Get information smart @ your library™
Most of us today are keenly aware of the deluge of information coming at us from the moment we wake up with our favorite morning talk show until we turn off the late-night news. Books, newspapers, magazines, professional trade journals, e-mail from family, friends and co-workers - it never ends.
But more information doesn't necessarily mean better information. If you read the headlines, you know the opportunities for inaccuracy, deception and exploitation have grown along with the speed and magnitude of information available on demand.
In order to cope with all this bewildering amount of information we need a place we can get help making sense of all that's out there. And that place is as close as your local library.
In 1989, the American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy wrote: "How our country deals with the realities of the Information Age will have enormous impact on our democratic way of life and on our nation's ability to compete internationally."
That was before the Internet became a superhighway running through businesses, schools, libraries and, increasingly, our homes. Librarians were among the first to recognize the importance of this new information technology and to fight to make it widely accessible to the public.
New technology is making libraries more vitally important, especially in rural and under-served communities where people may not have access to the Internet at home.
Today, Texas libraries are changing and dynamic places. Our libraries offer an array of new technologies and services including computer training, 24-hour-a-day acess to electronic resources from your home, digital online catalogs and more. [Add a description of your local programs and services here.]
Of course, there are still all those great books and magazines, videos and CDs that we have come to expect and enjoy at your library. At your library, there is always something going on. From exhibits and classes to homework help and lectures [add your own info], your library is abuzz with programs and services that make it a central place in the community.
And your library is getting better all the time. Thanks to TexShare, [add Library Name] has access to online information databases that make the library a world-class research facility for students, small businesses, teachers, parents, you name it.
[Additional paragraph about the library's services.]
Libraries have always been places of opportunity, self-help and lifelong learning where the public can their information needs about health, school, jobs and family. And with today's library technology, libraries are reaching beyond their walls to connect to the larger, global community. Pasadena reaches Paris and Buda accesses Beijing. Today's library technology means that information from around the world is just a few clicks away and affords us opportunities like never before.
The library is as vibrant as ever. Libraries and librarians continue to play a unique role played by no other in our democracy. They are part of the American Dream, giving information a new face and providing a new place to call our own. Come see what's new @ your library™.
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Op-Ed Article Tips
An op-ed article is an editorial written to explain a viewpoint at greater length than a paper’s standard editorial. Written by either a newspaper staff member or guest author, it usually appears on the page opposite the editorial page, although some larger papers devote several pages to outside editorials. Op-ed articles in general are written by recognized authorities on a particular subject. Editors rarely change the information and wording of an op-ed article.
How to get your Op-Ed (Opinion Editorial) article printed in the newspaper:
- Find out from the newspaper the guidelines for submitting an op-ed. Many papers have strict rules, including a word count limit.
- Write your article based on the newspaper guidelines.
- Send your article to the editorial editor of the newspaper in the format that person prefers. Some editors prefer a fax; others prefer e-mail. Make sure you include your credentials, since normally op-ed articles are written by “experts.” In this case, you are a library expert.
- Follow up. Call the editorial editor a day or two after you send the article. Ask if they received it. Give the editor a brief summary of the article, and tell him why the paper’s readers should know about your subject. Ask him or her directly if the article sounds like something they would be interested in printing. Offer to resend the article if needed or to provide additional information.
- Be prepared to provide a photograph if the newspaper asks for one.
