By Trisha E. Bachman
As 2020 drew to a close, the Ralph J. Bunche Library team twice hosted successful new training initiatives to serve the needs of teleworking and off-premises (off-prem) Department of State employees.
Through webinars called “Using the Ralph J. Bunche Library Resources at Home,” the team introduced staff, researchers, and readers alike to the library’s most popular off-prem accessible resources, including downloadable eBooks, online international newspapers, research databases, online journals, and highly sought-after publications such as The Economist, Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Reference Librarian Aimee Viola showed participants how to access a GO Browser-friendly version of the library website and outlined how employees can borrow from the library’s collections. She then highlighted how offices throughout the Department can take advantage of the library’s acquisitions services—especially popular for facilitating digital subscriptions to The New York Times, Bloomberg Government, and more.
The library is thrilled to connect with patrons in a new and meaningful way.
“We just uncovered one of the silver linings of maximum telework…finding a way to share library resources with teleworking colleagues gave us exactly the targeted focus we needed to develop our first, highly successful program—one of our strategic goals for the library in 2020,” said Chief Librarian Julie Arrighetti.
Library fans have been equally appreciative of the virtual resources. One webinar attendee noted, “access to Bunche’s books, publications, etc., is a great [benefit] of working for State!”
The library will continue offering training sessions in 2021, and the team looks forward to adding instructional webinars on more topics in the future.
The library’s off-prem website is available for GO Browser users here. Questions and requests for assistance can be sent to library staff at library@state.gov.
Trisha E. Bachman is the electronic resources librarian in the Ralph J. Bunche Library.
