Library Services

Children's Library Services

The children's area, located on the lower level of the library, offers a variety of materials appealing to all ages. Books range from board books for babies to fiction and non-fiction for older readers. We offer a large selection of books for beginning readers as well as popular series books. New books are kept out on display as well as the current nominees for the Young Hoosier prize. Also available for circulation are videos, periodicals and recorded books on both cassette and CD. In addition, there are reference books and games installed on seven public computers. Internet access is available for children and for adults accompanying children.

The Parent's Shelf contains children's and adult books and videos to help parents deal with health, behavior and enrichment of childhood.

Homeschooling families will find materials of interest including magazines, a list of homeschooling books in this library and a copy of the Indiana Academic Standards. We can guide you to sites on the internet that offer support in many different areas. Librarians are available to help you find materials or learn how to use our computer catalog to find what you need.

We have comfortable chairs to encourage book sharing and toys, puzzles and coloring pages for other enjoyment. The puppets and puppet stage are available for impromptu plays.

During the summer we encourage children of all ages to participate in the Summer Reading Program. Children receive a reading log to keep track of the books they have read or been read to and receive prizes for their efforts.

Storytime is held on Thursday in the fall, and late winter, and on Wednesday in the summer. Contact the library for exact dates. Toddlers, age birth to 36 months, come at 10 am for fingerplays, songs, rhymes and stories. Preschoolers, ages 3-7, come at 11 to sing, hear stories and do a simple craft. Schoolage children, ages 8-12,  have storytime at 4 pm during which they hear stories and make something to take home.

Young Adult (YA)

• Magazines
• Graphic Novels including books about superheroes, manga series, Star Wars and more
• Books about teen issues, crafts, music, famous people, adventure, art, and other popular areas of interest
• Novels by popular authors and the Rosewater nominees.

Programs of special interest to teens are offered through the year.

Suggestions for purchase are encouraged. Forms located at the reference desk.

Please contact us at 653-2755 extension 124.

Adult Services

The adult area is here to meet patron needs and welcomes patron questions and concerns.
Please contact us at 653-2755 extension 124.

Services Offered:

• Information-The reference desk answers questions in person and via phone.
• PAC Assistance-Reference staff are available to help patrons use the on-line catalog to find materials.
• Reader’s Advisory-. Looking for a recommendation, a particular author, or the next book in a much-loved series? Just ask the reference staff to refer you to a good book.
• Internet Access-Walk in or call for a reservation. Internet is free, Printing is $.10 per page and library cards are not required.
• Wireless Access-The upstairs area is wired. Settle in at a table or in a comfortable chair with your laptop.
• Word Processing-A study room and several Internet stations offer Microsoft Office applications.
• Inter-Library Loan-Library cardholders may request books, articles, audio and video materials. Items received from Indiana libraries are free. Materials from out of state cost $2 in postage.
• Meeting Room Reservations-Schedule the Kiwanis or Rotary rooms for your not-for-profit group or community organization.
• Tours-For community organizations and school groups.

Materials Include:

• Feature Films in DVD and VHS formats
• Audio Books on CD and audio cassette tape
• Music on CD
• Data Bases: Inspire, Novelist, Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest, see below
• Newspapers
• Magazines current year and previous two years
• Tax Forms
• Divorce Forms and other Legal Forms
• College and Scholarship information
• Morningstar Mutual Fund and Value Line
• Books:
  • Nonfiction on health, cooking, home schooling, home improvement, crafts and much more
    
  • Biographies
    
  • Fiction including classics, best sellers, mysteries, horror, suspense, westerns, romances, Christian fiction, African American fiction, and short stories
    
  • Large Print
    
  • Spanish Language
    
  • Adult Literacy Materials
    
  • Reference-encyclopedias, atlases, business and more
    

	BookLetters BookLetters This free service allows you to sign up for regular e-mail newsletters with comments and reading recommendations in varied categories. Whether you enjoy mystery, romance, biography, history or reading suggestions for your children; these newsletters will keep you posted on the activities and resources at the Putnam County Public Library. New resource for book discussions! The library in conjunction with BookLetters is making available an online Book Discussion Guide Database. This resource is great for teachers, patrons and book discussion groups in the Putnam County area.
	Global Road Warrior is an online database containing culture, communications, travel, business, and maps for 175 countries and territories. Available at library computers or grab your library card and use it as your boarding pass from home! Brochure
	Inspire Indiana Inspire Indiana, state-funded through December 2002, provides access to a variety of databases and is a tremendous research option for anyone in the state. Available to Indiana Internet users at http://www.inspire.in.gov/, Inspire can be accessed from home, school, office, or the public library.
	Novelist NoveList allows library patrons to use a favorite author or title as a template to locate other authors and titles of interest. In addition, three powerful search techniques allow patrons to look for books by entering descriptive terms that appear in subject headings, reviews, and other fields in the title records. Besides locating books to read, patrons can learn more about books and authors through Author Read-alikes, Feature Articles, Book Discussion Guides, and BookTalks. Connect to Novelist by using your Putnam County Public Library card bar code here

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Cyril Johnson Room

Located in the original Andrew Carnegie Building, the Cyril Johnson Room offers resources for those seeking information on Putnam County history and families, access to the Putnam County Historical Society materials and many other collections. Local history staff and volunteers assist in researching and locating materials. On a limited basis they also respond to inquiries that come in by letter, e-mail and fax. Materials available include ancestral charts (submitted by patrons), a wide range of published books, tombstone readings for all Putnam County cemeteries (and some surrounding counties), U.S. Census indexes (1830-1930), city and county directories, Greencastle newspapers (1977 to present), index to the Banner Graphic from 1981, Russellville newspaper (1884-1963), local obituaries (since the 1970’s), and high school and DePauw University yearbooks.

Available to PCPL in-person patrons via public workstations and wireless are Ancestry Library Edition and HeritageQuest Online electronic resources.

Bookmobile

A fully accessible bookmobile travels throughout the county to provide library service to residents, schools, day care facilities, and people unable to leave their homes. A schedule of current stops is available from the library, the bookmobile, or on-line.