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Library Lines April 8,
2020
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Everything You Always
Wanted to Know About Overdrive
But Were Afraid to Ask
Let's face it -- most of us have way more free time on our hands these days than we're used to. It's a great time to either learn about Overdrive and the Libby app or, if you're already a fan, to learn more about the service.
If you're new to borrowing e-books and digital audio books from the Library's Overdrive collection, start here at the "Help" pages. For assistance, email Reference Librarian Libby Fox or Assistant Director/IT Librarian Dale Irving and they'll get back to you and try to help.
Here are a few tips about using Overdrive that may be new to you.
1. SAILS now offers a digital magazine collection of 50 titles. They're always available (you'll never have to place a hold and wait until your favorite becomes available), and many people can borrow the same issue at the same time.
2. In collaboration with Pottermore Publishing, Overdrive announced last week that both
ebook and
audiobook versions of the first book of the Harry Potter series,
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, have been made available (in many languages) in our Overdrive/Libby collection for unlimited, simultaneous use for the entire month of April.
3.
Don't forget, from now until April 13, t
he "Big Library Read" is on. A
ll library card holders can read the same digital title at the same time.
This session's selection is
Funny, You Don't Look Autistic
by Michael McCreary.
Use the Libby or Overdrive apps to access
your copy
today. Available in both e-print and e-audio versions.
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April showers...are great days for
Virtual Visits with the Library!
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Here's Miss Amanda's collection of weekly online activities for your kids to have fun with until the Library reopens.
Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. -- Story time on
Facebook
! This week,
April 8,
join Miss Amanda for a Facebook Live event featuring everyone's favorite, cool cat Pete! (Featuring
Pete the Cat and the Five Little Bunnies
.)
Tech with Tiny Tots on Thursdays
--
Looking to connect with other moms this week? Over the Moon Parenting has a FREE virtual breastfeeding group. Visit their page to register.
(Please note that their other services require fees.)
Friday Fun with Miss Lori's puzzle/chall
enges --
This Sunday is
Easter and April is National Poetry Month, so this week, write an acrostic poem celebrating both events using the word Bunnies. Share yours on our Facebook page, starting
April 10. (
What's an acrostic? See Miss Lori's below.)
B
ouncing
Up and down
Nibbling ca
rrots
Not listening
In our house
Everyone tries to catch them
Silliness all around
Miss Amanda's Monday Musings -- On April 13, join us for an Animal Word Hunt. Find the following animals as pictures or words in books or book titles and email them to Miss Amanda at ameyer@sailsinc.org, or write in the comments of our Facebook post for a chance to win a prize from the Library when we reopen. Skunk, Fox, Chicken, Mouse, Lion
Tuesday Lego Challenges --
You've just discovered a new animal! Create it out of Legos. What kind of adaptations does it have? What does it eat? Where will it live and why? On April 14, submit your pics and description on the Library's Facebook page or send them to ameyer@sailsinc.org
to be featured on our website or social media.
Be sure to look for another newsletter, coming out on
Wed., April 15, for next week's fun programs with Miss Amanda!
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Teen Reads, Tips & To-Dos
Each week, we'll share new and notable books, tips on topics and resources relating to you, and themed craft and activity ideas to help you get through this tough time.
This Week's Genre Spotlight: Romance
NEW TITLES
Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales
When his aunt's illness keeps Ollie in North Carolina, he hopes his summer fling with Will can grow into something more, but at school Will proves to be a completely different--and firmly closeted--man. Grades 8-12.
Check for
ebook
availability.
Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
A reimagining of "You've Got Mail" follows the unlikely romance between an overachiever from a successful family and the class clown, who exchange snarky tweets that escalate into a viral Twitter war.
Grades 8-12. Check for
ebook
and
audiobook
availability.
ROMANTIC COMEDIES
Frankly in Love by David Yoon
High school senior Frank Li takes a risk to go after a girl his parents would never approve of, but his plans will leave him wondering if he ever really understood love--or himself--at all.
