I chose Brownsburg Public Library in Brownsburg, Indiana.  You can visit their website at https://www.bburglibrary.net/ .  I found out about this library via Robbi Caldwell’s article in American Libraries journal – volume 52, issue 5.  Ms. Caldwell’s article is titled, “Summer Reading Realities:  Many libraries are entering round two of summer reading in a pandemic.”  The title caught my eye, because I’m really interested in partnering with a public library for summer reading programs for my future students.  Upon reading Ms. Caldwell’s article, I was immediately drawn to this library because I appreciate how thoughtful they are about ensuring that their patrons are able to participate in summer readings programs, despite the challenges that the staff face to make this happen.  I especially love that they came up with engaging virtual programs and take-and-make kits to entertain and educate their community.  Brownsburg Public Library, based on this short article alone, clearly cares about its patrons and goes the extra mile to develop fun services during a difficult time.  Once I visited their website, I discovered even more evidence of why Brownsburg is a wonderful library.

Upon going to Brownsburg Public Library’s home page, the user is warmly welcomed with a message of “You Are Amazing!” in the form of a photograph of a hidden painted rock on top of shelved books.  This supportive greeting is the first thing that visitors see, and it’s aptly placed, as “people form their first impressions of a website in as little as fifty milliseconds” (Rubin and Rubin, p. 506).  The top of the page has helpful popular topics linked for easy access:  “Get a Library Card!,” “Request an item,” “Hours & Closures,” “Account Login,” “Catalog,” and “FAQ.”  This top section also has the library’s address, telephone number, and fax number.  “Get a Library Card!” opens a form for residents to sign up for a card.  “Request an Item” opens Microsoft Outlook.  “Hours & Closures” takes the user to a list of daily hours and holiday closures.  “Account Login” directs the user to sign in using their password and either username or barcode.  The “Catalog” link takes the user to Polaris.  And the “FAQ” links to a short list of questions that users or potential patrons may have, as well as helpful answers to those inquiries.

Directly below this header is a “Search and Discover” text box, inviting the patron to “Find anything!  Start here.”  Below this search box, tabs invite the user to explore “About Us,” “Book a Space!,” “Classes & Events,” “eBooks, eAudio & More!,” “Learning & Research,” “Services,” and a button to get back to “Home.”

Below these tabs there is a slowly scrolling “Upcoming Events” feed that is “powered by feedwind.”  Events such as Virtual Zumba, a community flu shot clinic, and take and make cookie moon phase kits are available to the residents of Brownsburg.

Next to the “Upcoming Events” feed is a section called “This week’s popular fiction.”  I’m a huge Stephen King fan, and I was thrilled to discover in this section that he has a new book called Billy Summers.  I was so busy with course work and my kids that I didn’t realize he had released a new book.  Thanks, Brownsburg!

Underneath this section is something that I was quite happy to see:  a portion of the website where the library publically says “Thank you, partners” (2019b)!  Brownsburg Public Library took the time and website space to express their gratitude to their four partners:  Brownsburg Parks; Crouching Tigers, a martial arts studio; Paws & Think, a local charitable organization that has a mission to improve “lives through the power of the human-dog connection” (Paws & Think, 2021); and the Wayne Metropolitan School District.  It’s rare to see library partners thanked, and it made me feel that Brownsburg is a friendly close-knit town.

Finally, at the bottom of the homepage, the library lists its daily hours, has a Google map of its location, and shares its email address, phone number, and address.  Brownsburg Public Library also invites members to “check us out on social media” (Brownsburg, 2019b).  Links to the library’s Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest accounts are presented at the very bottom of the homepage.

The “About Us” tab is very welcoming:  “We hope that each and every visit is special for you.  We’d love to hear your stories, suggestions, and even your concerns.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us anytime” (2019a)!  Email addresses and smiling photographs of both the director and assistant director complete the main “About Us” tab.  In the tab’s dropdown menu, the library offers a transparent view of its operations.  Anyone can view the “2022 Budget Information” and the “Annual Report” for the past four years.  “Job Openings” are posted, though they do not currently have any available positions.  The “Library Board” page has a list of members and information about their meetings, qualifications, and purpose.  There is a 52-page “Operational Policy” and a 15-page “Strategic Plan.”  The “About Us” menu concludes with a “Volunteer with Us!” application.

The “Book a Space!” tab gives patrons the choice to begin making their reservation by room or by day.  The “By Room” option takes the user to a list of nine rooms, each with a location, description, and room capacity.  The Murdock Room, for example, has a room capacity of 68, 34 with tables.  The room is 750 square feet with a 12 foot high ceiling.  The room features a mounted projector and screen, as well as a speaker system.  Upon picking up the access fob for the reservation, the customer service desk will provide the user with the necessary hookup cables and remotes (Brownsburg Public Library, 2019d).

The “Classes & Events” tab is organized by “Kids,” “Tweens & Teens,” “Adults,” and “All Events.”  However, clicking each individual group brings the user to the exact same calendar page.  That calendar page, though, does allow for age group filters, and multiple choices can be selected at once.  The library offers events for “Everyone,” “Family,” “Infant (0-2 yrs),” “Toddler (2-3 ½ yrs),” “Preschool (3 ½ – 6 years),” “School Age (6-10 yrs),” “Tween (10-13 yrs),” “Teen (11-19 yrs),” and “Adult.”  I found it interesting that “school age” is 6 to 10 years, “tween” and “teen” overlap, and “teen” goes one year past adulthood, at age 19.  Events can be searched in various ways, including program type and room.  Due to Covid, there are virtual programs, such as “My College Planning Series – Part II:  How to Reduce College Costs (Strategies You Need to Know)” and a “Take & Make Lemon Drop Bark” where registrants can pick up supplies and follow the virtual cooking instructions at home.  There are many rooms available for events, including an outdoor gazebo.

