Navigating Libraries
You can browse through the "Easy" and "High Priority" libraries from all over a country all at once on the front page. Click on "All U.S. Libraries" or "All Canada Libraries" to return here from any page.
To browse through "Low Priority" libraries or to find a particular library within a state or province, use the dropdown menu or click in the map at the top of the page to load the public libraries, sorted by city. (Click on "Library Name" or "County" in the header to change the sort order.)
Nearly all libraries within the U.S. are included in our database. Only those Canadian libraries which we've actualy researched are in our database. If your library is included, you'll find it under one of several headers, depending on these characteristics:
"Easy" vs "Not Easy"
Most large libraries (and some small ones) have online "Purchase suggestion" forms or clear instructions about whom to email to handle patron suggestions. This greatly simplifies our job.
Libraries without an official way to suggest purchases require someone to initiate contact via web form, email, phone, or at a local branch to find out if and how to make a suggestion. This requires more time and work.
"High Priority" vs "Low Priority"
We currently define High Priority libraries as those serving a population greater than 200,000 people, plus those in college towns. We've gone through these high priority libraries (population based; college town research still to be completed) to check whether they have our targeted media, and to provide purchase suggestion links or contact information where we could find them.
Understanding the Results
Once you find your library, presence of our targeted media in the library system is indicated by:
| Unknown. No one has searched the catalog yet. | |
| Yes! The library has this. | |
| No. The library needs this. |
"Last Searched" indicates when the catalog was last searched. If it's been more than two or three months since the last check, you should probably re-check the catalog before suggesting purchases.
"Purchase Link" and "Contact Link" are explained below.
Suggest a Purchase - Your Library
"Easy" Libraries
Click on the words "Purchase Link" to open a webpage displaying the material needed by the library on the left, and the library's purchase suggestion form on the right. In some cases, you'll find additional instructions in the "Notes" at the top left of the page.
Submit purchase suggestions to the library on the right, one by one for each book or DVD listed on the left. After each submission, click "RELOAD LIBRARY PAGE ON RIGHT SIDE" at the upper left to start over with a new purchase suggestion form.
Please let REAL know that you submitted your suggestions by clicking the "I suggested" buttons on the left for each book or DVD. This alerts us to check the library catalog in a few weeks to see whether they've added the items. Optionally, you can include your email address and/or notes so that we can stay in touch with you through the process.
"Not Easy" Libraries
Sometimes we've provided a "Contact link" which works similarly to the "Purchase Link" of the easy libraries, displaying needed material on the left with the library's general contact information on the right. Make contact via web form, email, phone, or in person to find out whether your library will consider your requests for our targeted items. Then let us know you made contact by clicking the "I suggested" buttons on the left.
If your library doesn't have a budget for patron requests or for our targeted media, you can ask whether they would add our items to their catalog if we donated a copy. (Brand new in the case of the books, or a high quality burned DVD of END:CIV, with permission from and in accordance with the anti-copyright policy of producer Franklin Lopez.) If they say yes to donations, then find out a contact person and mailing address and we'll provide donations if our own budget allows. Please make sure that they will add the donations to their collection, not just sell them at a fundraising booksale - we only want to spend our limited funds on donations we know will wind up in the library system.
Many of our low priority libraries remain unresearched, in which case you'll need to do all the legwork yourself. We encourage people to email us to help us fill in missing information (library website, whether the library has our targeted media, and purchase suggestion form or contact page) and to let us know if you've made purchase suggestions to the library.
Refer to our Resistance Media page for details such as ISBN and Publisher to pass along to your library.
Suggest a Purchase - Friends and Family
If you have someone specific in mind, follow the instructions above as for suggesting a purchase at your own library.
Please look through the "Easy" and "High Priority" libraries by clicking "All States" at the top of the page. As you look through the list, perhaps you'll think of people you know who live in those library districts and might be willing to take 5 minutes to make a purchase suggestion for easy libraries, or do the legwork necessary for those libraries which are high priority but not easy.
If we have a "Purchase Link" or "Contact Link" in the Notes field of the library, you can copy that link and email it to your friend or family member. Otherwise, you or they will need to look on the library website or call a local branch to learn how to make a purchase suggestion.
Please encourage your friends and family to let us know when they've made any purchase suggestions.
Other Books
If your library already has our targeted media, you might want to suggest they purchase other books and authors from the Resistance Media page.