Prince William Libraries: Your Very Own Digital “How To” Portal

The Prince William Public Libraries website, pwcva.gov/library, is a far cry from what it used to be. What was once intended for just a small group of researchers and scientists, the “World Wide Web” is now part of our daily lives. Everything from entertainment to learning to shopping can now be found with the click of a mouse. Prince William County Government was online by the late 1990s, and the library was part of that from the beginning.

Over the years, the County’s web presence has continued to evolve and improve. At the same time, Prince William Public Libraries has been able to offer more online and digital services, including subscription databases and streaming services through our Digital Library. In addition, the catalog moved online, along with the ability to place holds and maintain your own patron account.

All this means that the library’s website is much more than a simple digital billboard advertising services and hours of operation. This also means that there are now many online functions and services for patrons to use on their own. While both the website and the different products and services on it are more user-friendly, there is also a wider variety of online offerings than ever. For some users, this can be daunting.

Fortunately, Prince William Public Libraries has its own tutorials to help navigate the resources available on the Digital Library. On the left side of the Digital Library, there is a vertical tab labeled “Digital Library Tutorials.” Clicking on it opens a menu giving the patron options on how to watch dozens of short instructional videos (most are less than a minute long) giving basic instruction in how to use every digital resource, as well as using the online catalog, and even introductions to popular social media sites.

This online “academy” also provides videos with advice on doing research and learning popular online tools, a growing collection of thematic book lists, and guides for using other web resources like Google Docs and Google Photos.

The next time you’re online and wish to see what your library has to offer on the website, don’t forget that help—your own online tutorial library—is right there on the left side.

About Prince William Public Libraries

Prince William Public Libraries has 12 branches throughout Prince William County and the City of Manassas, providing free access to books, e-books, e-audio, print and digital magazines, Digital Library, and CDs/DVDs. PWPL also offers free educational and entertaining programs for all ages.

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Written by Kirk Johnson, PWPL Materials Services Division