Library’s adult services comprehensive

Editor’s note: This is the second of five articles on the Brumback Library, courtesy of The Citizens for the Brumback Library. These articles are published to inform area residents about the library and its services in advance of Election Day, November 3, when voters will be asked to approve a renewal levy in support of the Library.

VW independent/submitted information

Central to the Brumback Library’s overall operation is its service to adults and young adults alike. Several elements comprise this entity. The fiction department includes bestsellers, plus popular and classical titles, along with paperbacks and large print items. E-books, books on CD, DVDs, and music CDs are vital, well used resources in the Adult Services Department.

In addition to the thousands of items housed on the second floor, the nonfiction department includes an exhaustive reference collection which features a conglomeration of more detailed and in-depth works designed to provide students and researchers with accurate thorough, and up-to-date information. Print resources in this area are supplemented by Internet workstations and other on-line resources.

The genealogy/local history collection, also housed on the second floor, is comprised of local obituary and grave registration records, birth and marriage records, church records, and family histories. Numerous historical works of Van Wert County and its neighboring counties in Ohio and Indiana are available. Van Wert County newspapers on microfilm date from the 1860s to the present.

Patrons also have access to Ancestry search engines, as well as microfilm and microfilm readers, a tele-sensory reader for those with sight impairments, and wireless service.

In addition to these aforementioned areas, the Library maintains a periodical collection numbering nearly 285 titles and more than 49 newspapers. Current and back issues of magazines and journals are available for research reports and recreational reading.

In 2019, adults, young adults, and children borrowed over 850,000 items from our print and non-print collections. Over 20,000 reference questions were answered in-house, over the telephone, or via regular mail. The Library’s web page, located at www.brumbacklib.com is utilized daily by many people. A wide variety of inquiries are received and answered via e-mail. If the Library does not own a specific title in its collection of over 357,000 items, the material may usually be obtained via interlibrary loan. Nearly 541 items were received from public libraries in Ohio and throughout the United States this past year.

Through the selection, addition, and maintenance of broad subject areas and genres, the Brumback Library continually seeks materials and resources which will provide for the increasing needs of its residents. Meeting the diverse needs of patrons, Brumback Library is a center of lifelong learning.

Next: Brumback Library branches provide important services to rural communities.