Pflugerville librarian: Plenty of library electronic resources available
Summer is here and the Pflugerville Public Library has programs, events and reading challenges to keep you and your family busy. In addition to all of this, now is a good time for a reminder about all of the free electronic resources (e-resources) that you can access with your library card.
Looking for ways to keep the kids busy? Ready to learn a new skill to add to your resume? Want to stream a film for your next movie night? Do you ever feel the need to have immediate access to a book in the middle of the night? Need to brush up on a language before an overseas trip?
Check out our library catalog or our electronic resources page on our website to see the full list of all we offer. These resources are free with your library account and available anytime, anywhere on the device of your choice. Use your library card number and password to access them. Following are some of our e-resource highlights.
The first electronic material people usually think about is an eBook. We have several options. Our most popular platform for eBooks is Overdrive. Use its Libby app for easy access to this digital collection of eBooks and eAudiobooks. For children, check out TumbleBooks, a collection of animated, talking picture books that teach children the joys of reading. For children’s eBooks in other languages, try LOTE Online 4Kids or MakeMake for children’s eBooks in Spanish.
Download the Hoopla app and connect with our library to access a large collection of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comics, movies, magazines and music. Many library guests love using the Hoopla app to listen to audiobooks on their daily commute or on road trips. It also includes a large collection of travel guides and Great Courses videos.
Stream movies with Kanopy, a collection of more than 30,000 acclaimed films, documentaries, rare films and classics. You can download the app on any device, including whatever you use to stream content on your TV like Roku or Firestick.
If you don’t subscribe to a music service, we have that covered as well. Stream ad-free music with Freegal Music, a frequently updated collection of millions of songs.
Ready to learn about your family history? We offer several resources to help. Our latest addition is NewspaperArchive, one of the world’s largest collections of historical newspapers. Search through historical newspapers from around the country to explore your family history or discover events from history. In addition, try Fold 3, HeritageQuest or MyHeritage to search for records of your ancestors. We also offer Ancestry.com, though this resource can only be accessed at the library.
Additionally, we provide information about local history. Try our local history archive, the Pflugerville Digital History Project. In it you will find various collections of photographs, documents and other materials related to the history of the area. This is a growing collection that we add to as materials are digitized.
Ready to challenge yourself to learn something new? The library provides opportunities for lifelong learning on a wide variety of subjects. Looking for a new craft project? With CreativeBug, you have access to award-winning video classes taught by designers and artists. Try out Mango Languages to learn a new language with this interactive program with lessons for over 70 languages.
LinkedIn Learning can be used to learn new skills with its vast library of tutorials and courses taught by industry experts. Small business owners can use this resource to provide free trainings to their staff on subjects like customer service. Individuals can learn new skills from the thousands of courses available, from specific software to broad concepts like management.
Speaking of small business, are you ready to take yours to the next level or finally move forward with that idea in the back of your head? We have e-resources to help. With the Gale Business suite, you can write or update a business plan, research business and entrepreneurship topics or explore detailed demographic data. A to Z Databases gives access to public records that can be used to generate sales leads, create mailing lists and conduct market research.
Are you interested in self-publishing a book? Use Pressbooks to create, edit, format and generate print-ready and eBook formats for your own book. Then submit your work through the Indie Author Project to have it made available for others to read.
Keep the kids learning over the summer with World Book Online and A to Z the World, where they can explore many different topics. Or take a look at Scholastic Teachables for printable lesson plans and activity sheets.
Kids in summer school or college students taking summer courses can utilize Brainfuse HelpNow for virtual tutoring and other learning support. Brainfuse VetNow provides support for veterans and their families, including live virtual assistance.
Through the Texas State Library, we also offer access to the Texshare Databases. Search Texshare for homework help, health or business information, academic journals, popular magazines, genealogy, or job and career development.
We have more e-resources available than can be listed here, including resources in Spanish. We encourage you to explore all of them on our library catalog or electronic resources web page.
We hope to see you at the library this summer taking part in our summer reading program and the many events we have planned, but our resources and services are not only limited to the library itself. Make sure to check out our wide array of e-resources that you can access from the comfort or your home or while on a trip on any of your preferred devices. Don’t hesitate to reach out if we can assist with any of these e-resources. And keep on reading!
Daniel Berra is the assistant director of the Pflugerville Public Library.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Pflugerville librarian: Plenty of electronic resources available
