Library Column for December 8, 2023

@ Your Library

There are only three weeks left in the year and just over two weeks until Christmas. My time reading is vital to my mental health. Otherwise, there are way too many activities and too many people. Reading quietly is such a marvelous way to restore my equilibrium. I highly recommend establishing the habit of reading each and every day even if just for 15 – 20 minutes.

Listening to audiobooks is also a great way to relax and unwind and your brain uses the same area for listening to books as it does for reading books so grab a book on CD or our new Playaway audiobooks which don’t need a separate player to listen. Use headphones (we can provide you with earbuds) or aux cable to a speaker to listen in your car or home. Kids will also enjoy our Wonderbooks which are physical copies of books with an audio player attached, allowing kids to listen and follow along as a book is read to them. Playaways and Wonderbooks are great as they don’t need additional equipment to use. We have a wide range of titles, both fiction and non-fiction available for all ages. Stop by and see what is available or check the online catalog or download the Arrowhead Library System app for easy access to the catalog wherever you are when you want to know if the library has something and you want to request it. (It has been glitchy lately, a new version will be available early next year.)

Reading digitally is also an option and material is available 24/7 through the two apps the library provides. Access digital audiobooks and ebooks through Libby. Create an account using your library card and email address and access a wide variety of titles. Libby operates on a one copy/one user format, so you often need to request titles and wait for your turn to read or listen to the title you are interested in.

The library encourages you to also download the Hoopla app and again create an account with your library card. Hoopla provides a different selection of audiobooks and ebooks (with some overlap to Libby) as well as providing music, comics, and both some TV shows and movies. Everything on Hoopla is always available but you are limited to borrowing eight items each month. Check both apps for titles you are interested in and work them together to keep you in reading/listening material every day.

The library also provides access to a number of other digital resources. Check our website internationalfallslibrary.us and then click on the ‘online library’ page for a listing and links to all our options including Consumer Reports online, Chilton digital library, Brainfuse Homework Help and Brainfuse Job Now, Gale legal forms, LinkedIn Learning, Mango Languages and so many more. Some of these resources will require your library card number to access and a couple require a username and password available from the library. Either call or stop in and get an information sheet with details.

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