Reading
for pleasure has tremendous health benefits. According to
a 2009 study at the University of Sussex, taking time out to read for
enjoyment helps to dramatically reduce stress levels at a rate much faster than
any other relaxation method. Other studies as noted by The Reading Agency,
a charity devoted to improving literacy in Great Britain, show reading for
pleasure also boosts people’s ability to empathize, a skill necessary for
building heathy relationships.
College life is busy. Balancing
study, work, family, and social responsibilities can be overwhelming at times,
so the need to quickly unwind is essential. While Davis Library
at the University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande
Community College maintains a small print collection of best-sellers and
other popular works, most of the funds budgeted for new book acquisitions are
designated for the purchase of items that support the institution’s curriculum.
To advocate both the value of pleasure
reading and libraries, Davis Library and Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library in Gallipolis, Ohio, recently joined forces to promote the
availability of The
Ohio Digital Library (ODL) to all Ohio citizens. Funded
in part by the State Library of Ohio, ODL is digital content lending program featuring the
collections of its consortium members, which includes several southeastern Ohio
public libraries.
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| Members of both the Davis Library and Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library staffs with the new OverDrive Media Station now located on Davis Library's Main Floor |
As a result of this partnership, Davis Library
now houses an OverDrive Media Station. This in-library discovery tool allows visitors to browse and sample
Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library’s digital collection (as well as those of other ODL consortium members) of eBooks, audiobooks, magazines and
video from an interactive touchscreen monitor. Davis Library users who have
signed up for a Bossard Library Card can
send any source on the OverDrive Media Station to their favorite device for
checkout using a QR code, email, or SMS text message.
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| Dr. Michelle Johnston, URG/RGCC President (standing) meets with Susan Randolph, Bossard's Circulation Manager, to sign up for her FREE Library Card |
Representatives from Bossard came to campus on Thursday, January 14th
to sign up Rio Grande students, faculty, and staff for FREE Library Cards and
to encourage the campus community to make the most out of the wide-range of public
library services available to them. Anyone 4-years-old and up (minors require
the consent of a parent or guardian) living, working and/or attending to school
in Ohio is eligible to register for a Bossard Library Card.
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| Dr. Johnston (left) receives her Bossard Library Card from Debbie Saunders, Director of the Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library (center) & Robert E. Jenkins, President of the Gallia Co. District Library Board of Trustees (right) |
With ODL and the OverDrive Media
Station, Rio Grande students, faculty and staff can get immediate access to
popular reading, viewing and listening materials that may sometimes take days to
be delivered to them in print or other media formats via Davis Library’s
participation in resource-sharing networks such as OhioLINK or traditional Interlibrary
Loan (ILL) services.
While the campus community is gaining more access and exposure to ODL and other services avialble through our local public library, Davis Library is hopeful that this new partnership with the Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library will also raise awareness of the availability of their services to the members of the wider community who are not working for or enrolled in classes at the university or community college. Davis Library is strongly commtted to public service and ensuring an informed citizenry.
For more photographs from the January 14th event, please visit the Davis Library's Facebook Page availalble at: www.facebook.com/jadavislibrary
If you want to learn more about ODL, the OverDrive Media Station, or any other library services offered both on and off campus, feel free to... "Ask Us!"
