During this unsettling time when “social distancing” is a new phrase in our collective vocabulary and a temporary way of life, alternatives to group entertainment and visits to public spaces, including libraries are available online. With a current library account, this may be a time to discover or rediscover the library’s rich collection of online books, magazines, audiobooks, music, film and classes.
Our two most popular sources for electronic resources, are Overdrive, through the Libby app, and Hoopla. Overdrive comes to us through the Indiana Digital Download Consortium of Overdrive and offers more than 32,000 e-books, 4,800 audiobooks and 700 streaming videos in a variety of genres and subjects. Hoopla contains not only a plethora of e-books, audiobooks and videos, but also music, comic books and television shows. Both platforms have content for all age groups. Another resource we offer is RBDigital, which features a collection of magazine issues covering topics from business to crafting to politics to science to writing. It also has a collection of audiobooks.
If you prefer to spend your time at home learning a new art technique, brushing up your career-related skills or discovering a new language, we have several online resources to guide you on your path of lifelong learning. ArtistWorks provides art and music instruction. The classes are self-paced and taught by world-class artists, including Grammy Award winners. The National Network of Libraries of Medicine offers health-related classes for practitioners as well as consumers. Another resource, Universal Class, offers self-paced classes in business, computers, health and medicine, writing, spiritual studies and more. Rocket Languages provides learning modules for 13 languages, including French, Spanish, Arabic, German, American Sign Language and English for Spanish Speakers.
For those with students at home, we have a list of database offerings that includes the Indiana State Library’s INSPIRE, which is a collection of databases for the use of Indiana residents. This collection includes Consumer Reports, Rosetta Stone, Indiana history resources, biography databases and full-text research databases for all age groups. Because it is restricted to Indiana residents, the first time you use this database, an address verification postcard may be mailed to you.
As previously mentioned, Overdrive and Hoopla contain videos in their collections. Kanopy specializes in film offerings, including arthouse films, Oscar winners and nominees, world cinema, documentaries, The Criterion Collection, Great Courses, short films, independent films and much more. Kanopy Kids contain a wonderful children’s collection, including popular TV shows, picture book videos, classic tales, stories from around the world, and books about math, science, history, animals and language learning.
These collections may be accessed at http://www.cdpl.lib.in.us/econtent. If you need assistance to use any of these resources, we have “Getting Started with …” guides on the same web page for do-it-yourselfers or you may call us at 362-2242 to be connected with someone who can walk you through setup or answer your questions over the phone.
Theresa Tyner is director of the Crawfordsville District Public Library.
