Departments, Sections, and Divisions

Division Head: Nicole Hughes

The Community Relations Division is the Library System's link to the community and the media, and includes public relations, marketing, and volunteer services. Its mission is to "get the word out" about all of the services and programs the Library System provides by:

• Producing a monthly newsletter and calendar of events with information about library services, monthly programs for adults and children, and our Friends of the Library group.
• Producing brochures, newsletters, flyers, posters, maps, bibliographies, bookmarks, forms, signs and display materials.
• Sending notices to the media (newspapers, magazines, television,cable, and radio stations) about our programs, services and special events.
• Answering questions from the public and the media about programs,services and library issues.
• Setting up Library displays/tables at community events such as the South Florida Fair, the Senior Activities Festival, Kindergarten Round-ups, and other local fairs and festivals.
• Compiling and producing monthly statistical reports, and customer satisfaction and visits surveys for the Library System.
• Working closely with Library staff system-wide on programming, special events and outside venues.
• Serving as staff liaison to the Friends of the Library.

Volunteer Services Section:

Adult and Youth Volunteer service is offered year-round, as well as a VolunTeen Program for ages 12-18 to assist with the Summer Reading Program from June through August each year.

Adult and Youth Volunteers support and enhance library services in various positions. Book menders, shelvers, shelf readers, audio/visual repairers, docents, clerical and telephone assistants, youth, reference and program assistants support the library on a daily basis and enhance the Library System and the community. Some volunteers also serve on The Library Advisory Board or the Friends of the Palm Beach County Public Library Board.

Volunteer service will play an increasingly active role in the future of libraries. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please pick up an application at any one of our fourteen library locations, or click here to download an application.

The Community Relations Division is located in the Headquarters/Main Library Building at 3650 Summit Blvd., West Palm Beach 33406

Community Relations Staff:
Phone: (561) 233-2600
Ann Nelson, Volunteer Services Coordinator
Joanne Abadi, Communications Specialist
Randy Pytel, Graphic Designer

In the past year, just over 5 million books and A/V materials were circulated in the Palm Beach County Library System.  There are 457,000 library card holders.  These patrons and materials are processed in and out of the Library through the Circulation Section of each library location.

The Circulation Section is located near the front of all County library buildings and  usually is the first service desk you see.  Circulation is the section of the library where books and audio/visual materials are checked in and out.  It is  where you can get your library card or a replacement card if you've lost yours.  Circulation is where you pay your fines.  Also you may reserve materials that are checked out or at another branch.

Circulation staff will help you find a video, book on-tape, or music compact disc.  They will go to the shelves with you and show you where a Dewey Decimal number can be found.  The people who work in circulation section know the collection very well, so be sure to ask a Circulation staff member if you are looking for something good to read.

More information about Palm Beach County Library System's circulation services and policies may be found in Borrowing Information.

Technical Services Division

Division Head: Ann Fleming

Cataloging/Authority Control and Database Maintenance Section catalogs new library materials and maintains the bibliographic, authority and item records in the online public access catalog (OPAC).

Materials Processing Section physically prepares catalog library materials for circulation.

Warehouse Section maintains a collection of books which cannot be housed at PBCLS facilities. Library staff can place requests for these books with delivery to the requesting location by the Library Material Delivery Service.

Located in the Library Annex in Lake Worth, the Technical Services Division is responsible for the cataloging and processing of books, videocassettes, audiocassettes, and compact discs for all branches of the Palm Beach County Library System. Staffed by six librarians, ten paraprofessionals, one secretary, and one student worker, the Division handled over 123,000 volumes during the last fiscal year. Within the Division, there are two sections: Cataloging/Database Management, and Item Database Management/Materials Processing.

The life of a new book in the Palm Beach County Public Library System begins in the Cataloging/Database Management Section, where each new title is entered into the Library's computerized catalog, also known as ATLAS. Through online access to the Library of Congress' cataloging database (as well as an international database known as OCLC), the staff of the Cataloging/Database Management Section is able to "copy" the work done by other institutions and edit it to meet the needs of our local patrons. All cataloging is performed according to a strict set of rules and standards to ensure that patrons have the greatest possible access to library materials.

