Reference Department

At the Warren Library Reference Department, you can access thousands of reputable print reference resources in our physical space and a wide range of electronic resources anywhere you have the internet and your library card. Our Reference Department is state-of-the-art and we’re constantly updating our collection to address all of your reference needs.

Have a question? Contact us.

Staff and Contact

Reference Department services are available during regular library hours.
Email us at reference@warrenlibrary.org, call us at 814-723-4650 (follow prompts for reference), or write to us at 205 Market Street Warren, PA 16365.

Please Note: With the transition to curbside, and some staffing reductions for the time being, please do not hesitate to leave a message with your contact information and details of your request.  While we may not be able to directly answer the phone consistently, we are regularly monitoring voicemail, email, and Facebook messages and responding to requests.  Your request is important to us!

LOOKING FOR COVID-19 RESOURCES: CLICK HERE!

Services

  • Your questions and requests for information answered in person, by phone, email or Facebook message. We will mail materials, and include a note requesting you consider a donation to cover postage and printing costs.
  • Arrange a library tour, orientation or other special research assistance.
  • In addition to the broad collection of current newspapers, books, maps, directories, indexes, electronic resources, and the PA Power Library; we serve as a Depository for U.S. and Pennsylvania government documents.
  • Our collection also includes information about employment, careers, and colleges and universities nationwide, as well as current financial aid information including scholarships, fellowships, grants and loans.
  • The Robertson Sheet Music Collection contains original scores from Broadway musicals dating from 1895-1956.
  • Our Pennsylvania Room Collection contains histories of most Pennsylvania counties, regimental histories, photographs, yearbooks and extensive collections on the development of the lumber, railroad and petroleum industries, with a heavy emphasis on Pennsylvania.
  • We also offer a major collection of local historical genealogical materials including microfilm of local newspapers dating from 1824 and U.S. census information from 1790 to 1930. Our Genealogy Handbook is available electronically both online and onsite as well as in print.
  • Reference staff coordinates distribution of basic Federal, Pennsylvania, and Local Income Tax forms. The Federal & State governments send a very limited supply of paper tax forms, most other forms can be accessed through the Internet, downloaded and printed.

Equipment Available

  • Manual Microfilm reader with printer $0.25/page
  • Digital Microfilm reader prints to main floor printers at $0.15/page
  • 2 scanners to scan and save or email documents
  • ePrinter with HP ePrint service from your device
  • 3 laptops (wired mice provided) are networked to both black and white as well as colored printers on the main floor.
  • ePrinting and printing from public laptops does cost $0.15/page B&W and $0.30/page Color
  • wired keyboard and headphones are available
  • a variety of older format media readers (3.5″ disk, zip disk, CD-ROM, and various media card ports to read those files
  • Coming soon… the ability to scan and fax using a web-based service, in case other local fax options are temporarily unavailable

 

A service of Pennsylvania Commonwealth Libraries provides access to 24/7 virtual reference. Direct questions may be answered by any librarian across the country, so if you have specific questions about services of Warren Public Library, you may be best served by calling us directly when we are next open. In the future, we will be offering “office hours” of virtual reference when a CHAT link will connect you with Warren Public Library librarians directly.

Check out our Online Resources section to see all of the reference materials the Library has to offer “online.” You can find a variety of information on world history, government, career, recreation, health, and so much more. For an alphabetical list of only our purchased online resources click here.  For topical lists that include resource descriptions plus Pennsylvania POWERLibrary resources and sites curated from the Internet at large, see our list of page categories below or use the Online Resources menu at the top of the page: