Fallbrook's virtual library speeds up research

Researching at the library is a given for students and others who want the latest news on subjects diverse as astronomy to Wall Street. Now the “virtual” library is augmenting shelves of books and magazines and, most importantly, reducing research time to minutes instead of days.

With its banks of computers and the recent addition of WiFi, the Fallbrook branch of the San Diego Library system offers it all — for free! Although a paperless society is still a long way off and nothing will replace the comfort of curling up with a good book, Fallbrook’s virtual library offers its cardholders state-of-the art access to its wealth of information both at the library and in their homes. By using their 13-digit bar code and pin number, library cardholders can access the entire San Diego County Library catalog of books or select the cataloged volumes in the Fallbrook branch alone. This simple task can take place in the library or from the cardholder’s home computer. Movies, DVDs and CDs can also be searched for and selected for checkout. To get a specific book, movie, DVD or CD, the cardholder can select it online then pick it up at the library. Or, for people who live on the outskirts of Fallbrook or may be unable to travel, their selections can be delivered by the San Diego County Library Bookmobile.

For pure research on any subject, the library databases offer over 30 choices, such as “Auto Repair,” which details repair, wiring diagrams, service and recalls for vehicles manufactured from 1945 to the present. The “Books” database includes downloadable audio books; eBooks; Tumble Books, which are read-along books for kids; and both NoveList and Novelist K-8, which include over 100,000 fiction books and authors for adults and children. The “Business and Investing” database offers Morningstar, which can be accessed at home or at the library, and Valueline, accessible at the library only. It also includes the Business & Company Resource Center, which yields detailed research on companies as well as industry news. Reference USA provides similar access to 12 million US businesses, and Thomson Gale is a database of California legal forms.

Any information accessed can be downloaded and printed at home (except Valueline) or at the library. The “Careers and School” database choices includes CollegeSource for college catalogs; Learning Express, which provides tutorials for academic and licensed tests; and The Rosetta Stone Language Library, which offers multimedia language learning. “Health & Medicine” is a database with three research sources: Health Reference Center Academic, which features articles on health-related issues; Health & Wellness Resource Center, for finding information about disease and treatment; and Natural Standard for wellness through natural means.

“Homework Help” offers 18 different research databases for academic reports covering everything from American Government to World History. The “Magazines, Newspapers & More” database offers: NewsBank; full text copies of the Christian Science Monitor, from 1987 to present; San Diego Union Tribune, 2000 to present; and The Washington Post, from 1977 to present. The database eLibrary reaches the Los Angeles Times from 1985 to present and General Reference Center Gold is a source for articles from newspapers, reference books and periodicals on current events, business and industry, the arts, science, sports, hobbies and more. Last, “en Espanol” is directed at Spanish language individuals seeking help with homework and the latest news from La Opinión and El Mundo newspapers.

To access the San Diego County Library databases, merely sign up for a library card at the Fallbrook branch. To get one, bring a photo identification and any document that shows the applicant’s current Fallbrook address. Meanwhile, browse the site at http://www.sdcl.org/refdb2.html.

The Fallbrook branch of the San Diego County Library is located at 124 South Mission Road and is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information call (760) 728-2373.