Once the book is cataloged and assigned the appropriate Dewey Decimal classification number, it is given to the Item Database Management Section. Here, the book is bar-coded and "linked" to its corresponding description in the catalog. Spine and pocket labels are printed, and the book is then handed over to Materials Processing, where it receives a book pocket, ownership stamps, and if necessary, a protective book cover. Completed materials are then sorted for distribution to the various branches.

The Item Database Management Section is also responsible for maintaining the Library System's warehouse. This area of the Annex stores books which are in low demand but still considered to be of value to the collection. The Warehouse is a "hidden" branch in that patrons may not browse the shelves in person, but may request any title from the warehouse to be sent to their branch. This type of request is done at all branches with only a couple of days turn-around time.

Outreach Services

Division Head: Wendy Rosenfeld

The Palm Beach County Public Library System strives to make programs and services accessible to everyone. The Outreach Services Division is a resource for those who cannot easily access branch services. Target audiences include adults and children with a visual disability; homebound adults and those in nursing or retirement centers; children in day care centers, Head Start programs, and special at-risk programs; and adult literacy and English as a Second Language (ESL) learners.

Outreach Services is located in the Library Annex in Lake Worth and includes:

Talking Books is a free service to anyone legally blind, visually impaired, or physically handicapped in such a way that they can not hold a book.  Patrons select the audio books they would like from a catalog and they are mailed to their residences. The program is supported by the Library of Congress’ National Library Service.

Books-By-Mail is free to eligible residents who are homebound, disabled or lack transportation to the library. Deposit collections are also established at nursing homes, Juvenile Detention Centers, and long term Adult Assisted Living facilities. Bi-Folkal Kits can be requested for senior centers, nursing homes, retirement homes, and other agencies and organizations who work with older adults. These activity kits center on a time or topic which have been part of most people's lives and are designed to stimulate memory and encourage the sharing of ideas.

The Adult Literacy Project trains volunteer reading tutors and matches them with basic adult literacy students for free, confidential, one-on-one instruction.  English Exchange programs provide informal sessions to improve fluency and skills for those who speak English as a second language.
           
The Bookmobile extends library services to 42 regularly scheduled stops serving disadvantaged children, senior citizens, and communities 3 or more miles from a branch library.

Book Discussion Sets are available for local groups to borrow.  A listing is available on the library’s website/special services and can be requested at your local branch library.  Titles are obtainable in regular or large print and in Spanish.

System Youth Services schedules workshops to child care providers who are interested in sharing books with children.  These workshops cover storytelling techniques, choosing age appropriate materials, and using library resources. Eligible daycares are enrolled in the ABC Kit program. Kits contain story time books, music, props and other items centered on a theme. Additional workshops are offered to the community to present information about the library, and the importance of books and reading aloud to preschoolers. Materials and support are also provided to staff working our branch libraries children’s areas.

Library Courier Services provide five day a week library material pick-up and delivery to seventeen County branch libraries and also cooperating libraries in Palm Beach County.

Serials

What is a serial?  A serial is a publication such as a newspaper, magazine, or annual (think The World Almanac and Book of Facts, or Who's Who in America) that is published on an ongoing basis.  Serials can come in print form, on microfilm or microfiche, and even in an electronic format, such as CD-ROM or online.

The Palm Beach County Library System subscribes to over 1500 serials supporting the leisure reading and research needs of the community.  We have titles ranging from The Palm Beach Post on microfilm, dating back to 1916, to the latest issue of People Weekly, and a little bit of everything in between.

To help our patrons find the information contained in this large collection, we also provide some valuable tools.  The library has print indexes that can be used to find articles in magazines and newspapers.  Among these are The New York Times Index, covering articles dating back to 1920, and The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, which indexes magazine articles dating back to 1900.  We have online indexes to articles in  The Palm Beach Post, The Sun Sentinel and many other newspapers.

In addition, we have access to a collection of online databases that can be used to search thousands of magazines, newspapers, and reference books for articles on on a wide range of subjects. Here, you can also find residential and business phone numbers and addresses, genealogical records, biographies, electronic books, and more. Many of these databases are accessible from your home computer! Click on the link for Electronic Databases, on our library homepage, and start to explore.

