The Tazewell County Public Library has recently added a new, wonderful resource: Universal Class. With over 500 continuing education courses in a variety of fields, this free resource is the perfect resource for home school students, parents, job seekers, or anyone just looking to acquire a new skill or hobby.
Available 24 hours a day, you will be able to learn in multiple ways at your own pace. When completing courses, you will receive continuing education courses (CEUs) by finishing exams and assignments. CEUs are globally recognized. If you would simply like to take a class without assignments, you can video audit a class.
How to Sign Up
Enter your email, create a username and a password.
The Course Catalog
With over 500 courses in Universal Class, there are classes for everyone.
Learn a new hobby
Cake Decorating, Bread Baking, Genealogy, Face Painting & More
Learn Job Skills
Marketing, Accounting, Interview Skills & More
Learn Computer Skills
Learn HTML, Introduction to SQL, Windows 10 & More
For Students & Parents
ABCs of Algebra, American Revolutionary War, and Essay Writing.
How to Register for a Class
Once you choose a class that interests you. There will be a course description, including the number of lessons, the number of exams and assignments, and how many CEUs a particular class is worth. If you decide this class is right for you, simply select “+Join this Class.”
Now, decide if you want to take the class in Video Only Mode or Normal Mode. If you only take a class in Video Only Mode, you will not receive any CEUs. If you take a class in Normal Mode, you must complete assignments and lessons in order to receive any CEUs.
Still have questions about Universal Class? Call the Tazewell Library at (276) 988-2541 and ask for Adult Services Librarian, Chris Wilkes.
Hours Changing at Tazewell County Public Library (TCPL)
Beginning Monday, July 2, 2018 TCPL will be making changes to Saturday hours and night hours. This is due to the recent budget cuts in Tazewell County which has resulted in a reduction of staff.
TCPL libraries usually open at 9:00 a.m. and close at 5:30 p.m. On specific nights libraries have remained open until 8:00 p.m. Changes are as follows:
Night Hours
Bluefield Branch: Instead of opening at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesdays, it will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Richlands Branch: Instead of opening at 9:00 a.m. on Mondays, it will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Tazewell Main: The library will close at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays Instead of being open until 8:00 p.m. The library’s hours will remain the same on Thursdays, being open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday Hours
All three TCPL libraries will be open 4 hours on Saturdays instead of 8 hours, and will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
New Hours
Day
Tazewell
Bluefield
Richlands
Monday
9am – 5:30pm
9am – 5:30pm
11am – 8pm
Tuesday
9am – 5:30pm
11am – 8pm
9am – 5:30pm
Wednesday
9am – 5:30pm
9am – 5:30pm
9am – 5:30pm
Thursday
9am – 8pm
9am – 5:30pm
9am – 5:30pm
Friday
9am – 5:30pm
9am – 5:30pm
9am – 5:30pm
Saturday
9am – 1pm
9am – 1pm
9am – 1pm
Sunday
Closed
Closed
Closed
We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes anyone. We hope this change will not be a permanent one, and that we will be able to restore any cut hours when our county economy improves!
One of our initiatives at the library is to develop opportunities for outreach in the community. We look for ways to provide services or programs at other locations, outside of the library. This helps us reach
people who are not able to come to the library or who do not know about all the library offers. Here are two of our current initiatives!
Book Buddies! – This is an outreach program to the Appalachian Agency for Senior Citizens at their location in Richlands, near Southwest Virginia Community College. Library staff goes to the senior center once a month, taking books and other materials that can be checked out by those who are attending programs at the senior center. There are usually about 20-25 people who are making use of this service and we get very positive feedback!
Trivia Night – This program takes library staff to the new local brewery in Tazewell – Painted Peak Brewing Company.
Staff have prepared Trivia questions and teams of people participate in the all the fun. The library staff also tells people about what’s going on at the library and has information for them to pick up. This has also been very successful, having 45-50 people participating in Trivia night each time. More people meeting library staff – more people learning about the library and people winning prizes provided by the management of the brewery!
We look forward to developing more outreach programs and services throughout Tazewell County!
Are old library fines keeping you from enjoying the free resources the library has to offer? In celebration of the solar eclipse, Tazewell County Public Library is having its own rare event! For one week only, starting the day of the solar eclipse, you can eliminate your old fines or bring back any long overdue items in good condition to the library and you will only have to pay 10% of your fine. For example, you will only need to pay $1 if you owe $10 in fines. If you owe $5.00, you will only pay 50 cents! Sorry, if you have lost library materials, this will not apply.
Stop in anytime from Monday, August 21 through Saturday, August 26 at one of our three libraries to return items and pay fines to restore your full library privileges. Enjoy access to books, ebooks, DVDs, magazines, and more! Your library card also allows you access to our public computers as well as many of our outstanding databases. Call the library at (276) 988-2541 for more information.
On Monday, August 21st, 2017, a total solar eclipse will be taking place across the United States. It is being called the “All-American Eclipse.” A solar eclipse is when the Sun is completely or partially hidden by the Moon. A partial eclipse will take place in Tazewell County, where the moon is expected to cover approximately 90% of the Sun’s surface. This partial eclipse is expected to last approximately 3 hours in the early afternoon on August 21st.
Looking at the Sun even partially covered can be harmful to your eyes. You should not look at the Sun even with sunglasses. Instead, it is recommended that you view the partial eclipse with special shades that filter out sunlight (ISO 12312-2 certified). The Tazewell County Public Library has received 1000 Eclipse Shades from NASA, the Gordan and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Space Science Institute. We will begin handing these out to any individuals, organizations, or businesses starting August 1st.
Since there is a limited supply, these Eclipse Shades are available on a first come first served basis. Limit 4 per family or organization. Stop by any of the Tazewell County Public Libraries in Tazewell, Richlands, or Bluefield, VA to pick up your shades and additional information about the eclipse. Call the library at (276) 988-2541 for additional details.
Tazewell County Public Library has free digital magazines with your library card.
For people who already use the Zinio app, it is now RBdigital. The Zinio App will keep working until early September, but you will need to download the new app soon.
RBdigital features full-color, digital magazines for instant desktop reading, mobile streaming, and mobile-app download. With this service, you can add new and back issues to personal reading libraries with no holds, checkout periods, and no limits to the number of magazines checked out and downloaded. And with personal notifications for favorite magazines, patrons never miss an issue.
Cosmopolitan, The Economist, Good Housekeeping, and Newsweek are just a few of the popular magazine titles available from RBdigital.
Check-out More DVD’s and Current Issues of Magazines beginning July 5th.
DVDs: Number of DVDs that can be checked out on one library card will increase from 3 to 5. Overdue fines for late DVDs will increase from 10 cents a day per DVD to 25 cents a day per DVD.
Magazines: Current issues of magazines may be checked out for two weeks with no renewal.
Total # Items Checked Out: Total # items checked out on one card will increase from 25 to 30.
