Emmet O’Neal Library helps the college-bound

Each year, the word “spring” brings with it the excitement of renewal.  Spring fever starts first, a harbinger for spring-cleaning, spring training, spring break, etc.  Spring also fosters new growth in the budding academics of our local high schools as students work to narrow and refine their search for the perfect college experience, readying themselves for that first real launch out of the nest.

We are eager to help you and your family get the information you need to prepare for college and make informed decisions about higher education opportunities. The Library’s test preparation manuals are constantly in high demand, in addition to frequently getting lost and suffering from damage due to the high checkout rate these books have.  Lucky for you, your Jefferson County Library Cooperative library card gives you access to an invaluable database, Learning Express Library, where college test prep materials are available 24/7. 

Tests, courses, and/or ebooks are available for all sorts of college and graduate school entrance exams including ACT, AP, SAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, MAT and more.  There is also a section with exercises for improving test-taking skills in a variety of subjects like math and reasoning, reading comprehension, science, vocabulary, spelling, grammar and more.  You can do all of this with your JCLC library card from the comfort of home any time day or night.  If you’d like more information about Learning Express Library or any of the other online databases available to library cardholders, call us at 205-445-1121.

Along with preparing for and applying to colleges, paying for a college education is a now a weighty topic with parents and students.  We’re ready to help with those decisions too.  We’re offering a very special Smart Investing @ EOL program about college financing on Thursday evening, March 8 at 6:30 p.m.  Dr. Andreas Rauterkus, Assistant Professor of Finance at UAB, has tailored this seminar for parents and their college-bound young adults.  He will be discussing the various loan, scholarship, and grant options available as well as talking about steps families can take to make college more affordable.  Please call us at 445-1121 to register or register online via the Library’s Smart Investing @ EOL webpage at http://www.eolib.org/smart-investing.php.

For more information about the Library’s regularly scheduled programs, see the Library’s calendar in this issue of Village Living, visit us online at www.eolib.org, or give us a call at 445-1121.