At The Library: Online Resources Available For Job Seekers
By VIC NUNEZTHE LEDGER
Published: Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 12:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, July 1, 2011 at 4:31 p.m.
Job-seekers often come to the library to search for jobs online; indeed, many companies expect prospective employees to fill out their applications, and submit their resumes electronically. Polk County libraries offer more than just Internet access.
Visit www.cityoflakewales.com/library, and check out "Career Transitions" available on their home page. This is a well-conceived web application that residents access with their library card. Once validated, users can create a personal account and explore their career interests, prepare a proper resume, and search jobs via their database search tool.
Another opportunity -- the Job & Career Accelerator atwww.lakelandgov.net/library: click on "Services" on the bar, then "Online Resources" to the left, and then the "Research" tab in the center pane. JCA is the bottom link, and invites users to create an account, validating with their library card number as "User Name." As above, JCA leads users to explore careers, create their resume, and search for jobs across many databases.
Contact your librarian for information on how to access these services.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20110705/NEWS/107055005/1308/TIMEOUT?Title=At-The-Library-Online-Resources-Available-For-Job-Seekers
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Libraries and Independence - Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Libraries and independence
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
by M.C. Coolidge
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20110704/COLUMNIST/110709950
Americans no long have to fight for our independence, as we did in the Revolutionary War, but we pay homage to the hard-won struggle every year on the Fourth of July, most notably with fireworks - our version of the "rockets' red glare."
As a community, we take that celebration of triumph very seriously. In 2008, when budget concerns led officials to decide that the city of Sarasota should no longer fund the bayfront fireworks, private businesses and individuals generously stepped up to the plate to continue the tradition of lighting up the sky to celebrate our freedom.
Now, local leaders are considering new cutbacks to our budget - but this time to something far more integral to preserving our independence than a fireworks display. They're talking about closing public libraries on Sundays.
There are only two Sarasota County libraries open on Sundays - Selby and Jacaranda. Closing their doors an additional 52 days a year would probably shave a couple of hundred thousand, maybe more, from our county budget. All libraries are generally open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and most stay open three days a week until 8 p.m.
Carl Sagan said, "... the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries." I couldn't agree more.
Contemporary independence is not won on a battlefield, but gained largely through individuals' ability to support and sustain themselves and their community. That ability is dependent upon access to education and resources that allow citizens to inform their minds, gain context for their experiences, and have access to the tools and information necessary to feed, clothe and house themselves and their families over the long haul. By offering spaces for knowledge-sharing, the communication of ideas, and technology not available in every home, our public libraries create and preserve a culture of independence and democracy for all. An informed public is a voting public.
The American Library Association's 2011 "State of American Libraries Report," released in April, suggests that people are using public libraries more than ever - to search for jobs and gather information about starting businesses, and they are particularly used by working mothers.
The recession means that more people might also be using the library to learn about government services and assistance, and that more people might not be able to afford Internet access and need to use the library to research career options and stay in touch with professional contacts.
Children in particular should be plowing through one book after another to stretch their minds and ignite their imaginations. Libraries are the most affordable way parents can feed the demands of a growing young mind.
Sunday library closings, on top of already restricted schedules, will surely impact the very people in our community who might need it most - people who, because of work, family or other scheduling constraints, are only able to get to the library on Sundays.
Sarasota County is the heart of Florida's "cultural coast." There's irony in the fact that we are in danger of losing Sunday access to one of the most crucial elements of a cultured, democratic and independent society.
Libraries are repositories of truth and power. They hold the veritable foundations of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness within their walls. And they hold their doors open to all, regardless of wealth or circumstance, to come inside and seek their own path to independence.
I hope we can find a way to preserve that.
M.C. Coolidge is a columnist for the Herald-Tribune's Ticket section and a free-lance writer. Website: www.coolidgewords.com
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
by M.C. Coolidge
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20110704/COLUMNIST/110709950
Americans no long have to fight for our independence, as we did in the Revolutionary War, but we pay homage to the hard-won struggle every year on the Fourth of July, most notably with fireworks - our version of the "rockets' red glare."
As a community, we take that celebration of triumph very seriously. In 2008, when budget concerns led officials to decide that the city of Sarasota should no longer fund the bayfront fireworks, private businesses and individuals generously stepped up to the plate to continue the tradition of lighting up the sky to celebrate our freedom.
Now, local leaders are considering new cutbacks to our budget - but this time to something far more integral to preserving our independence than a fireworks display. They're talking about closing public libraries on Sundays.
There are only two Sarasota County libraries open on Sundays - Selby and Jacaranda. Closing their doors an additional 52 days a year would probably shave a couple of hundred thousand, maybe more, from our county budget. All libraries are generally open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and most stay open three days a week until 8 p.m.
Carl Sagan said, "... the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries." I couldn't agree more.
Contemporary independence is not won on a battlefield, but gained largely through individuals' ability to support and sustain themselves and their community. That ability is dependent upon access to education and resources that allow citizens to inform their minds, gain context for their experiences, and have access to the tools and information necessary to feed, clothe and house themselves and their families over the long haul. By offering spaces for knowledge-sharing, the communication of ideas, and technology not available in every home, our public libraries create and preserve a culture of independence and democracy for all. An informed public is a voting public.
The American Library Association's 2011 "State of American Libraries Report," released in April, suggests that people are using public libraries more than ever - to search for jobs and gather information about starting businesses, and they are particularly used by working mothers.
The recession means that more people might also be using the library to learn about government services and assistance, and that more people might not be able to afford Internet access and need to use the library to research career options and stay in touch with professional contacts.
Children in particular should be plowing through one book after another to stretch their minds and ignite their imaginations. Libraries are the most affordable way parents can feed the demands of a growing young mind.
Sunday library closings, on top of already restricted schedules, will surely impact the very people in our community who might need it most - people who, because of work, family or other scheduling constraints, are only able to get to the library on Sundays.
Sarasota County is the heart of Florida's "cultural coast." There's irony in the fact that we are in danger of losing Sunday access to one of the most crucial elements of a cultured, democratic and independent society.
Libraries are repositories of truth and power. They hold the veritable foundations of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness within their walls. And they hold their doors open to all, regardless of wealth or circumstance, to come inside and seek their own path to independence.
I hope we can find a way to preserve that.
M.C. Coolidge is a columnist for the Herald-Tribune's Ticket section and a free-lance writer. Website: www.coolidgewords.com
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