Services

Information

The Reference Department answers questions for people and helps people to locate in-depth information on request. Our professional librarians at the Information Desk are available whenever our library is open to assist you in locating the answers to questions. Please do not hesitate to ask for help.

If you do not find the information you need, don't forget to ask a librarian. Come in person, telephone, fax, e-mail or snail mail to us with questions on these topics and more:

	stock, bond and insurance ratings;
	consumer issues and companies or manufacturers;
	job hunting, resumé writing;
	medical symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, drug side effects;
	used car prices;
	colleges and scholarships;
	current events and world news;
	travel;
	Massachusetts and U.S. government laws;
	literary criticism;
	statistical data;
	hobbies, antiques, pet care, house remodeling and repair;
	local history and genealogy;
	art and music.

Loan Books and Other Materials

We lend books, videotapes, audio cassettes, CDs, DVDs, magazines, passes to museums, and many other items. If an item that you want to borrow is not currently on the shelf in our library you may reserve it, or "place a hold" on it, and we will notify you when the item becomes available.

We can fill requests for items not owned by Bridgewater Public Library through the automated library network and the Regional Interlibrary Loan service. We fill requests for periodical articles not owned by the Bridgewater Public Library through the statewide telefax service of the Boston Public Library.

Since 1989, the Bridgewater Public Library has been part of ABLE (Automated Bristol Library Exchange), a network of 24 communities whose libraries share resources. In July, 2000, ABLE merged with SEAL to form the SAILS library network. Patrons now have access to the holdings of 63 libraries in southeastern Massachusetts giving online access to over 2.5 million holdings. Public access catalogs have replaced the old card catalog. If you have not used these terminals before, we will gladly instruct you in the use of the online catalog, other library equipment and materials.

Using these terminals in our library, you can discover which items are owned by all of the libraries within the SAILS network. In addition, you can now search materials directly from any of the SAILS libraries using the Internet.

SEMLS (Southeastern Massachusetts Library System) has made available to library cardholders various databases that can be accessed from your home computer with an Internet connection. These databases include a general periodicals reference, health reference, academic index, general business periodicals index, and Contemporary Authors. They can be searched by subject and may have full text articles available for printing.

Children's Services

The Children's Room holds books, videos, magazines, recordings, puppets and other items which children may use and borrow from the library.

The Children's Room presents a variety of programs to encourage a child's delight in reading and to develop habits for life-long learning. Programs that are offered include :

	Story hour programs for preschool children. These programs include stories, crafts, songs and finger plays. Sessions for children 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 years are 30 minutes long and a parent is expected to attend with each child. Sessions for 3 1/2 to prekindergarten aged are 45 minutes long. Preregistration is required. Infants and children under 30 months and their parents or caregivers may participate in Book Babies, a drop-in program of songs, stories and rhymes.
	After-school, summer and holiday story hour programs for children in grades Kindergarten through grade 3. Many of these programs are funded by the Friends of the Library and matching grants from the Bridgewater Cultural Council.
	Sponsor a summer reading incentive program for both children and teens in conjunction with the Massachusetts Regional Public Library Systems.

The Children's Room provides support to local teachers and their classes. During the school year our Children's Librarians work with school children to develop their library skills. We offer orientation and library instruction to all elementary school classes three times each school year.

The Children's Room staff is also available to answer reference questions and to help children in gathering information for projects.

Parents are responsible for what their children read. We do not act "in loco parentis," which means that we do not monitor the library materials children choose nor do we limit children from access to any materials available in the Library. Parents are responsible for what their child is allowed to borrow or use in our library and should make their rules clear to their own children. Under Massachusetts Law, what any person borrows from our library is confidential, regardless of the person's age. When your child checks materials out we can print a list at that time, but we cannot tell you later what your child has borrowed using his or her own card.

Other Services

	Maintain public bulletin board.
	Provide referral to other agencies or special libraries for information.
	Assist disabled patrons in retrieving materials.
	Provide free notary service.
	Provide meeting space to not-for-profit community groups and organizations.
	Provide guidance in the selection of reading materials.
	Provide computers (both Macintosh and PC) for public use.
	Provide a public art gallery for the display of works by local artists.
	Disseminate tax forms.

If you need a tax form that we do not have in the library, check the Internal Revenue Website for federal forms, and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue Online Service Center for state tax forms.

Last modified 01/30/2008