While the online databases are available at every library location, the article that you are looking for may not be available at your local branch.  When this is the case, library staff can obtain the article from another branch, or request it through the Interlibrary Loan Service (ILL).  For more information see Interlibrary Loan FAQ's.

Information Technology

Division Head: Jeanne Brodbeck

Plans, implements and maintains the hardware, communications, and software infrastructure for information services provided by the library.  Provides leadership and technical expertise in the development of new library information technologies.

The Library Application Support section provides training, documentation and support to staff using the automated circulation system.

The Systems/Network section maintains the communications network providing access for the staff and the public to the automated library system, and to electronic resources available through the Internet including our web site.  It is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of computers, peripherals, operating systems and library application software connected to the network.

This section provides field service and support for both standalone and networked workstations used by the staff and the public to access electronic information resources.

Collection Development

Coordinator: Jane Blevins

The Collection Development staff are responsible for coordinating the selection and maintenance of the Library's collection.  Their primary goal is to insure that the collection meets the needs of the community and the patrons we serve.  At the present time, the Library's collection consists of over 1 million items including books, magazines, audiovisual materials and online databases.

Three librarians and a fiscal specialist staff the section.  Each staff member has responsibilities that facilitate the selection process.  These responsibilities include responding to patron suggestions and inquiries, budget preparation, selecting audiovisual materials, coordinating and preparing selection lists, chairing selection committees and researching new formats and materials.  The staff works closely with other sections and divisions in the Library including public service staff, the Materials Acquisitions Section, the Technical Services Division and the Information Technology Division.

The Collection Development staff also prepares and implements policies that reflect the Library's mission of providing a collection of materials to serve the community's diverse needs.  These policies include criteria and procedures for selecting materials, maintaining and evaluating the collection, the reconsideration of materials if a challenge occurs, and guidelines for accessing the Internet.

Finance & Facilities

The Finance and Facilities Division is responsible for all financial, facilities management, and capital project work of a dependent district and is composed of twenty-four employees.  There are three major sections:1/ The Financial Section 2/ The Facilities Management Section 3/ The Acquisitions Section.

The Financial Section prepares the department's annual budget request, reviews expenditure projections, estimates annual mileage rates, and impact fee collections and expenditures, evaluates and issues financial reports, purchases all supplies, services, furniture and fixtures, except Library materials (books, a/v materials, subscriptions, and periodicals).

The Facilities Management Section is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of all buildings and equipment, conducting the annual fixed asset inventory, facilitating correction of all building and landscaping problems, distributes supplies and materials for the Library system, and maintains extensive contact with branch staff through regular site visits to all facilities.

The Acquisitions Section orders all library materials, monitors approximately forty-four contracts for material purchases; receives, inspects and attaches routing slips for materials delivered to the Annex; pre-audits and approves invoices for payment.  This sections handles orders totaling $4,000,000+ annually.  They work very closely with Collection Development and Technical Services.

Branch Public Service

Division Head: Gail Peterson

The Branch Public Service Division consists of 15 branch libraries. Each branch library serves a geographical area of Palm Beach County and the library services provided are targeted to meet the surrounding community’s needs. Libraries reach a far north as Tequesta, extend south to the Broward County line and include western Palm Beach County with branches in Belle Glade South Bay and Pahokee. Three area coordinators are responsible for the north, west, glades and south areas of the County. Each location has a branch manager/supervisor onsite.

Every branch library provides a full range of library services including circulation, reference and information, extensive collections of materials, computers, children’s programs and adult programming. Friendly, informed staffs are there to help you. The smallest branch has only 4 employees; the largest branch has 48. Volunteers assist staff and donate many hours of time in the libraries.

Please see the News and Events link for the times and dates of scheduled programs. Each branch location has a webpage on this Library website. There you will find information about the branch including the address, telephone number, public service hours and branch manager, as well as any other services offered at that location. Directions to each library and the bus routes stopping there are listed. The library website has a link to a County map of all library locations.