Welcome to the Portage Public Library
Please send email to porill@scls.lib.wi.us with your comments and suggestions. Please replace the "at" in the address with @.
Latest News
Poetry Open Mike
With Elise Gregory
Wednesday, May 23 rd
6:00 p.m.
All ages welcome
Free of charge
Have you ever checked out an e-book from your public library?
The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, a non-profit research organization in Washington, DC, is conducting an online survey of public library patrons who borrow e-books. If you have checked out or downloaded e-books from a public library, please consider taking Pew Internet’s survey, available at the link below. All responses will be confidential, although your answers may be quoted anonymously in a future report. The survey should take about 15 minutes.
To take the survey, visit: http://libraries.pewinternet.org/participate/survey/e-book-borrowers
The Pew Internet Project will also be doing broader surveys of public library patrons general, as well as people (including non-library-users) who own e-readers or tablet computers. If you want to participate in those, you can sign up to be notified of future surveys here.
To learn more about the Pew Internet Project’s research on e-reading and public libraries, which is entirely free and available to the public, visit libraries.pewinternet.org.
E-reader Drop-In Sessions 
The Portage Public Library will offer hands-on training on the 2 most popular e-readers: Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook. At these sessions, attendees will use their own e-readers to download library books, ask questions, and learn a few tips. There is no set time, you may drop-in any time between the hours listed below. No registration is required.
Kindle: Tuesday, May 29, 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 pm
Nook: Wednesday, May 30, 1-3 p.m.
As always, this library event is FREE of charge.
Portage Campaign
A link to our campaign for the library expansion
www.portagelibrarycampaign.com
Feel free to browse this web site.
Computers.... For Cowards!
Due to such strong interest in basic computer instruction, the library now offers one-on-one computer classes for those who have difficulty learning about computers in a classroom setting, or have a hard time remembering what the "student" wants to know. A session can last as little as 10 minutes (great for the student who wants to learn one task only), to a maximum of 50 minutes. Limited sessions are available, and reservations with a "teacher" are required. Sessions book up fast! Call 742-4959, ext 203, or stop at the service desk for more information. The sessions are FREE OF CHARGE.
NOW AVAILABLE: BOOK LOVER'S CORNER, a place where you can look up book reviews, bestsellers, information about book clubs & discussion guides, read-alikes, authors and much more. You can find the link on the left navigation bar.
Renew Your "Friends of the Library" Membership
It's time to renew your Friends of the Portage Public Library Annual Membership so you don't miss out on valuable information. The membership year runs from January through December. Please renew today by filling out a membership form and returning it to the library on your next visit. Be sure to include your email address so that we can email our newsletters to you rather than mailing them. That will help us save money on postage.
Individual $5, Family $10, Business/Organization $25, Patron $30 or more. Dues are tax deductible.
Delivery
The delivery of holds from other libraries in our system will be 2 hours later than it is now starting the week of September 5th. We will not receive delivery until around 11:00 a.m. Therefore, delivery will not be finished until 2 or 3 p.m. at the earliest. If you come in or call before that time, your item that you placed on hold might not be checked in yet.
City Weather Emergencies
When a city weather emergency is declared and/or cancelled, the information will be sent out via Nixle, and will be posted on Police Dept. Facebook page (www.facebook.com/PortagePD) and on Twitter. If you do not have a cell phone or access to the Internet, you can call the dedicated Snow Emergency hot line at 742-2176 Ext 335.
Tutor.com
Got a chemistry test, alegbra homework, resume to write? Tutor.com gives students of all ages the help they need to succeed in school and beyond. Professional tutors are available to help with all math, science, social studies and English subject- from elementary to advanced levels.
You and your tutor work one-to-one in a secure, online classroom and everything is anonymous. You use an interactive whiteboard, file sharing and instant messaging to work through your problem. Work with a tutor in real time to help with homework, but also, to get help with resumes and cover letters. Your tutor edits your resume on screen and reviews all edits with you.
Tutors only work with one student at a time. No exceptions. Tutors work step-by-step with you to make sure you really understand the material. Tutors never give answers.
Every tutor is screeened, certified and background-checked, and no personal information is ever shared between tutor and student.
In the SkillsCenter Resource Library, you have access to thousands of worksheets, videos, lessons and other resources to work on independently. Find resources for math, science, citizenship and GED test prep, family budgeting, resume writing and more. The service is available 24/7.
Access Tutor.com by clicking on "online resources" and then "view by name" then "locally subscribed resources". Scroll down to tutor.com and click on "Portage Public Library". Or click on the icon below.
New Web Site Address
The Portage Public Library has a new web site address. It's now www.portagelibrary.us
Please use this when logging onto our site. Our old address will continue to work at the present.
Share Your Story
Has the library affected your life? Do you have a story to tell? SCLS and its member libraries have created a website to begin sharing these stories--- www.librariesforreallife.org -- which can be done by completing either the online form or a paper form available at Portage Public Library. Some stories will be told with photos and text, some audio files and photos, and others through video clips. Stop by for a form or click on the badge below.
Free Wi-fi
