Help Form and Transform Lives
Dear Friends,
“This is nice!” We hear that often these days, from first-time visitors to our brand new building.
YOUR brand new building! We are your public library, now located next to the Hollidaysburg Area High School after 43 years at our previous site. We have been enjoying our new home since last July.
Visitors have found so much to like: generous parking, easy access for disabled patrons, and a soaring entry. New computers, pleasant lighting, and handsome shelves. Relaxed reading areas, private meeting rooms, and beautiful bathrooms! Engaging displays of local interest and vintage photos. The colorful children’s area and the separate young adult room. A well-equipped kitchen and large community room with theater-quality projection and sound. And a charming gazebo and outdoor amphitheater–the latter with a fun secret that you must experience!
You can be proud of your public library. Please visit often with friends and loved ones. Enjoy the materials and programs for all ages. Snap pictures. Show off the place to out-of-town guests!
The beauty of the building is fitting for its purpose. The library exists to help form and transform lives. From infants viewing their first books…to students needing reference help…to seniors in seminars…plus residents using circulated items at home…the library serves and enriches hundreds every day. Since the new site opened, circulation has already increased by 20%.
Our community is fortunate. All of this came from hundreds of supporters over dozens of years. Ongoing support is vital, as it was in the previous building. Over half of our operating funding comes from one local friend at a time. You know the satisfaction from your past donations, or you can feel it by donating for the first time. Any gift you send benefits everyone in our community. If you’d like to donate to the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library, please click on the Donate button below, or download and print the PDF file to mail your donation directly to the Library.
These are beautiful things: The new building. The lives touched. And your giving. Thank you for your help. For any questions, please call (814) 695-5961 or email janet@halibrary.org.
or
Click here to download and print the PDF version of the donation form
New Resource: Driving-Tests.org
The Hollidaysburg Area Public Library is announcing a partnership with Driving-Tests.org, a company dedicated to driver safety and education, to offer free DMV practice tests to library patrons, starting today, February 28, 2015. The new service includes free tests, written specifically based on Pennsylvania’s DMV materials, and is the only site of its kind to include accessibility tools that allow users to hear selections read aloud, make them into MP3s, translate pages into other languages, magnify text, and mask sections of the screen for greater visibility on driving practice tests.
Availability and accessibility is important to the creators of Driving-Tests.org, as the site is designed to help new drivers study state manuals and take driving practice tests based on the real DMV written exams. This partnership allows the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library to harness the power of Driving-Test.org’s specialized practice exams to turn new drivers into safer drivers.
This is also a great resource for those who want to brush up on Pennsylvania’s rules of the road, or people who need to retake the exam.
The Driver Education program includes the following:
- 11 car practice tests
- 6 motorcycle practice tests
- 3 CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) practice tests
- 3 online driver’s manuals (car, motorcycle, CDL)
- An FAQ section with detailed answers to 100+ DMV-related questions
There are three ways to access this resource: click on the banner at the top of this post, click on the Driving-Tests.org link under the “Free Resources” heading in the sidebar, or click on the Driving-Tests.org link under the Reference section on our Links page.
New Resource: HeritageQuest Online
From the HeritageQuest Online “About” page:
HeritageQuest® Online is a comprehensive treasury of American genealogical sources—rich in unique primary sources, local and family histories, and finding aids.
18th Century or 20th Century. European or Native American. Farm or Factory. East Coast or West Coast. Where does your American past begin?
Discover the amazing history of you with HeritageQuest Online. It delivers an essential collection of genealogical and historical sources—with coverage dating back to the 1700s—that can help people find their ancestors and discover a place’s past.
We have added the link to this resource on our website–you can find it in the side bar under “Free Resources” or by clicking on the “Links” tab in the menu. HeritageQuest Online is free for our patrons’ use–all you need to get started is your library card barcode.
