News Release from the State Library of Kansas:
For Kansas job seekers, new help has arrived. The State Library of Kansas just inked a three-month trial deal with LearningExpress Library to offer extensive online resources including occupational and scholastic practice tests, skill-building courses and a segment of the service titled, “Job and Career Accelerator.”
“This is a fabulous addition to the research databases that we already offer to all Kansans,” explained State Librarian Jo Budler. “It’s an amazing collection of individual exercises, full-blown courses, and practice tests ranging from 3rd grade math problems, to middle school grammar questions, to preparing for the ACT, GED, and even the test for US Citizenship.”
During the trial period (May – July), Kansas library users will access the LearningExpress Library by clicking on the link found on the State Library homepage – http://www.kslib.info. Alternately, users can also click on the LearningExpress Library graphic on the Blue Skyways homepage, http://www.skyways.org. All users will need to create a unique account within LearningExpress to view course offerings, practice tests, or career and training information and to save any created files, such as a new resume.
Regardless of an individual’s goal, LearningExpress Library’s resources promote success. Twelve different Learning Centers from elementary through college levels plus computer skills, GED and new workplace skills training offers the exercises, the courses, the practice tests, and the information needed to be successful at school, at work, or in life. Looking to land a job? The Job and Career Accelerator will identify strengths and weaknesses, help with resume writing, and even monitor postings on job boards.
Users should check out:
- Practice Tests for Careers such as electrician, plumber, air traffic controller, and military aviation;
- eBooks that assist in preparation for careers in Civil Service such as EMT, or police, or healthcare occupations such as paramedic or nurse’s aide;
- Extensive list of flash-based computer skill tutorials to learn Microsoft programs such as Power Point, Excel, Word or Outlook Express, and Adobe.
- US Citizenship Test Practice, including hundreds of questions, all taken from the official naturalization test and geared toward achievement of the best possible scores.
- GED materials with study strategies, pretests and lessons, and exam practice questions.
Founded in 1995, LearningExpress currently holds statewide library contracts with 16 states, making the database available through more than 4,000 libraries and 5,000 academic sites. Last year, approximately 1.5 million users accessed LearningExpress’ online resources.
“There are hundreds of amazing testimonials from people who have used this database,” said Budler. “One from Michigan—a young man who passed the EMT test, scoring the highest of all people who took the class with him. He used the practices tests in LearningExpress to prepare. We hope to duplicate those kind of success stories in Kansas,” Budler added.
The State Library of Kansas is located in the State Capitol building in Topeka. The library’s primary mission is to serve the residents of Kansas through direct service and through support of local libraries. Even before statehood, the State Library served as a depository of legal and historical documents and as a ready resource to the executive and legislative branches of Kansas government. Today, through the latest technology and access to online research databases, the State Library of Kansas offers more information than ever to the residents of Kansas. Visit the State Library’s website: www.kslib.info.
Heather Braum is the Technology Librarian at NEKLS. She can be reached by phone, by email (hbraum (at) nekls.org), or through several online chat services (look Heather up by her email address). Visit the 
