Family Literacy Night at West Fresno Elementary

On January 29th, WoW! staff Mark Berner and Joanna Chase attended Family Literacy Night at West Fresno Elementary. They talked to more than 40 parents and students and issued 26 library cards. A big thank you to West Fresno Elementary for inviting the Library to their event!

Resources for Office Staff

If you’re responsible for the day-to-day operations of an office—whether you’re an assistant, an HR representative, or an office manager or supervisor —chances are you fill a lot of roles for your organization. Did you know that the Fresno County Public Library has a number of free tools that may help you do your job?

Computer Tutorials

If you need to learn a new software program on the fly, Learning Express gives you access to tutorials for many Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint Designer. You can also take courses in computer graphics programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

Consumer Reports

Need to research a product before making a big purchase for the office? Take a look at what the folks at Consumer Reports have to say first. The Library website offers access to Consumer Reports articles through the EBSCO database MasterFILE Complete.

Nolo Legal Guides

If you’re responsible for your company’s human resources department, you may want to

Resources for Sales Professionals

Do you work in the sales field? Would you like to access free tools that help you find prospects, research industries, or contact customers? The Fresno County Public Library may have a database that can help.

Reference USA

Reference USA is a great tool for finding sales prospects and business contacts. It includes information for more than 89 million residents and 24 million businesses nationwide. Create lists of potential customers based on geographic area (such as zip code, neighborhood, or County) or estimated home value.  Find businesses based on specific industry, geography, business size, or sales volume. You can even create customized maps to help you identify contacts or prospects.

Small Business Reference Center

Do you need information about a specific industry or company? Try the Small Business Reference Center. Users can access industry profiles, trade and business journals, as well as small business and entrepreneurship videos.

What Do You Read When You've Read It All?

You’ve read everything that writer ever wrote—what now? Try Novelist Plus, the go-to place for finding read-alikes, books by other authors that have elements you might like.

If You Like This, Try That

Looking for people who write about tough-but-suave spies? Type in James Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, and you’ll get Clive Cussler, Adam Hall, Ted Bell, Jeffrey Deaver, Upton Sinclair, and Greg Rucka.

A fan of Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who… books? Take a look at Nancy Atherton’s Aunt Dimity series, Rita Mae Brown, Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s Joe Grey stories, or tread the furry mean streets of Las Vegas with Carole Nelson Douglas’ Midnight Louie.

How Do You Say…?

Did you ever have that dream where you’re in a strange town and nobody speaks your language? Well, the Fresno County Public Library can help you talk to anyone, anywhere-- and your library card will help you do it for free. Mango Languages offers courses in more than 30 languages, from Arabic to Yiddish. Learn language skills for your profession, such as Medical Spanish—or just have a little fun brushing up on your Pirate (Yes, Matey, Pirate is offered as well! Arrh!).

For English Language Learners           

Mango also includes English courses for speakers of other languages (including Spanish, Vietnamese, and Russian). You can practice conversational skills, watch subtitled videos and track your learning. 

Mango can be accessed from school, home, the office-- anywhere you have internet access. If you have questions or need help, let us know!

FCPL databases provide cardholders with a vast amount of accurate, free online information. This blog post is a part of a weekly series highlighting FCPL databases and is labeled with the blog tag “Resource of the Week.”

WoW! It's. . .Terrance V. Mc Arthur!

I’m Terrance V. Mc Arthur, and I’m a WoW! Community Librarian. “WoW!” stands for “Library WithOut Walls.” Instead of staying in the library and waiting for people to come to us, the WoW! team contacts businesses, not-for-profits, churches, and school districts to raise library awareness. Our goal is to help people use all the resources the library offers for free. All you need is a library card…and that’s free, too!

It’s @ the Library

When we talk to the public about library services and resources, we find that many people haven’t heard about all the ways the Fresno County Public Library can help them.

·         Books—We have them: Hardback, paperback, audiobooks on CD, and even EBOOKS.

·         Music—CDs from rock to classical to rap to comedy.

·         DVDs—Movies and documentaries, from popular hits to classics, to specialized topics.

·         Video Games—Entertainment for all ages and many platforms.

·         Online Services—The library has resources that you can use on your computer, phone, or portable device for free:

o   Genealogy—Grow your family tree with Ancestry Library Edition.

o   Car Care—Use Chilton’s Online, AllData, or Auto Repair.

o   Contact Lists for Sales—Reference USA.

o   More than 30 additional databases and online resources.

Why Do We Do This?

I became a librarian because I love to help people find answers, and the library has the resources to answer most questions. The WoW! librarians are here to teach people how to use the library’s tools. If you know how to look, you can find the next answer for yourself! WoW!

This post is part of a monthly series of staff blog posts focused on an individual WoW! librarian's biography, subject area specialty or long-term project. They will be tagged with the blog tag "WoW! It's . . ."