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Going digital

Renovation of Warren Public Library’s reference room includes new resources

The Warren Public Library Reference Room has undergone a renovation and now features a table dedicated to the digitization of photos and documents.

The reference room at Warren Public Library is not a quiet place where people pore over hefty tomes.

Actually, there is some of that, but there’s a lot more.

Over the past year, the reference room has undergone a renovation.

“We knew we needed to make some changes,” Reference and Documents Librarian Beverly Leonhardt said. “We had a project that we had to make room for.”

Grant funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Beckley Family Trust for the ScanPA project — PA Photos and Documents brought a computer, monitor, scanners, software, “legacy” disk drives — things that are hard to find on current machines like floppy drives and Zip Drives — a photo printer, and a VCR. That equipment will be used to digitize documents, but not just the library’s.

“The state wanted to increase the number of digital libraries they have available,” Leonhardt said. The state’s digital libraries act as resources for the Digital Public Library of America.

The equipment is available by appointment and community organizations and groups are encouraged to digitize their information. “The hope is they will agree to have this uploaded,” Executive Director Kelli Knapp said.

Setting aside space for the ScanPA project encouraged Leonhardt to change the whole space.

“We had to make room for this project,” she said. “We started to think about how to rearrange things to accomplish that and make the space more welcoming and accessible.”

The staff desk, which used to be tucked in the corner to the right of the door, is now in the center of the room. “When people walk in the door, the first thing they see is smiling faces,” Leonhardt said. “It’s nice to showcase them because we do have a great team.”

“As a result of these changes, we’re received some wonderful donations from our patrons,” Leonhardt said.

There is upgraded seating at the newspaper area thanks to donations.

Another donation brought in new carpet for the whole space. “We have brand new, visually appealing carpet,” Knapp said.

The donation included installation. That carpet replaces not-so-appealing carpet that library officials estimated at 40 years old.

“We’ve acquired a technology cart and are working on our ability to circulate the mobile technology,” Leonhardt said. The four laptops on the cart may be used anywhere in the library.

“We have a lot of people who come here to do business,” Knapp said. “Eventually we will be checking out several pre-loaded Kindles and eReaders that have been donated.”

“Bev’s been here a year now and she’s done a fabulous job,” Knapp said. “She has great ideas and she’s not afraid to try them.”

To help pave the way for the changes, library officials tightened up the spaces on shelves, too. “There are fewer empty spaces,” Leonhardt said. “We still have available the reference books as well as the digital resources.”

There have been significant changes, but more traditional materials — genealogy materials, microfilm, a copy machine, and the varied materials in the climate-controlled Pennsylvania Room — are still available.

“If the library is open, reference is open,” Knapp said. “If the library is not open, we have ‘ask-the-librarian’ on our website available 24 hours a day and they can email us.”

The staff is another resource.

“If we don’t have the information you want, we can probably get it,” Knapp said, library personnel are skilled researchers who have various resources at their disposal.

“People still think the library is just about books,” she said. “We’re about so much more than books. We provide so much more than books and will be providing even more.”

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