Library
Information
Adult Reference Services
Adult services reference librarians answer more than 142,000 questions a year. Every Branch Library in the system provides reference service. The Bridgewater Branch serves as a reference referral center for other Branches as well as the primary reference service center for patrons who visit, call in questions by telephone or send via email. The adult reference desk at the Bridgewater Branch is staffed by librarians with NJ Public Librarian certification. They help patrons find answers to questions and guide patrons in the use of print and electronic reference sources.
Highlights of the Bridgewater Branch reference collection include New Jerseyana; business materials; consumer health information; education directories; consumer products evaluation information; federal and state statutes and regulations; literary criticism; and biographical directories. Electronic resources available include these CD-ROM databases including: Gale's Quotations, Masterplots Complete, NJ Parcel Map, Street Atlas USA, and federal and New Jersey tax forms; and numerous online research databases: including Biography Resource Center, Books in Print, Contemporary Authors, Country Watch, Custom Newspapers, EBSCOhost, Facts On File, General Reference Center Gold, HeritageQuest Online, Informe (a Spanish language magazine index), LearnATest, Literature Resource Center, LitFINDER, Mergent News Reports (formerly Moody's), NoveList, ProQuest, Reference Suite from Facts on File, ReferenceUSA, Sanborn maps, Standard and Poor's Net Advantage, Ulrich's Periodical Directory and ValueLine. Several of these may be accessed from remote locations via the Library System's Web site by entering a valid Library System library card barcode.
If Somerset County Library System materials are not sufficient to completely answer a patron's question, library staff will contact regional and state reference referral libraries for assistance.
College Catalogs
College catalogs from New Jersey colleges and selected out-of-state colleges are shelved with higher education reference materials.
New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania telephone books, along with those from major U.S. cities, are included in the reference collection. Access to nationwide yellow and white pages is also available online.
Each Branch in the System maintains a pamphlet file which contains mostly circulating materials. Materials in the Bridgewater Branch pamphlet file cover subjects including consumer health, hot topics, and circulating maps, both U.S. and foreign.
The Somerset County Library System subscribes to over 725 magazines and newspapers. All adult periodicals at the Bridgewater Branch are non-circulating; most back files are kept on microform. Selected magazines at other Branches circulate for two weeks. Full-text of many magazine articles is available from online databases. Photocopy machines and microform reader/printers are available for use by patrons. Articles from titles not owned by the Library System may be requested through inter-library loan.
In addition to photocopies, the Inter-Library Loan unit can provide materials not available in the Library System, using a national database to identify lending libraries. In order to shorten waiting time, items are requested from nearby libraries before attempting to acquire the materials from nationwide sources.
The Bridgewater Branch has a special collection of ESL books and audio tapes.
In the interest of preserving fragile or unique materials and making standard reference sources available to all users, materials do not circulate and must be used in the library. In most cases photocopying of materials that do not circulate is permitted, however, individual branches may choose to prohibit photocopying of materials from their collections. Researchers are encouraged to consult with the library staff about the accessibility of materials they plan to use.
The New Jersey Collection at the Bridgewater Branch Library is a non-circulating collection. The following guidelines apply to the use of the collection:
- All materials in the New Jersey
collection are reference materials; they do not circulate
and must be used in the library.
- Patrons and staff are expected to
handle these materials with care, as many are unique and irreplaceable.
- Due to the fragile and unique nature of
many of these materials, some may not be photocopied.
- Researchers should consult with library staff about accessing and photographing the materials that interest them, or arranging for some other means of recording the information.
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updated 06/14/03