Speaker 1 00:00:06 You’re tuned in to the Clayton Connected Podcast in Clayton County, where the world lands and opportunities take off. Good morning. Welcome to the Clayton Connected Podcast. I’m your hostess, Valerie Fuller, communications Administrator for the Clayton County Board of Commissioner’s Office of Communications. This morning, I want to welcome to our Clayton Connected podcast studio representatives from our Clayton County Library System, assistant Library Director, Ms. Rapa OSL, and Rebecca James, assistant Director for Youth Services. Welcome.
Speaker 2 00:00:50 Thank
Speaker 3 00:00:50 You. Thank you.
Speaker 1 00:00:53 We know that libraries range wildly in size. They provide, uh, typically in the past quiet areas of study, and they also offer, uh, common areas for use, uh, for facilitating group study and or collaboration. Um, but we also know that libraries often provide public facilities for access to electronic resources and the internet being that we are in the 21st century, right? Yes. Yes. So talk to me about what the Clayton County Public Library System has to offer.
Speaker 3 00:01:27 Um, first of all, thank you so much for having us here to showcase the many life-changing resources that the Clayton County Library System provides for the people of Clayton County. I want to start off by talking about interplay. And I tell you, I feel like break dancing because it’s just such a life-changing free resource, right? That can help to change lives. Interplay is a resource that people can learn how to be an H V A C technician, a plumber or electrician through 3D and virtual simulations through the library, all for free. You have already paid for this. We will love you to come and use it for free by going to our website and registering to change your life.
Speaker 1 00:02:24 I gotta stress this. F R E e
Speaker 2 00:02:28 Free. That’s right. Yes.
Speaker 1 00:02:30 99. You can change your life and somebody else is using free RO resources through Interplay, as you suggested. The website that she’s speaking of is clayton p.org. That’s the Clayton County Public Library System website. What else does the library have to offer?
Speaker 2 00:02:46 We have hotspots, wifi hotspots, Valerie. Uh, these are available to, uh, be checked out by adults in Clayton County. Uh, it, these are T-Mobile devices. So if you, uh, don’t, uh, have internet at home or you are going to be traveling and you want to keep internet with you, you can come to any of our locations and check out these hotspots for two weeks at a time, again, for free.
Speaker 1 00:03:17 That is something that’s very notable. Connectivity. Not everyone has connectivity, and we’re not all in one standard space. You know, whether that’s, uh, as you stressed at home, uh, in your car on the highway camping either.
Speaker 3 00:03:33 Exactly. So if you don’t have free internet, I want to give a testimony. My son, when he bought his new home, he did not have internet for about two weeks because he was waiting to be connected. But he came to the library and checked out the hotspot for free and he was able to do his online work at home, and also he was able to, you know, connect and stream and watch football and all that. So it’s an amazing resource that is free that we want you to come in and take advantage of.
Speaker 1 00:04:09 And you don’t have to
Speaker 2 00:04:10 Wait. No,
Speaker 1 00:04:11 You do not have to wait. So what are some other services, um, for, uh, adults and or children?
Speaker 3 00:04:17 Okay, I wanna talk about Brain Fuse job now. It is for people that if you want to go for an interview, first of all, many a time people don’t have the opportunity to get an interview because their resumes are not up to par. But if you go to our resource Brain Fuse, if you submit your resume, somebody will clean it up and make it possible for you to be able to get an interview because it will look professional. And when you get an interview, a life coach will come online and prepare you how to interview like a superstar so that you can get the job.
Speaker 1 00:05:02 And we know we have some superstars in Clayton County. I’m looking at two of them, you guys right here in the studio. <laugh>, we are so grateful, uh, that you’re not just part of the Clayton Connected family, um, but that you’re willing and able to come here, uh, to talk about it, not just in your workspace at the library, but to extend, uh, that invitation to all of our Clayton County residents, right? Yes. And
Speaker 2 00:05:24 We’re so happy to do that.
Speaker 1 00:05:27 So tell me about another service that people typically don’t know about that we want people to learn and know about, that they have access to right here at Clayton County Public Library System.
Speaker 2 00:05:36 I would love to tell everybody about Brain F’s help. Now, this is our online service. It’s multifaceted. Uh, but I think the most, uh, important part of it is that it provides, uh, certified teachers as tutors to anyone from kindergarten through college, as long as you log in and talk to them.
Speaker 1 00:06:02 Absolutely. Wonderful. So parents, I hope you’re listening. Uh, anyone who, uh, is even, even in afterschool Yes. Uh, in afterschool care, those parents who work in the afternoons who may typically not be able to, not because they don’t want to, but they’re not able to because of their work schedule. Um, not to worry and not to feel guilty about not being able to help your child with homework. Because through the Clayton County, uh, library system, they have help with live certified tutors.
Speaker 2 00:06:32 Correct. And they are available every day of the week. We are talking Sunday through Saturday from 2:00 PM to 11:00 PM They are there to help. And as again, kindergarten through college, everyone can get tutoring assistance for free.
Speaker 3 00:06:54 Yeah. We help to make dreams come true. Clayton County is already located around the airport, and I believe that everyday little boys run out to watch the planes and the dream about being pilots, engineers through this tutoring opportunity, their dreams can come true if parents will be able to help them to get connected to a free tutor so that they can get the support they need for science and other, um, subjects
Speaker 1 00:07:29 Right here in Clayton County where we always say where the world lands and opportunities take off. So not just services, uh, for children and adults. Um, we talk about, um, we talk about technology. Yes. How has technology changed the landscape of, uh, the non quiet library, um, or the quiet library that people were used to?
