and how to use them. One of these very useful services is called Reference USA, which provides a database of U.S. and Canadian businesses. This database not only provides lists of new businesses and historical business but job postings as well. Below is screenshot of the “Dashboard” page that you will be directed to when you click on the link for Reference USA.

If you click on U.S. Jobs/Internships then you are taken t...

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Bored? 10 Library Things to Do From Home: Quarantine Edition

Are you stuck at home during Covid-19? The Handley Regional Library System has you covered! You can access a lot of our services online from the comfort (and safety) of your own home. From educational to fun and entertaining, check out a list below of what you can do to occupy your free time and still enjoy the library 24/7. Know what the best part of all is? All of these services are free with your library card!

Check Out eBooks and/or Audiobooks

The Library isn’t slacking when it comes to the eBook and audiobook department. Quarantine will be over before you kno... Read Full Post

Stuck at Home? Your Library is Here to Help.

For families of all ages, a global pandemic can be alarming and confusing. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been spreading throughout the United States now, specifically, and has led to school and public closures. The uncertainty of this national and global situation can induce more anxiety in our kids. However, learning how to talk about what is going on and what to do next can be the first step that grown-ups can take to lead to better understanding for families with kids.

Your public library can be a source of trustworthy information and educational resources if you and your fami...

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Stream 300,000 Movies, TV Shows, Music, eBooks, Audio Books, & More

We are excited to announce today the official release of a new streaming service called Hoopla Digital – expanding their online digital portfolio of materials to patrons. Library card holders of all ages can now access a massive digital library of over 300,000 movies, TV shows, eBooks, Audio Books, comics, and music online at www.hoopladigital.com at no cost. There are no wait times and patrons can borrow up to 3 items per month.  Content can be streamed from any computer, television, mobile device, or platform by downloading the Hoopla Digital app for iOS, Android, AppleTV, Chromecast...

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Online Public Facility Survey for Handley Library Location

Handley Regional Library System announces today an online public facility assessment for the historic Handley Library in downtown Winchester. The online public survey will help library administration gather responses as they evaluate the space use and configuration of Handley Library as they plan for the future. 

The public can complete the brief survey at www.handleyregional.org/handleylibrarysurvey until March 18, 2020.

“Great libraries evolve in how they deliver information, materials, and value to the communities they serve,” says John Huddy, Director of ...

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SU Business Students Create Promotional Videos for Library System

Handley Regional Library System and a Design Thinking class at Shenandoah University’s Byrd School of Business collaborated on a project that resulted in students creating promotional videos for the library system to use for marketing purposes. The students of Professor Montressa Washington’s Design Thinking class took on the challenge to develop and create short videos to encapsulate the services of all three library locations to the general public.

Broken up into three groups, students produced two videos that would engage library patrons to use services and materials, attend pr...

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Tax Resources at the Library

Each year the Handley Regional Library System participates in the IRS Tax Forms Outlet Program (TFOP). Recent changes from TFOP mean we're receiving fewer tax forms in print. Although the Internal Revenue Service is not able to supply libraries with the full range of printed tax forms, instruction booklets, and tax publications provided in the past, we will still be happy to assist you during this tax prep season. Library staff can assist with locating and printing online tax forms but are not able to give advice regarding the forms that you might need. Black and white printing/copying is $...

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