NORTHLAND LIBRARY DEPARTMENT TOUR
Northland Public Library and our staff are passionate about serving our mission to enable, empower and encourage lifelong learning and discovery in a safe, welcoming space for all. Meet some of the different departments that help impact our communities and serve their needs each and every day.
CIRCULATION
Northland’s Circulation staff provides customer service support, material sorting, material check in and shelving of materials. They also pull materials from our shelves to fulfill patron requests.
When you visit Northland you’re likely to interact with a member of our Circulation Department. They’re our most prominent patron facing staff who assists with checking out materials, picking up holds, or answering questions about your library account. Behind the scenes Circulation staff is like a well oiled machine – checking in materials from other libraries throughout the county and returning them to our shelves, pulling materials from our shelves to fulfill patrons requests, and checking in items from our book drops (including traveling to pick up items at our remote material return locations).
In 2021, our Circulation staffed pulled 89,333 items from our shelves to fulfill patron requests. That’s 245 items per day!
Check out the Circulation department highlight in the June 2022 edition of “Northland News”
TECHNICAL SERVICES
Our Technical Services staff specializes in receiving, cataloging and processing all kinds of library materials – books, DVDs, magazines, CDs, board games, electronic resources and anything that is available in our collection. Our Technical Services team is the first step in getting new materials in circulation and on the shelves for our patrons!
Our Technical Services team work diligently to get new materials process, cataloged and categorized in a timely fashion so those new best sellers, audiobooks, magazines or new DVDs and CDs make their way onto our shelves for our patrons! Cataloging items correctly also means they are easy to find in the online library catalog.
Check out our Technical Services department highlight in the March 2023 edition of “Northland News”
CHILDREN AND TEEN SERVICES
What has 8 noses, 18 gills, and over 140 years of combined children and youth services experience? The staff of the Children & Teen Services Department. (The gills are on the Bala Sharks, Cichlids, and the Plecostomus who live in the 92 gallon fish tank. They are dedicated staff members who never take a day off.)
The eight humans on the Children & Teen Services department staff maintain a fiction collection, non-fiction collection, beginning reader collection, audiobook & DVD collection, music CD collection, board game and video game collection, and graphic novel collection with appropriate reading and interest levels for toddlers through teens. World Languages collections, board games, Take-Home-Science-Kits, and Ukulele kits are other innovative offerings.
The staff of the Children and Teen Services department develop programming for all ages of children: Baby and Toddler Time nursery rhyme programs, preschool storytimes, elementary school STEM programs, and teen programs like Anime Club, Maker programs, and Dungeons & Dragons campaigns.
The staff’s favorite thing is helping kids find their next great read.
Check out our Children and Teen Services department highlight in the August edition of “Northland News”
ADULT SERVICES / ASK-A-LIBRARIAN
Our Adult Services staff specializes in collection development, managing patron reader services, reference, program development and management, and overseeing ongoing activities. Reference librarians recommend, interpret, evaluate, and/or use information resources to help patrons with specific information needs.
Nestled on the 2nd floor of the library, you’ll find probably just about any book that you might want (admittedly it may be checked out, but we’ll order it for you!) Our adult services staff are proud of the collection we’ve had the privilege to build our residents. Of course, we have the big standard collections of fiction, mysteries, DVDs, and nonfiction…but we also have board games, video games, radon detectors, hotspots, large print, world language materials, and more. Library collections evolve with time, and we try very hard to provide you with up-to-date, in-demand (er, hello Colleen Hoover?), authoritative, unique, and diverse materials.
Check out our Adult Services department highlight in the September 2022 edition of “Northland News”
COMPUTER CENTER
Northland’s Computer Center is your hub to connect with all the technology offered to you by the Library. Along with the many services the Center provides, it also maintains 18 all-in-one computers and an all-in-one printers/scanner/copier, books on coding languages, virtual reality headsets, hotspots, and radon detectors all available for your use. The Computer Center hosts in-person Computer Classes, One-on-one technology assistance on a variety of topics including practicing typing skills, making a budget in Excel and learning about your new smart phone, as well as a host of Virtual Computer Classes. A newer service offered is One-On-One Job Search Assistance and Resume Help, offering patrons one-on-one sessions for help with building resumes and job searching.
Check out our Computer Center department highlight in the July 2022 edition of “Northland News”
ADMINISTRATION
Our Administration Department is comprised of several teams working cohesively to keep the Library ticking, oftentimes behind the scenes.
Our Maintenance Department strives to provide a safe, comfortable and clean environment for Northland patrons. The team keeps the Library building and all of its inner workings in amazing working order; providing preventative maintenance, support and repair when needed.
Northland’s Marketing Communications team works to connect and engage with patrons, community partners and funders about upcoming programs as well as the resources and services provided everyday by the Library and our staff. Promoting the many Library programs, features and services by catching the patron’s eye with pictures then drawing them in with words in print and digital media. From flyers, book marks, posters and newsletters to the many business forms needed to keep Library operations running smooth, to assisting the Foundation in snappy fundraising collateral, to bookplates, to eMarketing.
Administrative support is there to assist all of the different departments and help the library function to its best ability! You might not easily notice their work, but it’s all around the library! Ever think about where the pencil you borrowed or the receipt paper came from? All of the everyday office supplies and items that patrons use and we use are bought by administrative support! When you don’t know who to ask your questions to on the phone, they are the ones there to answer and help direct your call!
Northland’s IT department helps you stay connected and up-to-speed with the rest of the world thanks to our superfast next generation broadband that provides you with 10 gigabit per second internet connections. We manage four wonderful self-check kiosks that allow you to check out and take home all of your favorite books, movies, TV shows and audiobooks without standing in line at our checkout desks. The state-of-the-art technology that you see throughout our building, from the weather station in our Learning Garden to the high-tech equipment at our service desks, is all brought to you by our IT department!
Check out our Administration department highlight in the October 2022 edition of “Northland News”
BOOK NOOK
The Book Nook is Northland’s gently used book store featuring gently used books, magazines, board games, puzzles and various other items for adults and children. Also available are hot and cold drinks as well as snacks! The Book Nook is located on the upper level of the Library and has a constantly updated inventory of items!
Check out our Book Nook department highlight in the February 2023 edition of “Northland News”
