News Release

Bay Area Libraries Celebrate
National Library Week, April 15-20

The library is more than just books. You’ll find downloadable eBooks, audiobooks, genealogy databases, online auto repair manuals and electronic newspapers from all over the world, and much, much more at Bay Area libraries.

In celebration of National Library Week—April 15–20—the San Francisco Public Library and the Bay Area Library and Information System (BALIS), a consortium of local libraries, will launch a regional multimedia campaign promoting their wide range of electronic resources, highlighting their contributions to the community and encouraging people to use the library.

This year’s “Your Library: Click It!” campaign will run during the month of April and include colorful signs on local buses and in Bay Area BART stations, and public service announcements on Bay Area radio and TV stations.

Bay Area libraries continue to attract visitors in record numbers. Last year, there were more than 17.5 million visits to the public libraries serving Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties. In addition, over 23.5 million books, videos, audio books, CDs, DVDs and other items were loaned to Bay Area library customers. San Francisco’s libraries received more than 5.1 million visitors and loaned 7.5 million items last year.

To promote its e-resources, the Main Library, located at 100 Larkin St., will offer the following classes during National Library Week:

April 16:
Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room B, 12:15–1 p.m.
News Online
Discover resources and strategies to keep up with the news on the Internet using a variety of online tools including news search engines, periodical databases, news portal sites, and other Web-based resources.

April 17:
Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room B, 12:15–1 p.m.
Art Full Text
Learn how to use this important scholarly database that contains complete coverage of over 378 important, peer reviewed art periodicals.

April 18:
Main Library, Public Computer Training Room, 5th Floor, 12:15–1 p.m.
What do I Read Now?
Come learn how to use three delightful reader's advisory databases: NoveList, Fiction Connection and Gale's What do I Read Next

April 19:
Main Library, Public Computer Training Room, 5th Floor, 12:15–1 p.m.
Research your Roots
A hands-on class featuring HeritageQuest and Ancestry Online, two electronic resources for genealogical and historical research.

April 20:
Main Library, Public Computer Training Room, 5th Floor, 12:15–1 p.m.
JSTOR
Discover how to use this electronic archive of important scholarly journals from the arts, business, humanities, sciences and social sciences disciplines. JSTOR is full of thousands of important, fascinating and often delightfully bizarre articles, some dating back to the 1600s.

All classes are free and open to the public.

Members of BALIS include San Francisco Public Library, Alameda County Library, Alameda Free Library, Berkeley Public Library, Contra Costa County Library, Hayward Public Library, Livermore Public Library, Oakland Public Library, Pleasanton Public Library and Richmond Public Library. To learn more about BALIS and its members, visit www.baylibraries.org/. For more information about the San Francisco Public Library, visit www.sfpl.org.