Grades 9-12.
Check for
ebook
and
audiobook
availability.
Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins
(Royals, Book 1)
When Daisy's older sister gets engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland, Daisy makes the royal rule-book all her own. Grades 9-12.
Check for
ebook
availability.
Tips for Making Stop-Motion Animation
Making stop-motion animation is a fun and cool way to
combine storytelling with technology. Grab your smartphone or tablet and download one of these free apps to get you started.
APPS
Stop Motion Studio for Android and iOS - simple and easy-to-use. Check out this video which gives a great overview of making stop-motion animation using this app.
iMotion for iOS - intuitive and powerful time-lapse feature
Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker for Android and iOS - lets you record and edit your movies
PicPac Stop Motion & TimeLapse for Android- includes a time-lapse and audio function
Stop Motion Maker
for
iOS - simple app with no adds
Note: Some of these apps require you to purchase add-on features or upgrade to a premium version for sound and other visual effects.
TIPS
- Think about your storyline before you start. Create a story board or use this template from Lemon Lime Adventures. Here's how you storyboard.
- You can use LEGOS, toys, dolls, clay, paper, and even people.
- Set up in a place with good lighting and the right kind of background.
- Keep your camera steady and snap your shutter remotely, if possible.
- If your app doesn't having editing capability, import your clips into a free editing app like Quik for Android or iOS or the more professional Kinemaster.
To-Dos
SEASONAL ACTIVITIES
String Easter Eggs - delicate and colorful string eggs to decorate your Easter table or room from
Craftwhack.com
DIY Watercolor Tiles - with just Sharpies and rubbing alcohol you
can create bold or dreamy tile artwork to use as a coaster or wall art from
Sharpie.com
For more arts and craft ideas,
try Creativebug, a new online service free with the use of a Middleborough Library card.
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"Silly Shots" Photo Contest
It's time for a little at-home fun!
Each Wednesday in April, we'll be directing you to our Facebook page where you can post a picture depending on a weekly theme. You'll have seven days to post your pic, and every submission will be entered in a drawing to win one of five $10 Amazon gift cards, to be awarded once we re-open.
We LOVED all your "mug shots" submitted over the past seven days, and this week, we're upping the challenge. Starting Wed., April 8, we offer the "Good Book, Bad Costume" contest. Post a picture of yourself (or a willing family member)
in costume as a character from a book, either classic or current. Put on your creative hat, as the costume must made from things you have around your home.
(See if you recognize our staff member above dressed as Lara from Boris Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago.)
Categories for the following three weeks are below, so put on your thinking caps and get going!
- Anything from outside such as your yard, your neighborhood, your garage, etc. -- April 15
- You doing something new you've tried while at home these past few weeks, or something you haven't done in years that you've re-tried again recently -- April 22
- You and/or your pet (or stuffed animal, if you don't have a live one) -- April 29
One entry per person per week, please. Keep your eye out for
snaps from our staff, too.
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This Week's Marvelous
"Museum Pass"
While we can't visit the Boston Children's Museum or the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in person right now, we CAN share with you some of the best virtual tours out there.
Hoping to bring a little natural beauty indoors for you, this week's visit is to the extravagant display of springtime cherry blossoms around the world, thanks to Google Earth. Click here to start your tour of 10 different sites from Tokyo and Paris to Vancouver and Washington, DC.
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Spotlight on a Local Hero --
Patriots Bring N95 Masks
From China
Our heroes on the gridiron have turned overnight into heroes in the fight against COVID-19.
Click
here to read about the extraordinary effort Patriots owner Bob Kraft made to bring more than 1.2 million N95 masks here from China on one of the team's 767 Air Kraft planes. The desperately needed surgical masks will be used by hospitals in Boston and throughout New England, and in New York City.
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Boredom Busters
In each of our April newsletters we'll be offering you something fun to do here.
For April 8, we offer the "Color Our Collections" campaign.