To access HeritageQuest Online:
1. Click on the HeritageQuest Online link in the sidebar.
2. Enter the barcode found on your HAPL library card, then click “Connect.”
That’s it! You now have access to the many resources on HeritageQuest Online! Here is a list of the resources you will find:
- Search Census: Find ancestors in the complete set of U.S. Federal Census images from 1790-1940, including name indexes for many years.
- Search Books: Find information on people and places described in over 28,000 family and local histories.
- Search PERSI Archive: Find information about people and places from this index of over 2.3 million genealogy and local history articles (1800-2009).
- Search Revolutionary War: Search selected records from the Revolutionary War Era Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files.
- Search Freedman’s Bank: Search for individuals in Freedman’s Bank (1865-1874), which was founded to serve African Americans.
- Search U.S. Serial Set: Search the Memorials, Petitions, and Private Relief Actions of the U.S. Congress in the ProQuest U.S. Serial Set.
Enjoy!
Welcome
Welcome to our newly redesigned website!
We’ve been working very hard to bring you an improved website that is not only visually appealing, but also easier to use.
The Menu
In the menu at the top of the website, you will find a wealth of information. “Home” does exactly what it says–it brings you to the home page of the website from anywhere else on the website.
If you click on “About Us,” you will find a slideshow of images from our new library as well as information about our library director and how to contact her. If you hover over “About Us” without clicking, you will find a link to our hours and location, which includes a map of the area and a link to get detailed directions from Google Maps. You will also find a link to our services and policies, and a link describing our library’s collection of available materials.
“Donate” will take you to a page describing all the different ways in which you can donate to our wonderful library.
If you hover over “Catalog,” you will find links to quickly search our collection, complete an advanced search of our collection, view the materials you currently have checked-out and renew materials using your library account, search the Altoona Library’s collection, or search for materials in our other district libraries.
Clicking on “Programs & Events” will take you to a searchable calendar that shows what programs and events are taking place in our library each month. Make sure you check it out!
If you hover over “Book Clubs” you will find a list of the book clubs we host at the library. Each link will take you to that book club’s dedicated page which lists all the information you need to know about that club, including a list of the books that will be read, the dates and times they’ll be discussed, and who to contact in case you have any questions.
The “Children’s Resources” tab will take you to a page describing our library’s resources for children which includes the contact information for our Director of Children’s and Youth Services. It also includes links to different internet resources for children.
The “Links” tab will take you to a page of internet links that we think our patrons will find useful and interesting. There are links for local organizations, links for government resources, reference links, and more.
If you click on “Contact Us,” you will be presented with a page that includes our phone number and the different phone extensions within the library, as well as a form you can fill out to send us an email with questions or comments.
The Sidebar
The sidebar is the section on the right-hand side of the website. The very first thing you see at the top of the side bar is a “Log In” button. This is the button to click in order to sign into your personal library account or to start a new account.
Just below that is a place for you to enter your email address if you’d like to receive an email every time we post something new on the website. In the near future we will begin writing articles about events we have going on in the library, new books we have received, and many other things. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss out!
“Free Resources” lists the links to access free online magazines through Zinio, the OverDrive website where you can borrow ebooks, OneClickDigital where you can download free audiobooks, and CareerCruising–the complete guidance system to pursuing your dreams and careers.
“Upcoming Events” is a short list of the upcoming events in the library. If you click on the title of an event, you will be taken to that event’s detail page. You can also click on “View All Events” at the bottom of the widget to be taken to the full calendar of events.
The last three items in the sidebar give you access to Pennsylvania’s Power Library, the new Power Kids website, and a way to search our website for anything you might not be able to find right away.
The Footer
The footer is the section at the very bottom of our website. In the footer you will find our address (including a link to get detailed directions), our phone number, and the hours we are open. You will also find buttons you can click to “Like” us on Facebook and “Follow” us on Twitter. That’s right–the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library is now on Twitter, too! Follow us, like us, or both, to stay up-to-date on what is happening at HAPL.
