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The study aimed the following objectives: analysing the needs of the library users; identifying the degree of user satisfaction related to the services offered by the library; identifying the factors that can increase the use of the library; analyzing the way the library is perceived. To achieve these goals, several key questions have been identified: How often do the students use libraries? What are the factors that influence the choice of the library as a space for study and information? What are the tools used to find the information? What are the values and role of the library in society? The method for the data collection was the questionnaire distributed to 50 student users and comprising 26 questions structured as follows: the user profile, the use of the library services, the values promoted by the infodocumentary structures, suggestions and comments (for the library and / or for the questionnaire). The results show that the library is used extensively by students for study and information/documentation. They appreciate the peace of mind, the atmosphere, the study and information conditions, and the assistance offered by the library personnel. Lesser known and used are the specialized information services of the library: the access to the databases, the bibliographies on request, the interlibrary loan. Overall, the library is perceived as an important institution for the cultural and educational development of the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unconventional libraries have emerged as a result of initiatives by individuals, NGOs or other types of organizations in order to facilitate access to reading in a different context from the traditional, institutional one. In most cases, these are public access libraries consisting of collections of print books for borrowing available in unconventional spaces (cafes, malls, hotels, outdoors, etc.) or as itinerant collections. Their main function is not to preserve their collections, but to make them more accessible and more attractive to users. Unconventional libraries can be an alternative to the collections and services of conventional libraries but also a unique solution, when serving certain disadvantaged users in terms of access to conventional libraries. The authors propose a division of unconventional libraries into three categories - libraries organized in unconventional spaces, mobile libraries and micro libraries - and present examples of unconventional libraries in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Medgidia City Library was established in 1949 with a collection of publications consisting of donations from other libraries, mostly brochures. Currently, the institution is the most important public library in the city, with a rich cultural tradition, with over 75,000 encyclopedic book volumes and collections of periodicals, organized according to library standards. The library is also a center for information, professional and intellectual training of community members. The author makes a brief historical and social journey of the library in its 50 years of existence, presenting the most important activities and events carried out or organized by it from its establishment until 2019. Throughout 2019, the library has hosted numerous symposia, book launches and courses, offering readers in Medgidia and implicitly library users, the opportunity to meet prestigious writers. Over the years, the threshold of the library has been crossed by great writers: Mihail Sadoveanu, Tudor Arghezi, Corneliu Leu, Francisc Munteanu, Cristian Teodorescu, as well as by personalities from Medgidia, which confirms that in Constanța County, it was and will remain one of the best equipped and appreciated local libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective promotion of libraries, of the information, resources, services, and events is highly important in order to attract the library users and non-users. Libraries, not only in Romania, still have major drawbacks in this regard. The Internet and web tools provide multiple opportunities for promotion, and, with the rapidly expanding virtual community, virtual communication has become easier, so librarians only have to learn how to make these opportunities available to the library. Moreover, the Internet offers many possibilities to improve the image of libraries and librarians in the community and to deliver quality service. Implementing new services based on technologies requires some time and preparation, but the inherent difficulties encountered at the beginning pay off later due to users' satisfaction and appreciation. An example is provided in the article by David Lee King, published in 2011 in American Libraries, which Vera Osoianu brings into question. This article presents the relation between libraries and the social network Facebook (FB). The author concludes that the use of FB in the library activity has increased and using FB to communicate with community members has become more important and easier. Encouraged by these results, David Lee King also developed a set of Guidelines on the FB Posts. The library community thus learns how to promote libraries and the results of the librarians' activity, how to communicate, search for information online, provide promptness, quantity and even quality when they know how to select and evaluate information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]