More than 100 museums and other cultural institutions from around the world are sharing free coloring sheets and books based on materials in their collections. You can download, print, and color just about anything so start the fun here.
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"Book Blurbs" --
What We've
Been
Reading While Home
For book lovers, having extra time to get lost in a book is one silver lining from spending so much time at home. Every week, we'll bring you a brief Book Blurb from the staff to fill you in on what they've been reading.
Reference/Adult Services Librarian Libby Fox -- With three adult sons, I don't typically spend my free time reading children's picture books any more but when I heard about this, I just had to click and share with you. The incomparable Betty White reads one of my favorite books from childhood and a favorite that I used to read to my own kids,
Harry and the Dirty Dog, by Gene Zion. Click
here.
Young Adult Services Librarian Chris Dargelis -- I can remember repeatedly
reading
The Bear Snores On
by Karma
Wilson to my son when he was a toddler. The story makes for a dramatic read, with fun alliteration, catchy rhymes, and a suspenseful storyline about a group of animal friends who warm themselves in a sleeping bear's cave. It's such a delightfully fun read that you'll find yourself recalling the words in your head years later. Here's a video of the author narrating it.
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Musical Moment
of
the Week
Here's another incredible online musical collaboration, created in spite of the limitations of social distancing.
This week's offering is from TenTwoSix Music, the Nashville Studio Singer Community's Virtual Cell Phone Choir. More than 30 Nashville studio singers, using their cell phones during their city's Safer at Home order, recorded and lifted their collective voices to share a message of hope and encouragement singing "It Is Well With My Soul."
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the incredible creativity, skill, and technology that made this possible. Just click here.
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Did You Know...?
Get to know a little bit more about some of our staff this April.
For instance, did you know that Library Director Randy Gagne loves to knit? He took up the hobby
in 2003, and makes mostly hats, scarves, and socks. He's particularly interested in Estonian knitting techniques and patterns right now, and prefers to knit with alpaca blends.
The hat pictured above is for Randy's oldest son for next Christmas. With the "shelter in place" order, he's getting an early start on making presents. He loves having the Wool Patch right here in town, and hopes that his yarn stash holds out until the they reopen!
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Book News From
Around t
he Country
We loved hearing about all the creative ways owners of Little Free Libraries around the country are re-purposing them into ways to share with their neighbors in need. Check it out
here.
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COVID-19 Critical Content
We know you've got lots of sites where you can go to get information on the Coronavirus pandemic, so each week, we'll provide links to a few trusted and respected sources.
1. The texting alert system from mass.gov sent a recent notification about a service that helps you check your symptoms if you're worried. It's called Buoy, and while it's not a substitute for a medical professional, it CAN help you figure out if you should call one. Click here to go through a series of questions to assess how you're feeling.
2. With the CDC recently recommending we all wear a cloth face mask in public when we can't practice social distancing, help is here. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams demonstrates how to make your own face mask from a T-shirt, scarf or or other piece of cloth in just 45 seconds. Watch here.
3. Blood donation: There is an urgent need for blood donors. Those who are
healthy, feeling well and eligible to give blood or platelets, are urged to make an appointment to donate as soon as possible by calling their local hospital, or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, calling 800-RED CROSS (800/733-2767), or visiting the Red Cross online to find a blood drive.
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Lost Your Card?
If you've lost your card or just can't find it right now, and want to tap into all of the great online library resources,
SAILS has got you covered. You can register online for a temporary card that will work for two months. Click
here
to register for a temporary card. Once we open, you'll have to come visit to get a permanent card, but this will allow you to access all we have to offer in the meantime.
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This newsletter is brought to you thanks to the Friends of the Middleborough Public Library.
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Middleborough Public Library
102 North Main St., Middleborough, MA 02346
508-946-2470
Currently -- Closed until further notice, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When we re-open:
Monday--Thursday: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sundays: noon - 4:00 p.m.
Closed on Fridays
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