Library Lines: Share your love of reading at the Cheboygan Library

Happy November! Coming up at the Cheboygan Area Public Library is the Friends of the Cheboygan Area Public Library’s November meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 1 p.m. Anyone interested in meeting the Friends members are welcome to attend the meeting and hear about what they do and how they share their love of reading and books with the Cheboygan community, as well as, how their time and hard work supports the programs and services the Cheboygan Area Public Library is able to offer the community.

Another great program at the Cheboygan Library will be taking place Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. as Eric and Shelly Cornish from Alpena, Michigan, share their hiking experience on the Appalachian Trail, which includes covering over two thousand miles of terrain on foot! Their hike began the end of February 2021 in Georgia and was completed a few days after Shelly’s 50th birthday in early August in Maine. Be inspired by their strength, endurance and sense of adventure!

We have mentioned the Michigan eLibrary, or MeL, before but there are so many exciting features that MeL provides that we thought we could share a little bit about them in the coming articles. As you may know, MeL is a service provided by the Library of Michigan that helps libraries around the state share resources. MeL has two parts: there is the MeL Catalog for physical items that can be borrowed from other libraries and the E-Library for digital resources such as databases, e-journals and other resources.

To view MeL, visit cheboyganlibrary.org, click on the "Looking For" drop-down menu, then select "Your Digital Library" and click on "Michigan E-Library Resources." This will take you to the main Michigan E-Library page.

On the MeL page, click on the “eResources” link and a new page will open with the options to view “Public Library” resources, “K-12 Schools” resources, or to “Browse All eResources.” At the bottom of the page, you can also view eResource lists by letter searches. For example, Academic Search Complete (research journals) will be under A, or Newspaper Source Plus (1300+ news sources) will be under the letter N.

But let’s first talk about LearningExpress Library from the MeL E-Library! This resource is a collection of teaching modules for school, work, and life skills. To get to the LearningExpress Library, there is a link in the “Browse All eResources” box or you can search the letter L in the “Go to eResources by Letter” section.

Congrats, you have arrived at the LearningExpress Library’s options for, you guessed it, LEARNING! On this page, there are several more options to choose from to narrow down your search to what information you really want.

The main headings include CAREER PREPARATION (make your work goals a reality — start a new career or advance in your current field), JOB & CAREER ACCELERATOR (powerful tools and guidance to achieve your career goals), HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY CENTER(guided support and preparation to help you earn a high school equivalency credential), COLLEGE ADMISSIONS TEST PREPARATION (prepare for important exams like the ACT, SAT, AP Tests and more), GRADE 4-8 EDUCATOR RESOURCES (skill-building lessons and practice for guiding young learners), HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS (skill-building resources for classroom and homework success), COLLEGE STUDENTS (achieve your undergrad goals and prepare for future success), ADULT CORE SKILLS (achieve your personal education and career goals), and COMPUTER SKILLS CENTER (video courses to learn popular software and computer basics).

From this list of main headings, if you click on one that is relevant to you, such as the “Computer Skills Center,” a list will give you options for lessons, such as Get Started with Your Computer, Get Started with the Internet, and Popular Software Tools, among others.

If you wanted to learn about social media, for example, then you could choose the “Get Started with the Internet” option, which would show a list of lessons options including Internet Basics, Using Your Email or Social Media Tools.

Click on Social Media Tools and a page will open with available lesson(s) and an introduction paragraph describing what you will learn. Each lesson is a video module that you can view at your own pace. There will be a “Sign In or Register” button at the bottom of the page.

For your first time using the MeL eLibrary, you will have to Register. It is only a few easy questions. First you select your institution. Then you enter your name, email and create a password. That’s it. The next time you want to use the eLibrary, you can just sign in. After you have signed in, there will be a “Start Tutorial” button at the bottom of the page. Click this and your lesson video will open, and you can click on the play button when you are ready!

There are many, many learning opportunities available through the MeL’s LearningExpress Library, which offers something for everyone. Be sure to take some time just to click on the various links to explore the different pages and discover all the amazing features the LearningExpress Library offers!

Want some help getting started? Stop by the Cheboygan Area Public Library and a staff member would love to help! The library hours are Monday through Wednesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m.

Please note, the Cheboygan Area Public Library will be closing at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23, and will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 24, to observe the Thanksgiving holiday.

— Emily Clare is program director of the Cheboygan Area Public Library.

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Library Lines: Share your love of reading at the Cheboygan Library