SMCM & County Libraries Join Forces For Benefit of Citizens, Students


Join Both Libraries with Ease; College Library Open Late

ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. (Feb. 2, 2008)—Students and community residents alike benefit from making use of their county library and the St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) Library on campus. Now it will be easier than ever, thanks to a joint initiative of the SMCM Library and the St. Mary's County Public Library. Starting Monday through Feb. 18, college students, faculty and staff can get a county library card at the circulation desk of the SMCM library. Local residents can, in turn, get an SMCM library card at the Lexington Park Library.

The campaign is designed to increase student and local resident awareness that each library system has unique, complementary services to offer the other's card holders.

"The College Library is excited about promoting the wonderful resources and services available through the county public library system for everyone in the community. We hope our students, faculty and staff will take advantage of the opportunity to get a county library card. And we are also looking forward to introducing members of the larger community to our wonderful library," said Celia Rabinowitz, Ph.D., director of Library and Media Services for SMCM.

Local residents with an SMCM library card benefit from the College's academic collection and in-house access to the library's databases and computers. Those in need of a computer or library help after public libraries close will find the College's later hours of operation convenient. The archives located in Calvert Hall contain written, digital and photographic materials about the history of the College as well as the history and culture of Southern Maryland.

St. Mary's County Library card holders gain access to free, downloadable movies, audio books and e-books 24x7 at www.stmalib.org. The county library's free online database collection provides information on general topics such as car repair, health issues and genealogy. Newspaper archives and more than 1,900 periodicals covering a range of subjects are at the user's fingertips. Student card holders can also use the self-paced tutorials available through the county library's learning technology link.

"We are grateful to the staff of the St. Mary's College Library for creating this partnership with their county library system. It is obvious that they recognize how important it is for their students, as they become lifelong learners, to be regular users of all types of libraries," said Kathleen Reif, director of the St. Mary's County Library.

The College library offers some 5,000 DVDs while the county library has recently released movies as well as best-selling and popular books at its three branches. With a county library card, card holders can sign up for NextReads, a free e-newsletter that lists recommended titles in 22 genres.

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