A Drawing! And Happy National Library Week!
Enter our National Library Week "Why I Love My Durham Tech Library" Drawing to win some sweet library prizes! Fill out our form by 5:00 on Wednesday, April 7 letting us know why you love your Durham Tech Library (or if you just like us-- honestly, we know love is a strong feeling).
Four faculty/staff and four students each will be eligible to be entered in a drawing to win a cork-bottom coffee mug (complete with lid!) and a mask from our previous Read Great Things Challenge prizes.
You're also welcome to let us know how the library has helped you or why you love your Durham Tech Library without entering in the drawing.
Alumni and community friends are welcome to enter, too, but priority for prizes goes to our current students, faculty, and staff. Winners will be contacted on Monday, April 12. Everyone who fills out the form is eligible to get a bookmark.
In addition to National Library Week, it's also Durham County Public Library's Library Fest. Our library podcaster Courtney Bippley has interviews with several of their featured presenters, including one that dropped on Saturday with artist Volkan Alkanoglu.
April 4-10, 2021 is National Library Week-- an opportunity to celebrate our nation's libraries, library workers' contributions and promote library use and support.
National Library Week launches with a special report from the American Library Association (ALA): "The State of America's Libraries Report: Special Edition"
In the annual "State of America's Libraries Report," you can find the list of most frequently challenged books (p. 6) and how libraries reached out to and tried to meet the needs of their communities during COVID, including changing up programming, access to technology, and access to reading materials.
What was your library up to during 2020?
During 2020, your Durham Tech Library--
- Was open! We've been available for in-person and online use (at reduced hours) on both the Main and Orange County Campuses since August 2020 after closing with the rest of the College in March 2020.
- Started a podcast, an Instagram page, and a Facebook page (give us a follow!) and blogged A LOT more than in previous years.
- Completed virtual Crafternoons both through YouTube and on the blog.
- Launched our Dogwood Digital ebook collection through Overdrive/Libby, expanding our online reading options beyond the primarily academic collections.
- Answered questions through chat, email, phone, and in-person!
- Loaned out Chromebooks, headset microphones, webcams, and a new digital camera to faculty, staff, and students! (And more coming soon!)
- Taught library instruction sessions to classes online and made videos for asynchronous instruction.
- Ordered books for our new Spanish Language collection on Main Campus (blog post coming next week with additional details).
- Received three grants to help with COVID supplies, Chromebooks, and recording tech accessories.
- Kept promoting recreational reading with Read Great Things!
- Missed doing things as normal, including working with our library users face-to-face.