Microsoft and the State of New York have forces to distribute vouchers for free online training and certification, through a network of One Stop Career Centers state-wide.  More info is available here.

We are actually! Today at 3:30pm we invite you to meet members of the Saratoga County Sheriff’s K9 unit.  Here at the library! Part of the fun stuff we have going on this school vacation week.

Why yes, thank you for noticing! The library’s website is undergoing a refresh, with more of an emphasis on our blog! The latest blog postings will now be front and center. There are links to our Facebook and Youtube pages as well. But the biggest news has to do with something you won’t see until you check us out with your smartphone! Our website should now fully functional on your phone’s browser!
So check it out and let us know how it works!

Is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying parts of being a librarian. But if you can’t make it in, or would rather choose on your own, may we suggest a very useful tool.  It’s our NextReads service, which consists of an email newsletter full of book suggestions in a wide variety of genres and subjects.  Whether you’re an armchair traveler, mystery buff or love a spine tingling thriller, there’s a newsletter that’s tailored to you. The newsletters are linked to our catalog, so you can jump over and place a request. In no time, you will have your Next Great Read! Think of it perhaps as a Netflix queue for books.  Except you don’t have to bother with those pesky red envelopes.

It’s been awhile since we made mention of our online chat reference service. It’s powered by Meebo and located on the Contact Page of the website. During regular library hours, patrons are welcome to send us questions as instant messages or IM’s.  If a response is not received right away, it’s likely we are away from the reference desk and have forgotten to hang the AWAY sign! In that case,  please try again little later or use the contact form or give us a call.  Speaking of calling, there is an answering machine at the library, so if you need to leave us a message after hours, please feel free to do so. The message here is that we want to be as accessible to our patrons as possible, so please take advantage and let us help you!

If you are one the many who use Facebook to keep track of the busy lives of friends and family, you can now keep up to date with what’s going on at your local library! Simply do a search for the library and become a fan. We will provide information and updates about events and anything else worth knowing about the library. And we encourage you to participate as well, with pictures or comments, or send us a message! We want the library to be where you are, and if you’re on Facebook, well now so are we!

During the summer months the library will be offering informal computer & Internet assistance on Monday evenings and Friday afternoons. These sessions are available by advance registration only, by either calling the library or sending an email to director@waterfordlibrary.net. Assistance will be offered in areas such as navigating the Internet, online job applications, registering an email account and other basic computer and Internet related questions.

Us being Waterford, They being ThreeatSea, whose voyage took them into Waterford in time for the Annual Canalfest the other day. And if you care to know, we discovered all of this via our Twitter feed, which we discussed in a previous post.  Safe travels to them and all visitors to Waterford. Don’t forget to visit the library!

There has been an increasing amount of chatter in both the electronic and print media about the latest Internet darling, Twitter . We thought we might help those interested in learning a bit more about how or why they might use Twitter effectively; so we found the following article from one of our favorite blogs Lifehacker.  And don’t forget that you can find us on Twitter right here!

Beginning Thursday April 16th, the Waterford Library will be offering informal computer instruction. On Mondays and Thursdays from 1-4pm, assistance will be available on a first come, first serve basis to people who need help with navigating the internet, online job applications, registering an email account or who have other basic computer related questions. No reservations are required unless demand warrants it.  For more information, please contact the library at 237-0891 or info@waterfordlibrary.net.