Looking at the event calendar for October, Brownsburg Public Library has a lot to offer!  Virtual Zumba, Book Babies, Family Time: Fall Fun, Preschool Storytime: Autumn Leaves, Chair Yoga, Thursday Book Club, Crouching Tigers practice, Teen Paint a Pumpkin, Westside Wordsmiths, Lego Club, Paws to Read (where kids can practice reading to a service dog), Branches Genealogy Group: DNA in Genealogy, Workshop for Family Caregivers, and Virtual Cooking Club are just some of the offerings.  Using the calendar is easy, and it’s visually appealing.  Simply mouse over an event, and a side bar will appear that gives more information about it.

The “eBooks, eAudio & More!” tab is a dropdown menu for “eBooks & eAudio,” “eMagazines,” “Movies, Music, TV & more!,” and “Movies, TV & Documentaries.”  It’s a little confusing that movies and TV are in two options, but that is clarified when those options are clicked on.  The “eBooks & eAudio” and “eMagazine” options bring the user to Libby/Overdrive.  The “Movies, Music, TV & more!” option takes the patron to Hoopla.  And the “Movies, TV & Documentaries” option directs the user to Kanopy.  Each of the above services advertises popular items and has a search feature for easy navigation.

The “Learning & Research” tab has resources organized by interest: 

• “Biography, History, & Genealogy” – multiple ancestry databases and search engines, local history, newspaper and biography index, and local obituaries
• “Reading Recommendations & Entertainment” – Brownsburg Public Library’s reading suggestions and eBook databases
• “Brownsburg: Then & Now” — a special digital collection composed of images, postcards, and papers that document the history of Brownsburg, Indiana.
• “Education” – lifelong learning libraries and practice driving tests
• “Employment” – career connection services
• “INSPIRE: A Service of the Indiana State Library”  — lifelong learning library
• “Learning Tools” —  computer technology tutorials and practice tests
• “Business & Consumer Information” —  health care information, legal information, small business reference center, practice driving tests
• “Youth Resources” – biography reference center, local Brownsburg history, NoveList
• Libby, Overdrive, and NoveList Plus – a service that helps users discover books they will love (Brownsburg Public Library, 2019c).

The catchall “More” tab is full of wonderful services.  “Assignment Alert” is for local teachers to let the library know that there is an assignment that requires students to use the library.  Items can be put on hold for the teacher to pick up, for students to pick up, or for students to look at in the library only.  “Bestseller’s Club” is a very thoughtful way to let patrons get access to new releases early.  Users simply fill out an online form with their information and their favorite authors, and when a new book is published that user will automatically be put on a list to borrow it.  “Book A Librarian” allows patrons to “check out” a librarian for a one-on-one help session for a particular topic or question.  “BPLPRINT2GO” is a printing service where users can have the library staff print documents for pickup.  The “Buy a Brick” page is no longer accepting applications, which sounds like the library was very successful in their fundraiser.  “Newsletters for Readers” allows users to easily select newsletters that they would like to subscribe to via the library.  Brownsburg Public Library even has a “Notary Service.” 

The library has a large social media presence, which is hugely beneficial to both the patrons and the library staff as David Lee King touches on in Rubin and Rubin’s textbook:  “Social media is having a huge impact on libraries.  Libraries can now directly connect and have conversations with customers outside the building.  This ability opens new forms of reference services, online readers’ advisories, and remote consultation services, as customers can communicate with library staff through social tools, like Facebook and Twitter, or through a comment box on the library’s website” (Rubin and Rubin, p. 275). 

Brownsburg Library’s Facebook page is very active, with multiple posts a week or day.  The most recent post is advertising their teen Halloween party.  Their Twitter is also very active, with tweets nearly every day.  Information about used books sales and a Halloween reading challenge are among their latest tweets.  The library has a WordPress blog of “Reading Suggestions.”  There are bookmarked lists for a wide range of interests, from “African American Romance Authors” to “Are We There Yet?: Long audiobooks,” from “Christmas crime” to “If you like Harry Potter.”  The Brownsburg Public Library Instagram page has reading challenges, must-reads, and photos from library events.  Their YouTube channel has children’s story time videos, craft tutorials, how-to-videos for apps and signing up for programs and challenges, sing-alongs, animal shows, event videos, “Borrow By Mail” directions, and more.  Lastly, their Pinterest link is broken and takes the user to Pinterest’s home page after showing an error message.

Though their website has a couple of hiccups, I am overall very impressed with Brownsburg Public Library.  Their website is friendly and helpful, they offer terrific services, and they clearly care about their patrons’ needs and lives.

References

Brownsburg Public Library.  (2019a).  About us.  Brownsburg Public Library.  https://www.bburglibrary.net/aboutus

Brownsburg Public Library.  (2019b).  Home page.  Brownsburg Public Library.  https://www.bburglibrary.net/

Brownsburg Public Library.  (2019c).  Learning and research.  Brownsburg Public Library.  https://www.bburglibrary.net/learning-research

Brownsburg Public Library.  (2019d).  Murdock room.  Brownsburg Public Library.  https://bburglibrary.librarymarket.com/reserve-room/murdock-room?selected_date

Caldwell, R. (2021).  “Summer reading realities: Many libraries are entering round two of summer reading in a pandemic.”  American Libraries, 52(5), 48.  https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2021/05/03/summer-reading-realities/

Paws & Think (2021).  Paws and Think.  https://pawsandthink.org/

Rubin, R. E., & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science. ProQuest Ebook Central. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com