The How and Why to Leveraging the NAR Library & Archives
As real estate agents, we are always looking for ways to improve our skills. Whether it’s reading more about the industry or attending workshops and events, we know that education is key to success. That’s why I’m always encouraging my colleagues to read and stay up-to-date on the latest trends. Not only will this help us better serve our clients, but it will also make us more successful professionals. But did you know that the National Association of REALTORS® has a library and archives to access invaluable information and materials to help us in this quest?
What is the library?
The library, founded in 1923, is offered as a part of your membership to the National Assocation of REALTORS® and only NAR members can gain access. The Library & Archives offers a variety of research servies and thousands of digital resources for our use.
Touted as the largest real estate library in the world, this gives members free access to over 10,000 eBooks and audiobooks, reference guides, research materials and more.
How do you use it?
First, you would login to the NAR.Realtor website and access the library page. Next, you would search their collection. The options in the collections to search include:
- OverDrive eBooks & Audiobooks (my personal favorite)
- Journals
- EBSCO eBooks
You can also submit a request for assistance through the contact button as well. The librarians have helped me on a number of occasions research information and point me in the right direction, and they are always willing to help in a friendly way.
I want to read a new release book. How do I do that?
Easy! Once you launch the OverDrive app or website, connect it to your Realtor account, then you can start borrowing books. There is a helpful search tool you can type in the book you are searching for or the author. For instance, yours truly (that’s me!) has all three published books available in the library, both as the audiobook version and the eBook version. You can type in the search bar “Cynthia DeLuca” as author and all the books will show up. You can then borrow the one you prefer, in the format you prefer (audio or eBook).
The library allows you download up to 6 titles at a time, for up to 2 weeks at a time. Amazing, isn’t it? And it’s not all real estate related books. There are books on self help, religion, health & fitness, history, computers, learning a new language and so much more.
I always search the NAR library before I go anywhere else to see if I can check out the book for free as part of my membership benefit.
A bonus!
And guess what? If the book isn’t owned in the library, but you know the name of the book, when you search it and it comes up as not owned, at the bottom there is a button to recommend the book. I have recommended several books that the librarians have later added to the library. You will receive a notification if they choose to add the book to the library, with an automatic hold for you as the first one to check the book out.
Have you used the NAR library & archives before? If so, do you have any favorite book recommendations? Let me know in the comments section below!
If you missed The Top 5 Books Every Real Estate Agent Should Read Over and Over Again, now might be a great time to read that post.
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