Speaker 2 00:07:54 We, uh, had a li uh, library director. And when I interviewed, she said, we’re not your grandma’s library. Not casting shade on Grandma’s library. But the fact of the matter is, Clayton County libraries are community hubs. People come into work and work with other people. We are not quiet. Uh, we don’t shush you. Uh, what I tell families is, as long as you’re not running and screaming, you’re okay. Um, because we want you in and to learn and, uh, have a positive experience. You must be engaging other people and talking and interacting is part of that. So if you’re looking for a quiet space as a general library, that’s not us. We do still have study rooms and meeting rooms that can be used where you can close off and it will, will be quieter. But, um, we are, we are meeting people, we are engaging, we’re interacting. So we want you to come in and we want you to be engaging and interacting with us.
Speaker 1 00:09:07 Meeting rooms in the meeting rooms are on a first come, first serve basis as they are reserved, correct?
Speaker 2 00:09:12 That is correct. Valerie. They are open to, um, uh, people with a Clayton County library card and a 5 0 1 <unk> <unk> designation.
Speaker 1 00:09:24 So meeting rooms, study rooms, connectivity through hotspots, assistance with resumes, continued education. Right. What about, uh, some of the hardware things that people may not have at home, like the printers, copiers.
Speaker 3 00:09:37 Exactly. Okay. You can copy into the library and use our computers for free. You can print, you can scan, you can photocopy, and it gets even better. We have the 3D printers where you can print just about anything. A library director in Canada, she was so excited talking about how somebody came into the library to print the knob of her dryer. The knob of her dryer broke. So the lady printed the file, came into the library, printed the knob of her dryer, and went home, put it on, and it worked. That means she didn’t have to change and spend about $300 buying a dryer. Another dryer. So at the Clayton County Libraries, all our libraries have 3D printers, and we’re starting to do 3D programming, um, you know, programs
Speaker 1 00:10:40 Absolutely wonderful. Talk about saving money. So we’re saving you money. We are offering free services. I keep stressing the word free because all of this is at your fingertips. Just a drive away, a bus, drive away, a walkaway. All of these services are available at all of your local libraries here. Talk about the branches. How many branches are there?
Speaker 2 00:11:00 We have, uh, six locations. Headquarters library on Battle Creek, uh, forest Park, Morrow Northwest, which is our new one, which is celebrating two years being open today. Yes. Happy birthday Northwest. Um, Riverdale and Love Joy.
Speaker 3 00:11:19 Yeah, we talked about that. There’s another one I wanna talk about. Okay. It’s called Universal Class. Universal Class has over 600 online continuum education classes that are self-paced. At the end of each class that you take, you get a certificate. And with that certificate, you can actually enhance the opportunity for you to get a job, 600 free online, um, continuing education classes that you can take for free at the library
Speaker 1 00:11:56 So you don’t have to go, uh, and spend money, uh, trying to get into a typical four year university. Um, some people simply just don’t have the resources or the money, um, to do what they want to do on that college level. Um, same thing for technical college. These sources, these resources are offered for free
Speaker 2 00:12:18 Yes.
Speaker 1 00:12:19 At the Clayton County Library System. Absolutely. Wonderful. So that website again is Clayton p l.org. Log on. You can get your hours of operation. Is there anything else you really want people to know? What’s the one thing you want people to remember if, if nothing else about the Clayton County, uh, library system.
Speaker 3 00:12:36 Okay. The Clayton County Library System is not just about, um, enhancing the opportunity for you to get a job or to help you with school. We also about entertaining you, making sure you have fun. So we have state park passes for free, museum passes for free theater passes for free zoo passes for free. And also the Jodi Cold Water Park starting this summer. We’re gonna be having free passes too, so come in and we can make it possible.
Speaker 1 00:13:13 I can’t get over this free business. I’m like, I wish I just had an hour for each service that you offer to be able to just take advantage of. Uh, and, and I look forward to working and, and, and sharing more information with you, not just through the Clayton Connected Podcast, um, but at throughout the community, at different events and activities. Uh, tell us, uh, how the public can, uh, and our residents can be engaged with the library system.
Speaker 2 00:13:37 Um, anyone who lives in the state of Georgia can come in and get a library card. We are part of the state pine system. Uh, so you have not only the access to all of the physical resources that Clayton County provides, but you can, um, borrow books, um, audio books, DVDs, uh, from other library systems. Uh, and they’re delivered here. Excuse me. Um, just remember that if you are just a digital person, you do everything online. You don’t have to come in and get a, uh, physical library card. You can go onto our website and request an e-card. And that gives you access to all of the EIG resources. So we’re providing two different, uh, ways for you to get, um, services from the library. And you just have to, to live in the state and it’s available and free.
Speaker 1 00:14:38 Ms. Raina.
Speaker 3 00:14:40 Yes. We’re in the business of embracing everybody in our community. We don’t wanna leave anybody behind. And that’s why our library system, we provide ILA, which is a translation device. So if you don’t speak English, it’s okay. Come into the library and you’ll be able to select the language that you speak, Spanish, German, Swahili, and we’ll be able to communicate with you and let you know all the free resources we have at the libraries.
Speaker 1 00:15:16 Well, we have certainly enjoyed, thank you so much for coming and joining me here on the Clayton Connected Podcast. We can’t wait to have you back again because we know that everything is ever changing in technology and our library system is far ahead of the game. So thank you so much Ms. Ravina. Thank you so much Ms. Rebecca. Thank you again. We’ll see you back here on the Clayton Connected Podcast.
Speaker 3 00:15:37 Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 00:15:39 I’m your hostess, Valerie Fuller. Thank you for listening to the Clayton Connected Podcast in Clayton County, Georgia, where the world lands in opportunities take off.