9 surprising things you can find at the library

Marketwatch reports:

Libraries aren’t just about books. Or e-books, CDs or DVDs.

Many are expanding their definitions of what they lend — and what they do — as they seek new ways to reach both young and old.

Librarians today help with job searches, teach computer skills, even show new owners of e-readers how their devices work. They’re re-imagining traditional story hours, hosting craft programs for children — and sometimes even bringing animals into the library, through the “Paws for Reading” program, in which kids build confidence by reading aloud to a specially trained dog. Being able to borrow a museum pass is increasingly common.

“We like to say that libraries today are less about what we have for people and more about what we do for and with people,” said Sari Feldman, president-elect of the American Library Association and executive director of the Cuyahoga County Public Library system, just outside Cleveland.

Her library uses Facebook to host an after-hours book club. In another regular Facebook conversation, readers list three recent reads that they loved, and Cuyahoga County library staffers will suggest three more books they’re likely to love.

“We find hundreds of people joining us on Facebook for these events,” she said.

The changing definition of what a library is.